Trending In Culture: Current Marketing Trends In Hip-Hop Culture: (Q3 '25)

Photo: mworthofgame/Instagram

Since its inception, many of the most impactful trends that have transpired in popular culture derived from hip-hop. What’s more, if you were to analyze some of the most significant events that have occurred in mainstream society over the last few decades—you’ll find hip-hop’s figurative fingerprints all over them.

Whether it’s Silicon Valley tech companies forming partnerships with hip-hop artists to promote their products; luxury fashion designers aligning with hip-hop artists to become their brand’s ambassador, or even US presidential candidates seeking endorsements from celebs within the culture—undoubtedly, hip-hop culture has influenced the world.

Much like this summer’s weather, for as much as we may or may not enjoy current trends in the culture, as time has shown, they are sure to change soon (typically, around every 90 days or so).

But worry not, as trends continuously change within the culture on a quarterly basis, you could rest assured that at Decryption, we will consistently keep your brand informed of all things hot in the culture—in an effort to help your brand connect with consumers via contemporary culture.  

Without further delay, we present to you the hottest trends in: Fashion, music, social media, television, and more in hip-hop culture for Q3 2025. 

Hottest artists 

Ebbs and flows. If there were any three words that could best describe the current climate in hip-hop music in the year 2025 thus far—those three words would definitely be ebbs and flows. 

Now that we’ve officially passed the halfway point of the year, we can now make a fair assessment that although 2025 has had its monumental moments (e.g., Kendrick Lamar headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show)—barring any epic album releases in the fourth quarter—2025 hasn’t been the most satisfying from a musical standpoint. 

Nevertheless, there are still a host of artists who are currently keeping the genre poppin’ like fried fish grease.

These are the hottest artists in the culture at the moment:

Cardi B: Seven years. That’s how long fans of Cardi B and her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy, have been waiting for the Bronx-born rapper to release her sophomore LP. 

Much to the delight of her fans, on June 23rd, Cardi announced on social media that her long-awaited second studio album titled, Am I The Drama, would finally be released on September, 19th, 2025. Already considered the unofficial anthem for summer 2025, the album’s first single, Outside, is currently scorching both the clubs and the streets. 

Clipse: Once upon a time in hip-hop music, duos were almost as common as solo artists. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. Which is one of the reasons why for millions of fans around the world, news of the reuniting of one of the dopest duos in hip-hop history—Clipse—was something worthy of celebration.

The Virginia duo of brothers recently announced that their first album in 16 years, Let God Sort Em Out, is slated to be released on July 11th, 2025. The first single from their much-anticipated fourth studio album, Ace Trumpets, is already receiving plenty of love from casual fans as well as true hip-hop heads.  

Doechii: As music lovers, we are so fortunate to experience artists who come along with unabashedly disparate styles. Artists like Doechii, who approach their craft with an outside of the box mindset, are definitely the biggest reason why.

Still soaring high off the immense success of her now grammy-winning mixtape released in August of 2024, Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii’s unique style, personality, and stage presence has helped hoist the multi-talented Tampa, Florida, native to the upper echelon of artists in the culture. 

GloRilla: The late author Napoleon Hill once said that, “People buy personalities as much as merchandise, and it is a question if they are not influenced more by the personalities with which they come in contact than they are by the merchandise.”

That quote could certainly describe the career of Memphis, Tennessee’s own, GloRilla. Throughout the last three years, Glo’s exuberant personality has been the most salient aspect of what has made her music so appealing to her fans. That personality especially shines through on her most recent single, the summer slapper, Typa.

Kendrick Lamar: Perhaps the best and only compliment one could give Kendrick Lamar that he hasn’t already received, is that throughout the last calendar year—Kendrick has carried the genre of hip-hop music much like LeBron James carried his 2007 Cleveland Cavalier team to that year’s NBA Finals.

But you don’t have to take our word for it, a quick glance at Kendrick’s current dominance on the Billboard Hot 100 charts could confirm that at this moment in history, hip-hop’s crown belongs to Kendrick. Which is a great thing for hip-hop heads who truly love lyrical MCs. 

