2023 Wrapped: Hip-Hop Anniversary, Record-Breaking Tours, and Album Releases

2023 has been a big year in the music community. This year was the 50th year of hip-hop, which brought forth the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame’s 50th Year of hip-hop display. This showcased dozens of prominent members within the hip-hop community and their iconic clothes and memorabilia.

It also brought way to iconic performances like Nicki Minaj’s tribute during the 2023 MTV awards. She brought out figures like Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, DMC, Doug E. Fresh, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

On top of this iconic anniversary, there has also been a plethora of performances and albums that 2023 has offered music fans.

One of the biggest concerts of 2023 was Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. Swift held 151 concerts over the span of 5 continents. The tour is looking to be one of the biggest concert tours of all time, reaching over 1 billion dollars in revenue. This is not only a major boost for the artist but for the music community as well as the actual economy.

Beyoncé also went on tour in 2023 for her Renaissance album. This tour was not only a true Bey concert, but she also introduced her daughter, Blue Ivy, within a special dance break. This is also said to be Beyoncé’s highest grossing tour of all time making it wildly successful over its 25 shows.

The Weeknd also went on his After Hours Til Dawn Tour this year, and he began to set records. He broke London Stadium's attendance record over his two day stay, welcoming 160,000 fans into the venue. This catapulted the artist to one of Spotify’s most listened to artists globally.

Many other notable artists also went on tour this year like Drake, Bruce Springsteen, and Harry Styles. 

This year has also given way to many hit albums. One of the biggest albums being "Utopia" by Travis Scott. Released on July 28th, "Utopia" showcases features from artists like Playboi Carti, Drake, The Weeknd, Kid Cudi, and more. Travis has already started his tour for this album and many are anxiously awaiting for him to come to State College.

Another album released this year was Drake’s "For All the Dogs." This album did not come easily for fans. After being teased and pushed back for months, Drake finally dropped the album on October 6th. This album features artists like Yeat, Sexyy Red, Sza, 21 Savage, and J. Cole.

Though many fans believe this to be one of Drake’s lesser albums, it delivered some absolute hits like "Rich Baby Daddy," "Fear of Heights," "IDGAF." It also secured J. Cole’s first No. 1 hit with "First Person Shooter."