Once the unassailable ‘Queen of Rap,’ Nicki Minaj has grown increasingly estranged from the music industry — and embraced by conservatives — culminating in a public show of support for Donald Trump that stunned fans.

In July 2025, Kansas City rapper TOP MEECH mounted a comeback after he stepped away from the mic in 2019 to focus on producing. Just six months after his return to rapping, his music has helped him earn $100,000 from a national competition.

Hani Al Sawah, a rap artist known as Al Darwish, has returned to Syria after 13 years to perform his political songs for the first time without the Assad dynasty in power