5 Upcoming Hip-Hop Artists You Should Keep An Eye On

It’s today’s hip-hop climate, rappers come and go faster than you can scroll down your apply music library and click on their song. With much more of an influx of album releases and musical projects in general, the times are moving a mile a minute. Artists are aging in what seems to be dog years now.

If there was a way to numerically track the number of people who wake up and decide to become rappers, I’m sure the daily count would touch the millions. A good portion of those new artists may see a bit of success, too, with social media making it so easy to reach wide audiences.

However, only the real ones survive. It’s not easy surpassing that second hurdle of longevity, because as we just mentioned, rappers come and go. The next few rappers we’re about to list, though, are surely here to stay. Check them out below!

If there was one word to describe to Compton MC Westside Boogie, introspective would be it. He’s not just all rappity-rappity, though, as he effectively blurs the lines between melody and witty bars. Coming from a place riddled with gang activity, he shares a story similar to that of Kendrick Lamar’s, differentiating himself with his talent and becoming the voice of his food – the voice for the voiceless.

His recent album Everything’s for Sale is a solid 13 tracks, ranging from a sense of vulnerability to braggadocio raps where Boogie lets the world know his worth and value in this game of hip-hop. The standout tracks are “Silent Ride”, “Lolsmh the Interlude”, and “Rainy Days,” featuring Eminem.

A previous member of Peso da Mafia, Shordie Shordie is coming out of Baltimore making some real noise. His nickname Captain Hook wasn’t just given, it was earned. The melody he incorporates into his songs (and clearly his hooks) are practically the same as those captcha tests on the internet, because if you don’t start to sing along at some point, you may not be human.

Although the entire project is pretty fire, the clear standout on the recent release of Captain Hook is “Bitchuary”.

Most of the world knows Guapdad for his lavish and luxurious viral videos on the internet that give you a glimpse into his lifestyle, but he’s started to shift the narrative a bit. He’s got something to say and flows to match those words.

He was recently featured on a few different tracks on Dreamville’s Revenge of the Dreamers III album, all after the release of the music video to his track “Flossin” where he gets he – well, you just have to check it out to see what I’m getting at here.

In the summer of 2018, Chicago rapper 147 Calboy dropped the track “Envy Me” which quickly bubbled within the streets of his hometown before exploding to the masses. The melodic, yet street sound of Calboy speaks to his true artistry and authenticity as he raps and sings about what he’s seen during his upbringing.

“Envy Me” is apart of his recently dropped project Wildboy,  which also has the track “Chariot” featuring Meek Mill, Lil Durk and Young Thug.

Formerly known as Lucki Eck$, Lucki is often revered as the king of the underground by those who are familiar with him. Although that is a bold statement and quite big shoes to fill, if we were to judge strictly off the music alone, it’d be hard to argue it not being a well-deserved title. The music slaps.

He’s often showing a side of vulnerability in his raps as he touches on a bit of heartbreak, the loyalty of his loved ones and his vices. His latest project was Freewave 3, but don’t hesitate to take a look at his older projects, too. They won’t disappoint.

The one thing that all of these hip-hop artists named above have in common is the fact that they do not lack talent in any aspect of the word. They all have something going for them and it’ll be interesting to see where their careers take them as time continues to take its course. Only time will tell.