The 2024 MTV VMAs Highlighted Rap's Midlife Crisis
Aside from brief appearances by Doechii and GloRilla, there were very few emerging rap stars. Is this an issue with MTV or with hip-hop itself?
One of rap’s oldest clichés is that it’s a young man’s game, but you’d have no idea that was a defining trait of the genre after watching the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
MTV’s annual awards ceremony took place on Wednesday, September 11th, at the UBS Arena in Elmont, Long Island—about an hour away from Radio Music City Hall, the home for the show during its peak years. It was the 40th anniversary of the show, and much of the evening was dedicated to honoring moments of the past—with clips and cues to iconic performances—while also shining a light on pop's young bright talent, artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone, and Tyla.
But when it came to rap I noticed something curious; anyone looking to scout the next group of hip-hop superstars were very much out of luck. Hell, anyone interested in seeing the genre represented by anyone under 40 years old was mostly out of luck. The night highlighted a burgeoning problem with its youngest generation of stars; there don’t seem like many obvious choices to fill in the gaps following the ascents of Drake, Future, Young Thug, Travis Scott, and more.
The only rapper who truly stole the show was Megan Thee Stallion, who’s a bonafide young superstar. She was the host of the night—interestingly enough, the fourth time in a row a rapper or rappers hosted the VMAs—but she was forced to carry the hip-hop representation at the ceremony by herself as both host and performer. Her set was a highlight, she performed a number of hits and even linked with Yuki Chiba to perform the viral hit "Mamushi.” In both awards and performances, the VMAs made it clear that rap may not have a ton of rising stars, but MTV did the genre little favors in highlighting few artists outside of elder statesmen.
Take, for example, GloRilla, who was the youngest rap performer during the main show at VMAs at just 25-years-old. East Coasters, you’d be forgiven for having dozed off before the Memphis superstar even hit the stage. She hit the stage towards the very end of the three and a half hour show, and though she offered up a dynamic performance of singles "Yeah Glo!” and “TGIF,” she was working against a stacked deck. Other rap performers included Eminem, who opened the show paying homage to his 2000 VMAs performance; Quavo assisting, of all people, Lenny Kravitz, for a performance of “Fly Away”; Doechii who performed the upcoming single "I'm His, He's Mine" with Katy Perry; and LL Cool J with Public Enemy doing a tribute dedicated to Def Jam 40.
It was baffling to see Glo, one of the few young burgeoning rap stars, get saved for the end of the show, during the times when momentum and attention waned.
Speaking of strange decisions, why was an entire section of the show dedicated to 40 years of Def Jam and yet it only focused on the beginning of its history? Has MTV taken a look at the roster? While LL Cool J’s The FORCE is a surprising late career resurgence, there was so much opportunity to do more for this tribute. In the wake of Hip-Hop 50—he was part of that performance also—this felt more like a half cooked retread than an exhibition honoring Def Jam’s impact.
There were obvious shortcomings regarding both the performances and awards. Not a single rapper was nominated in the Best New Artist category—even if Chappell Roan clearly deserved the crown, it would have been nice to see someone like Sexyy Red get a look. The Best Hip-Hop category was relatively uninspired, too. Nominees included: Drake, Sexxy Red and SZA for “Rich Baby Daddy”; Eminem with “Houdini”; GloRilla’s “Yeah Glo!”; Gunna’s “fukumean”; Megan Thee Stallion with “BOA”; and Travis Scott and Playboi Carti with “FE!N.” These are all quality songs, but it speaks to how legacy-driven the artists MTV are highlighting are.
Yes, the VMAs are chasing hits—and yes, I do realize the average viewer for the show might be approaching AARP years—but I couldn’t help to notice how vibrant and young the pop and international acts were juxtaposed to the rappers on the bill.
Whose fault is it? Sure, it speaks to MTV’s sensibilities, but it also speaks to the weak bench in hip-hop right now and how young rappers are struggling to make transcendent songs. In short—there are plenty of question marks regarding who’s next up in rap. The 30-year-olds are still dominating and the horizon is unclear.