Exploring Rap’s New Regime: 2009-2013 🎤💯 From the emergence of newfound rap collectives like TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) and The “Odd Future” Collective to the blossoming popularity of the iconic “blog” era, which worked in tandem to propel some of today’s biggest rap stars, OkayPlayer has definitely had a major hand in this natural evolution. Nowadays, streaming platforms are where a lot of people get put on to new rappers; back in 2009, the source was popular rap blogs, like NahRight, YouHeardThatNew, 2DopeBoyz, On Smash, RapRadar and more. Each blog had its own style and focus, but all of them helped to elevate new rappers. The existence of these blogs along with free mixtape websites like LiveMixtapes and DatPiff, made new music easily accessible. Whether you were into a Houston-influenced rapper like A$AP Rocky or DMV rap pioneer like Wale or a Canadian hitmaker like Drake, the “blog” era spoke to every type of rap fan and created a blissful nexus where they could all coe...