What you describe is pretty common - a segement of younger people preferring older music, typically the music of their parents generation. This is nothing new either, not every young person liked Elvis either.
I know. but what’s atypical is the tame-ness, the lack of energy and lack of community participation and shared experience in new music, and its sharp decline of perceived cultural value by the younger generation. I think the changing valuation and changing qualities are not wholly unrelated.
I have a lot of friends in the music industry since I used to work there until recently, both back end eg A&Rs and agents as well as artists. The common sentiment is that nothing new has happened in the last decade, everyone’s wondering why, and increasingly exasperated.
So okay, hip hop.. US trap has been largely in stasis since 2008/2010 (lex lugar era). Uk drill has been in stasis since 2017.
Does 2023 Kendrick really sound much different to 2012 kendrick? Compare 2002 rap to 1992 rap.