If you’ve driven down MacArthur Causeway lately, you’ve probably spotted graphics of influential women in the rap game who call Miami their home, Trina and the City Girls.
The vibrant billboards, designed by illustrator and image maker Raj Dhunna, were created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and its massive impact in essentially every corner of the globe.
This year, hip-hop music has accounted for nearly a quarter of all global streams on Spotify, led by artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Ice Spice and Metro Boomin. In fact, the genre is one of the most listened to globally on the music streaming service and so far, more than 400 million users around the world have streamed hip-hop music in 2023.
Looking at just the past three years, almost half of their Top 50 most-streamed artists have been hip-hop or rap artists.
Spotify has collaborated with Dhunna to highlight artists pivotal to hip-hop in their respective hometowns, all throughout the country, and you can find a series of the murals in places like Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.
Miami’s mural pays homage to the provocative flows of Trina and next-gen duo the City Girls, consisting of Yung Miami and JT. In New York, a mural acknowledging the creation of drill in Chicago with artists like Chief Keef, and its transformation in London and Brooklyn with artists like 808 Melo and Pop Smoke were unveiled. A secondary mural in the city that spotlights women in the genre features Lil Kim and Cardi B. Atlanta’s mural celebrates the evolution of trap music which was heralded by Atlanta’s own T.I., and grown by artists like Arcángel.
Miami’s art can be found at The Potamkin Family Building at the Miami Children’s Museum, 980 MacArthur Cswy, Miami, FL 33132.
Get updates via Spotify’s Hip-Hop Turns 50 Hub on For The Record as they roll out the campaign all month long.