25 Good Hip Hop Demographics

There is a prevailing myth that revolves around the hip hop world that it is only African-Americans who listen to this genre of music, enjoy it, or promote it. Some believe that African-Americans were the first to create. As the statistics show, however, myths are very different from what reality happens to be.

Almost two thirds of the hip hop audience is between the ages of 18-34.

Hip Hop Demographics

Hip hop is actually has the youngest audience demographic in the world today. The next youngest music genre, alternative music, has an average age that is almost 3 years older than the hip hop demographic. It also means that people who listen to hip hop the most frequently are also the most likely to be living in poverty.

• More than 70% of Hispanic adults say that they are hip hop listeners.
• 40% of the total hip hop audience is African American, which is more than double the population footprint of the Caucasian audience per capita.
• 12.5% of the hip hop audience uses radio to listen to music rather than some other medium during prime time hours.
• 60% of the hip hop demographic also have R&B on their format menu.
• Only one-third of the hip hop demographic states that they make it a point to watch news shows at some point during the week.
• Hip hop listeners are twice as likely to go to the movies over the general population at large.
• Sports, drama shows, and music videos are also popular forms of media that are consumed by this population demographic.
• 12.6% of people who listen to hip hop regularly will purchase clothing on a weekly basis.
• There are slightly more women than men in the audience, but there are slightly more women than men in the general population.
• Very few people in the hip hop demographics are above the age of 65.

The hip hop demographic doesn’t have a lot of cash, but they do spend it wisely on the things that they love. They actually spend more at specialty stores than the general population, which might be because the most common profession that is held by this demographic is an administrative or management position. This is also likely why they are listening to the radio to get their tunes more than any other medium. If they are spending higher levels of their limited income on clothing every week from more expensive specialty stores, there just isn’t enough money to spread around for downloads or streaming subscriptions.

Hip Hop Is Everywhere Today

• 37.1% of 15-25-year-olds in China love hip hop, or about 296 million people in total.
• 24 million confirmed people between the ages of 19-34, from a range of nationalities, ethnic groups and religions, are estimated to make up the core hip hop demographic.
• $500 billion. This is the amount of annual spending power that the hip hop demographics are able to contribute every year.
• Black listeners comprise 46% of the hip-hop radio audience, Hispanics make up 25% and the remaining percentage is bi-racial, white or Asian.
• At 15%, the 35-44 listening segment is also large for this demographic.
• 1 out of 2 listener households has one or more wage-earners collecting a $50,000-plus income.

For a long time, there has been this myth that 80% of the hip hop market is white. This all dates back to a Newsweek article that spoke about how it was white folks who were listening to gangsta rap and that’s why sales in this industry were so high. Although people above the age of 40 do tend to purchase the most music, people who are in the hip hop demographic tend to exclusively purchase music in their genre. This is why there can be over 20 million records sold of just one particular album. When something new and hot comes out, everyone wants to get on board and enjoy what is fresh. Don’t fall for the idea that it’s white folks who are listening to hip hop. Hip hop is everywhere.

You Can’t Ignore Their Purchasing Power

• 19.4% of Hip-Hop fans are going to be in the market for a new car in the next 6 months.
• People in the hip hop demographic are one of the few population groups that prefer a Chevy over a Ford, but BMW is the preferred brand of choice.
• Someone in the hip hop demographic are far more likely than the general public to acquire a computer or TV.
• Hip hop consumers are far more likely to use a discount outlet than the general population.
• People in the hip hop demographics are less likely to use an actual grocery store than the average citizen, preferring discount stores for their groceries more than the average consumer.
• 30% of this group will head for a specialty store to meet their sporting goods needs.
• The hip hop group is more likely to patronize a shoe store than is the general public by a factor of 10%.
• 45% of the Hip-Hop audience will buy toys pretty much anywhere.

They might not have the most cash, but they do have a lot of spending power. Many in the hip hop demographics are looking to purchase big tickets items and then combine that with value purchases at discount stores. Some of this is because of the fact that they don’t have as much cash to spread about, but there is also the desire to live life as large as possible. Why spend $50 on groceries when you could spend $20 on groceries and buy yourself something nice? By focusing on these attitudes within the hip hop demographics, all consumer groups will have the chance to be able to reach out to these folks and bring more prospects into their sales funnel.