Blame Kanye West. As ‘Ye tells it on “Big Brother,” it was his decision to collaborate with Coldplay that pushed Jay-Z to do the same and, in turn, grant Chris Martin hip-hop legitimacy. All of a sudden, Coldplay was every rapper’s favorite soft-rock band, popping up on random mixtape tracks and Swizz Beats’s Oprah odes. The logical next step: Hip-hop went indie rock, again taking Kanye’s cue and bear-hugging Peter Bjorn and John (Drake’s “Let’s Call It Off,” Mick Boogie’s Re-Living Thing). On deck was MGMT, who did Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” got reworked for Chiddy Bang’s Internet hit, and almost made Blueprint 3. But with last week’s release of their non-catchy, brave/stupid new album Congratulations, MGMT’s reign as hip-hop’s indie-rock darling is over. So, who’s next? Vulture ranks the top contenders, from least to most likely.
