Spotify recently analyzed 20 billion tracks and gave us insight to localized listening trends for over 1,000 cities. Loyalty to a cities local artist or rapper was one of the findings. I was incredibly thrilled to see Philly still holding down their local rapper Meek (Meek, you still in this! Hang in there).

We, at DesiHipHop, have long known the power of Hip-Hop within a community as well as globally. I personally made sure to team up with DesiHipHop when I recognized the shift in #HipHop demographics. This is why it came as no surprise when Spotify and other publications released that Hip-Hop is the World’s top genre. Hip-Hop is showing up on playlists over any other genre; regardless of geography or language.

With all that is currently going wrong in the world, we can always turn to Hip-Hop for a quick “pick me up”. Why is it that #HipHop is the world’s leading genre? It is because of the psychological advantages it holds. #HipHop carries within it, messages much more complex than currently appreciated. Hip-Hop has been found to boost a persons self-knowledge and bring empowerment through its heavy and introspective lyrics. If you have ever battled depression and or you are currently trying to cope with depression, you might be pressured by outsiders or by self to jam out to something HAPPY – cut the happy track. It seems there is healing through ab reaction – listening to another humans struggle and how he/she overcame it. Many, if not most Hip-Hop artists, come from deprived urban areas. This is an ideal breeding ground for problems like drug abuse, domestic violence and poverty. Gangs then become the ones who reign supreme and we can easily see why there is an increase in psychiatric illnesses. With the ugly, comes the beautiful. Using Hip-Hop as a way to heal yourself could be of enormous benefit.

Now that Spotify has solidified a fact that we have been helping cultivate; it is my hope that we continue to unite through Hip-Hop’s global power. The rappers in the U.S. should open their minds and recognize their importance now more than ever. No matter where you are, if you are an artist, you need to put pressure on yourselves and your fellow peers to graduate to a new level of lyrical content and spread messages that help promote the genre in a positive light. It should not be taken for granted the healing elements in #HipHop, and for the first time ever people are listening and looking towards us all over the globe. Through your personal struggles and journey expressed with music, you could be helping save someone. Or maybe your lyrics inspire someone to use their own words and music to bring healing and peace to themselves or the community around them. Thousands upon thousands of miles from where you are currently writing, producing or entering a booth, may this article inspire you to represent #HipHop globally for the first time.

Peace.

Also Check Out the Official Desi Hip Hop Playlist on Spotify & Rdio