10 Artists That Have Transformed Music in the Past Decade

Throughout the past decade, many artists have come about and have changed up the music game. These artists were able to redefine their genres and were able to change the industry with them as well. Other than having their music being able to touch us all, it described the decade as a whole. In this blog, we will have a look at 10 artists that have been able to transform music in the recent decade.

Beyoncé

Over the past ten years, Beyoncé has been an artist that has continuously shocked us with her music. She has dropped three studio albums, two live albums, a soundtrack album and many IN THE SAME DECADE. With every song she drops, it becomes integrated into today’s music culture by converting her lyrics to catchphrases which appear on shirts and often in everyday conversations. Along with her music, she has been a massive influence in the “Back Lives Matter” community as she makes her performances with predominantly women of colour as a tribute to the cause. One such performance was on Super Bowl 50 when she preformed she iconic song “Formation”.

She is known as an icon to the entire world as she’s in an industry where few artists can make it on their own based on their first name and has expressed her entire life with songs that are very buoyant to agony. She is an artist that pushes her fans with her, as she triumphs so does the Beyhive.

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar is known as a artist that is a major influencer in the rap game in the past decade. His career blew up in 2012 with “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City”. That album allowed him to dive into mainstream music. That album was closely followed by “To Pimp a Butterfly” released in 2015 and “DAMN” released in 2017. Based on those albums, Lamar has won several awards. The “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” track-list is also said to tell a story of his upbringing and further inspire his listeners on how even in tough situations, you are able to make it out and make it big. Furthermore, tracks in his album, “To Pimp a Butterfly”, touches on aspects of the “Black Lives Matter Movement”. Overall, Lamar’s skills in his lyrical ability is hypnotic, and he has the production ability to back it. His music is a major reflection of society, a strong political statement and introspection. Finally, his push in the rap game has caused other artists including J.Cole, Big K.R.I.T. and Drake to push their music to match him. From his call out, the music has seen a larger increase in rap music.

Frank Ocean

Christopher Edwin Breaux (Frank Ocean) is an artists that grew up with the internet as a Millennial (Generation Y). Ocean’s debut album, Channel Orange, portrayed a story of him exploring his sexuality and his first love with a man. He also wrote a song after a tragic event in 2016 when a man entered a predominantly gay nightclub called Pulse and unfortunately killed 49 people. The making of this song helped shift the tide of homophobia in hip-hop music. Frank is the voice of Gen Y. His emotional lyrics, production, and a collection of different genres all blend to tell the stories of a whole generation.

Lady Gaga

The last decade for Gaga has been a good one with continuous big hits such as “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance”. Several songs of hers such as “Born this Way” have touched on topics of LGBTQ rights. As most of her music is clean, she is very radio friendly. Gaga has become a fashion icon with some strange but oddly acceptable fits for special award shows. She has been heavily involved in charity work as she has participated in over 70 of them. She’s also heavily supports for the causes she loves, over 30 of them. Gaga is an artist that encourages acceptance and inclusiveness in her fan base. She is very outgoing as she does not let boundaries like a genre or expectations hold her back and does what she does best.

Drake

The music of the past decade has been highlighted by Drake. He is known for blurring the line between hip hop and pop thus redefining the genre. The past decade has allowed Drake to become a behemoth in the music industry by him dropping 5 full albums and 3 mix-tapes. Drake has also been consistently on the Billboard Top 20 List with every track he releases. In case that was not enough, he also managed to obtain Spotify’s most streamed artist. Expanding on Drake blurring the line between hip hop and pop, he is credited with popularizing rap-singing. This was debuted with him infamous song “Hold On, We’re Going Home”.

Amid the controversy of him allegedly texting underage girls and has battle with rapper, songwriter, and record executive Pusha T, this all adds on to him being a big figure in the past decade.

Metro Boomin

Leland Tyler Wayne (Metro Boomin) known for being able to elevate mainstream hip hop to new heights as well as pushing the trap wave in the music industry. Even if his face is not shown, his music is very identifiable. Boomin is the peak of the most influential rappers of this decade. As he is one of the most in demand producer, his beats have pushed music artists such as the Migos, Post Malone, and Drake to a whole new level. Also, his trap-style beats have defined popular hip hop this decade by his songs dominating the charts.

Taylor Swift

Swift is known for being able to push the boundaries of country and pop as well as fighting for her rights to her music. Through the decade she started out as a country singer but eventually evolved into a musical titan. She constructed songs that seemed very personal as if it was out from someone’s diary. In the middle of the decade, she came out with her album “1989” which broke down her mold as a country singer to a newborn pop artist all the while still keeping her country touch. That album blew up so much to the point where she was awarded with two Grammy awards. One being the Best Album and the second being the Best Pop Vocal Album. This change showed everyone that you must not stick to just one type of genre and allowed her listeners to hear her full potential. She was also able to revitalize the country-pop music blend. Swift became important in the 2010’s due to her actions outside the studio. She was fighting with her executive over ownership of her songs. She’s done this previously with others streaming services. Her outspokenness about industry standards and urging musicians to own their work could result in real change. 

Solange

Solange is known for: one, being Beyoncé’s sister, and two, revitalizing R&B and influencing alternative R&B artists. A song by her released in 2016 called “A Seat at the Table” was a distinctive look into black identity which later became a cultural touchstone. Other songs of hers have heavily impacted its listeners whether they are of colour or not. She also was able to win a Grammy for the Best R&B Performance. As artists such as Kelela, Nao, Moses Sumney, and even SZA were redefining R&B, that would not have been done without Solange. Although she is not well known, that last decade of music would have been far more bland without her work and influence.   

BTS

Bangtan Boys, also called BTS, is known for introducing the Korean Pop (K-Pop) wave to the United States. They have the first Korean pop album to reach #1 in the Billboard 200 charts as well as 3 other projects reaching the same spot in just one year. They have sold millions of albums. Although their boom came late in the decade, the impact to the US is planned to last through the 2020’s.

Kanye West

West is known for his decade-defining music and a proneness for shock and awe. He started the decade by interrupting Taylor Swift at the VMAs and ended it by producing high end operas, gospel albums and criticizing the immorality that once peppered his most celebrated tracks. He opened the decade with “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” a culmination of the self-proclaimed musical genius. He followed up that widely hailed masterpiece with “Yeezus,” a harsh, industrial reset. In 2016, West released “The Life of Pablo” and after its release, West continued to tweak what fans thought was the finished product weeks after it hit streaming services, adding new lines, mixing background vocals, even uploading an entire new track. All the variations became collectibles, stored and shared so they wouldn’t be lost to West’s whims. In 2018, West used his bipolar disorder diagnosis as inspiration for his song “Ye” and traveled to the Rocky Mountains. After one year had pasted, he brought us Sunday Service and “Jesus is King.” Kanye’s constant switches are so unpredictable that there’s no knowing where he will take us all next. His resets are thrilling, confounding and, game-changing. His embrace of President Trump is unlike that of any other peer musicians-designers-icons. His public image is tied to his music, for better or worse, though he’s often blazing a path it takes others artists years to come after.

These artists are a few chips off the block. The list seems endless as more voices are heard and appreciated everyday. Their music has been an important part of our lives and continues to touch out hearts on a daily basis.