Lil Wayne: They say that in hip-hop, any artist fortunate enough to have a five-year run of relevance—should consider themselves extremely lucky. And if that is true, New Orleans native Lil Wayne’s run of now over 25 years of relevance is something that should certainly be marveled. 

On June 6th, 2025, Weezy released his fourteenth solo album, Tha Carter VI. Although the album has seemingly been met with negative reviews by the vast majority of its listeners on social media, their vocal opinions only prove that Wayne is still one of the most relevant artists in the culture. 

Rob49: Speaking of New Orleans, the latest hip-hop artist to make major noise out of The Big Easy is the city’s own Rob49. Carrying on the tradition of MCs from the NO who have gone on to have nationwide success, Rob49 made our list by accomplishing one thing that every artist aims to achieve—he dropped a major summer banger.

Mostly known for his summer 2025 viral hit,WTHelly, which received over 16 million plays on Spotify in less than 30 days after its release—Rob49 is also featured on Travis Scott’s song, Topia Twins, which is one of the hottest songs in the streets at the moment (and has over 313,000,000 plays on Spotify).

Hottest hip-hop platforms 

Many of your favorite brands have now begun lining up to sponsor hip-hop podcasts; not because they want to help support a fledgling industry, but because they understand that by doing so—their brands could potentially be exposed to millions of consumers.

What was once considered a fad, hip-hop podcasts have officially become recognized as a serious vehicle for advertisers to showcase their brands to extremely large audiences consisting of loyal viewers and listeners. 

These are the hottest hip-hop platforms in the culture at the moment:

• Art of Dialogue

• Drink Champs

• Joe Budden Network

• Joe & Jada

• Kai Cenat Live

• Nightcap

• VladTV

Hottest fashion brands 

Out of all the seasons, summer will always hit differently. From the amazing weather, to the outdoor events, and especially the vacations we look forward to taking all year long—summer will always have a palpable vibe. 

Another dope thing about the summer, is that the season gives us the perfect excuse to add to our wardrobes and really step outside with that “ish” on. 

These are the hottest fashion brands in the culture at the moment:

• Amiri

• Balenciaga

• Balmain

• Celine

• Dior

• Givenchy

• Supreme

Hottest television shows in the culture 

Make no mistake, just because consumers within the culture tend to be outside more so during the summer, that doesn’t mean people will not make it a priority to catch up on their favorite television shows. 

Whether it’s by watching live television, streaming on smartphones, or sneaking to check them out on their laptops while at work—people will always find a way to watch the television shows that they are highly interested in.

These are the hottest television shows in the culture at the moment:

• Basketball Wives

• BMF

• Forever

• Godfather of Harlem

• Love Island 

• Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together

• The Chi

Hottest social media platforms 

Social media has just about everyone in a headlock these days. To simply say that people are addicted to social media would be a huge understatement. It’s no longer a question of whether or not someone is on social media—the only question is what’s their favorite platform.

These are the hottest social media platforms in the culture at the moment:

1. TikTok

2. Instagram

3. X 

4. Facebook 

5. Threads

What’s fading 

There are two types of people in the world: those who intentionally make fashion statements; and those that do not. Either way, regardless of if we’re cognizant of the fact or not—the way we dress, along with the accessories we wear—are a direct reflection of our personalities. 

Oftentimes, those who are intentional with their fashion statements, are mortified when looking back at the lengths they went to in efforts to express themselves to the world through fashion. 

Perhaps that could explain why so many consumers in the culture that once took pride in purchasing pricey headphones made by brands like: Bose, Beats By Dre, and Sony as fashion statements—are now opting to purchase more inexpensive options instead. 

Not long ago, you would be hard-pressed to walk into a gym without seeing a multitude of people with expensive earbuds or headphones in their ears. The next time you go to the gym, look around, and you’ll probably notice that clearly isn’t the case today. 

Whether it’s due to economic uncertainty limiting people from making frivolous purchases, or the hype surrounding them have simply dissipated—whatever it is, consumer demand for high-end headphones has definitely dwindled significantly compared to just a few years ago.