The New York Daily News columnist Jim Farber ran an interesting article last week where he took a look at the state of Rap-Metal and it isn’t pretty! 

All we have to do it take a look at a few shining examples of once successful bands that no longer seem capable of capturing the attention of the general music buying public. 

Crazy town is the prime example. Their 1999 debut album, “The Gift of Game,” sold 1.6 million copies, landing them on the main stage of Ozzfest in 2001 and spawned the hit single “Butterfly”. 

The group’s second CD, “Darkhorse” appears to be dying on the vine with dismal sales of only 35,000 copies in six weeks. Even a top 20 radio hit couldn’t save the CD from its fate. 

Other previous multi-platinum selling rap-metal bands also saw a drastic decline in sales in 2002.  Korn, the band that is often credited to helping kick-start the trends of nu-metal and rap-metal saw their sales drop almost 70% in 2002. Their 1998 release “Follow the Leader” sold 3.5 million copies and their 1999 follow up “Issues” sold around 3.1 million copies but their 2002 release “Untouchables” sold a modest 1.2 million copies since its release. In his article Farber points out that “nearly half the new CD's sales came in its first week, suggesting poor word of mouth.”

Papa Roach tried to shed their Rap-metal skin with their second album, “LoveHateTragedy” but the public literally wasn’t buying it. While their debut album, “Infested” sold 3.2 million copies since it’s release in 2000, their latest album has thus far only yielded sales of 550,000 units. 

Does this spell the end of rap metal? Have people finally had enough? It would appear so but we will have to keep a close eye on two releases in 2003. The first one the much anticipated sophomore effort from Linkin Park, a band that had the biggest selling album of 2001. The second release to watch for to see if the trend is indeed dead is the new album from Limp Bizkit that is expected some time this year. 

These two albums could possibly turn the trend around but it’s a safe bet that aside from these two releases, we will see a move away from Rap-Metal in 2003 when it comes to CD releases from major labels. 

The Trend is Dead?

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