Apple Music Repackages Hip-Hop Playlist As "Rap Life," Adds New Beats 1 Show

Apple Music shifts gears.

BYMilca P.

Apple Music is up for the ill rebirth as it has rebranded its hip-hop playlist, "The A-List: Hip-Hop," renaming it to "Rap Life" while also launching a weekly Beats 1 show specifically surrounding the new channel's efforts. 

Billboard reports that it is Ebro Darden, Apple Music's global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B, who will be spearheading the Rap Life initiative, set to highlight hip-hop artists throughout the world.

Apple Music Repackages Hip-Hop Playlist As "Rap Life," Adds New Beats 1 Show
Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images

"Rap Life will update as the culture updates,” Ebro tells Billboard. “We will move at the speed of culture and some weeks that will be daily as new marquee material drops.”

Naturally, the new Rap Life playlist will stand as Apple's flagship hip-hop vehicle, competing against Spotify's Rap Caviar channel and Amazon's Rap Rotation playlist. During the weekly Rap Life show, Ebro will be doing what he does best as he spins music from the playlist while sparking up conversation surrounding hip-hop culture in the process.

“I think for us it's not about being one dimensional,” Darden adds. “We have multiple things happening to help an artist reach an audience. I attribute it to that. We're a very dynamic service. We have tools beyond just an app. If you are an Apple Music user and you really know the depth of it, we do a lot with Beats 1, on-demand content, artist pages, there’s a lot of stuff there. We're still getting better. Year after year we'll work to listen to the consumer and watch what they like about us and try to make adjustments to accommodate them.”


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