Affiliate Disclosure
If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Read our ethics policy.

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

Last updated

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.

8 Comments

foregoneconclusion 13 Years · 3029 comments

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'.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes
xyzzy01 16 Years · 154 comments

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

5 Likes · 0 Dislikes
mobird 21 Years · 759 comments

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.

foregoneconclusion 13 Years · 3029 comments

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. 

mobird 21 Years · 759 comments

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.