Apple Music 'A-List: Hip Hop' playlist is now 'Rap Life'

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited December 2019
Apple is making a number of changes to its Hip-Hop sections of Apple Music, with the genre's main playlist being rebranded to "Rap Life" along with the introduction of new weekly and daily Beats 1 content, to appeal more to fans of Rap.




The A-List: Hip Hop is one of Apple Music's most-listened playlists for rap music, containing a regularly-updated list of tracks from the genre, but as of Friday, the playlist has been renamed to "Rap Life."

Under the instruction of Ebro Darden, Apple Music's global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B, Rap Life will largely feature North American artists, though advised to Billboard representation from the rest of the world will also be available. The initiative will also involve the creation of a weekly Beats 1 show that shares the same name as the playlist, as well as a similarly-named segment during Darden's daily show, both of which will feature music and discussions about hip-hop culture.

The Rap Life playlist in Apple Music
The Rap Life playlist in Apple Music


"Rap Life will update as the culture updates," Darden advises. "We will move at the speed of culture and some weeks that will be daily as new marquee material drops."

The shift in hip-hop content is likely to be in answer to similar playlists from Spotify and Amazon, titled "Rap Caviar" and "Rap Rotation" respectively. Apple Music is already leading its competitors in the genre, with high levels of engagement compared with Spotify around major hip-hop releases.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    The 'A-List' designation looks like it's going to be eventually phased out from all the various sections. They've also changed 'The A-List: Rock' to 'The New Rock'.
    edited July 2019 StrangeDays
  • Reply 2 of 8
    xyzzy01xyzzy01 Posts: 134member
    When I think about "How could we improve Apple Music?", "more rap" would probably be at the bottom of the list alongside "more hip-hop".

    Better suggestions:
    - folders, for better organisation. Having your own lists alongside lists you've added from Apple Music makes for a confusing mix, and it's really hard to find your own lists on the go or via CarPlay
    - Make it easier, on multiple platforms (including Sonos), to like/dislike songs.
    - add a tier for lossless music. I'd upgrade to it immediately.
    - separate the files for Apple Music from your own on Mac


    mobirdrotateleftbytecornchipJWSCbigtds
  • Reply 3 of 8
    mobirdmobird Posts: 753member
    xyzzy01 said:
    When I think about "How could we improve Apple Music?", "more rap" would probably be at the bottom of the list alongside "more hip-hop".

    Better suggestions:
    - folders, for better organisation. Having your own lists alongside lists you've added from Apple Music makes for a confusing mix, and it's really hard to find your own lists on the go or via CarPlay
    - Make it easier, on multiple platforms (including Sonos), to like/dislike songs.
    - add a tier for lossless music. I'd upgrade to it immediately.
    - separate the files for Apple Music from your own on Mac


    Queue "up next" - next song/album
    Definitely in need of providing higher resolution audio (HiRes audio). There are many that are streaming to higher end audio systems.
    Be able to select what shows up and in what order on the "For You" tab.
    Provide more "New Releases" on Friday (industry standard) on the "For You" tab. Be able to select what genres for new releases.
    Better control how artist are listed in library.
    edited July 2019
  • Reply 4 of 8
    Be able to select what genres for new releases.
    Redundant. You can already select a genre and then look at the 'New Releases' section within it. 
  • Reply 5 of 8
    mobirdmobird Posts: 753member
    Be able to select what genres for new releases.
    Redundant. You can already select a genre and then look at the 'New Releases' section within it. 
    I want the ability to look at the "New Releases" that is on the "For You" tab, based on my genre selection. The "New Releases"which happens to be at the very bottom of the page BTW (would prefer to be at the top). This week for example, only two new releases show up, I have approximately 1,000 different album titles and only two "New Releases" show up????

    https://www.allmusic.com/newreleases?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2019-07-19
    Description about the new release on  Music would be nice as well.
    edited July 2019
  • Reply 6 of 8
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,877member
    xyzzy01 said:
    When I think about "How could we improve Apple Music?", "more rap" would probably be at the bottom of the list alongside "more hip-hop".

    Better suggestions:
    - folders, for better organisation. Having your own lists alongside lists you've added from Apple Music makes for a confusing mix, and it's really hard to find your own lists on the go or via CarPlay
    - Make it easier, on multiple platforms (including Sonos), to like/dislike songs.
    - add a tier for lossless music. I'd upgrade to it immediately.
    - separate the files for Apple Music from your own on Mac
    You read it wrong. It’s not more rap, it’s a renaming of one of the dynamic playlists. 

    Apple doesn’t write the Sonos client. 

    I like having unification between my music and AM songs. I don’t want to have to think about whether something is my own track or in the catalog. Same with playlists, I just want one spot for my playlists. 
  • Reply 7 of 8
    lol. Spotify for the win!
  • Reply 8 of 8
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,877member
    lol. Spotify for the win!
    Can I integrate Spotify tracks with my existing library in seamlessly blended playlists?
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