I appreciate the intent and the thoughtful analysis, but in order to further the outcome, let’s make note of what this analysis might be lacking. There is an interesting supposition that is apparently working here that goes unstated (or at least goes unquestioned in an explicit fashion). The idea that the popularity of rap, or the demand for rap, is driven over time by demand without varying constraints. In other words, the tracking of the genre’s popularity is being charted as simply the tracking of rap sales based on a simulated (pure?) audience preference. Unfortunately, in the music industry, demand is at times created and manipulated by forces under the control of concentrated influencers and concentrated means of production and distribution. A different meaningful analysis of rap’s popularity, and music sales generally, could incorporate varying constraints such as – changes to copyright law, payola, consolidation of publishing houses and consolidation of distribution channels. Throw in some analog to digital conversion upheaval and an evolving definition of what constitutes the genre of rap vs hip-hop & R&B, for good measure. Cross check the results with other genres and then this thing takes on a life of its own. Good stuff here and would love to see this develop further. Shouts to PopPro.
