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10 Bold Predictions For Rap in 2025

Anticipating the moves of Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Playboi Carti, and more.

The new year is just a few weeks old, yet it’s already serving surprises no one had on their 2025 bingo card. LiAngelo Ball’s single “Tweaker” made more waves than Lil Baby’s WHAM album. Chats are silent about Young Thug’s first post-prison feature on “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber” but can’t get enough of LiAngelo’s hypnotic swerve and bend hook. 

Kat Williams declared 2025 the “Golden Age,” a time of healing and renewal following the truth-baring reckoning of 2024. He’s proven to be an unexpected prophet, accurately predicting events that would shake the entertainment industry up in his interview with Shannon Sharpe last year. 

This inspired us to imagine what hip-hop’s “Golden Age” could look like in the year ahead. With equal parts hope and realism, we’ve made bold predictions for how 2025 will unfold for ten of the genre’s biggest names

Kendrick Lamar Sweeps the Grammys

Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” secured five Grammy nominations for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Music Video, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance. 

Historically, hip-hop has been overlooked by the Grammys, with general categories often dominated by artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. However, Childish Gambino broke that pattern in 2019 when “This Is America” made history, sweeping Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Music Video, and Best Rap Performance.

We predict Kendrick and “Not Like Us” will follow in those groundbreaking footsteps, sweeping their nominated categories. If so, it would mark only the second time in history that a hip-hop song claims Song or Record of the Year at the Grammys.

 

Eminem Wins the Grammy for Best Rap Album

This is a prediction that Eminem fans will champion and Future and Metro Boomin fans will hate. We Don’t Trust You and The Death Of Slim Shady are both vying for Best Rap Album at the upcoming Grammys. However, the Recording Academy tends to favor legacy artists with proven track records, and Eminem, with 15 Grammy wins to his name, is one of the most decorated rappers in Grammy history.

You may recall Killer Mike’s controversial sweep of the rap category last year, which many fans felt was a snub towards Travis Scott and Utopia. The Grammys have a precedent of ignoring trap-heavy albums regardless of their cultural impact and significance. 

 

Drakes Sues the NFL for Super Bowl Halftime Show

50 Cent has a theory that Drake’s lawsuits against Universal Music Group and Spotify were intended as a warning to the NFL. Both lawsuits revolve around Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” and 50 speculates that Drake’s legal team may have warned the NFL that airing the song during the Super Bowl could entangle them in the damages.

While none of this has been confirmed, Kendrick has shown no hesitation in standing his ground against Drake. We predict his halftime performance will feature “Not Like Us,” likely followed by swift—and very public—legal action from Drake.

Ye Makes a Yeezy Comeback

New year, same Ye. He’s already crashed out on Adidas less than a month into 2025 and made some bold claims about the independent success of Yeezy. According to Ye, the first Yeezy drop of 2025 made $2.3 million in 24 hours. 

Given the chokehold his $20 WET tank top had last year, it’s quite possible that Ye could actualize the grandiose claim of a Yeezy takeover. We predict he’ll do multiple releases of apparel and footwear, setting at least one widespread trend that makes the new Yeezy products superior to the deadstock Adidas is selling.

North West Releases Debut Album

North West, also known as mini Ye, Ye 2.0, and Ye-incarnation, is the protégé of her father. “Your bestie miss miss Westie,” made her musical debut last year with “Talking,” the Vultures cut Adonis has yet to respond to. Putting other 11-year-old aspiring artists to shame, North wrote, recorded, performed, and developed a music video treatment for her part in “Talking.” 

Rather than going small with a solo single, we predict North will come out swinging with a debut album (which she already teased last year). Bonus points if there’s a feature from her favorite rapper, Yuno Miles.

A$AP Rocky Announces Third Child with Rihanna

A$AP Rocky has pump-faked releasing Don’t Be Dumb more times than it’s worth counting. We don’t expect 2025 to be any different. However, one constant in A$AP’s life over the past few years has been Rihanna. The couple’s two sons were born just over a year apart, and in 2024, Rihanna famously said she’s open to having as many kids “as God wants me to have.” We’re taking the odds of A$AP growing his family over finally releasing the album.

 

J. Cole Releases ‘The Fall Off”

2024 seemed poised to be the year of The Fall Off, but when beef erupted between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, J. Cole wisely stepped aside. Instead, he went on a legendary feature run and kept fans engaged with a series of Smack DVD-inspired vlogs and the release of his Might Delete Later EP. 

During his 2014 Forest Hills Drive anniversary show, Cole hinted that he’d like to have new music ready for Dreamville Festival 2025. Unlike last year, this year’s festival won’t be overshadowed by Cole’s viral apology to Kendrick. And with the Grammys and Super Bowl buzz settled by April, the stage will be set for Cole to claim the spotlight. We’re betting The Fall Off finally drops before the first four months of 2025 come to a close.

 

Young Thug Releases a Post-Prison Album

After more than 900 days behind bars, Young Thug finally walked free. It didn’t take long for fans to hear new music, with Thug appearing on Lil Baby’s “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber.” While his lyrics haven’t noticeably changed—still reflecting his lavish lifestyle filled with women and Lamb trucks—songs like “Just How It Is” or “Slatty” are unlikely to make a return anytime soon.

Under the terms of his probation, Thug is prohibited from promoting gang activity, making gang signs, or using gang-related language. Gone are the days of “This that slime shit” and “Killin’ 12 shit.”

However, we predict Thug will seek a comeback this year that extends beyond guest features. He’s already been in the studio with Lil Baby and Metro Boomin, and we’re betting on an album that asserts his status as King Spider without relying on the usual stick-laden wordplay.

Gunna Gets His Third No. 1 Album

Despite going on an impressive run over the last two years, with the releases of A Gift & a Curse and One of Wun, Gunna still faces adversity. Before his arrest in the YSL RICO case, he was at the peak of his career, scoring two consecutive No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 (Wunna and DS4EVER) and embedding himself in pop culture with the viral “pushin P.”

The success of his single “fukumean,” which became the unofficial anthem of summer 2023, is the closest he’s come to reclaiming his previous peak. With his relentless work ethic and consistent stream of singles, another album is likely on the horizon. We predict that Gunna will bridge the gap in 2025 and reclaim the No. 1 album spot with a new wave of heat.

 

Playboi Carti Releases ‘I AM MUSIC’

Call it manifestation, wishful thinking, or plain dumb hope—but we’re betting that 2025 will finally be the year of I AM MUSIC.

Playboi Carti has earned a reputation as one of the most unreliable rappers regarding album releases. His delays and false promises are so infamous that fans have launched a petition to ban him from streaming platforms and even created a website cataloging every lie he’s told about I AM MUSIC.

That said, 2024 brought more progress than previous years. Carti released a steady stream of singles and previewed several I AM MUSIC tracks at Rolling Loud Miami. According to ChatGPT (with a little help from the Poisson distribution formula), there’s roughly a 26% chance that Carti will drop the album in 2025, based on his history of releasing three albums in ten years. Fingers crossed, but we’re not holding our breath.