Music moves quickly these days. With so many new artists popping up, it can be difficult for any rap fan to keep pace. Our monthly column 10 Rappers You Should Know Right Now cuts through the noise to tell you the rising hip-hop artists on Audiomack you should be paying attention to. Listen to standout selections from all 10 artists as a playlist below.

Mello Buckzz

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Mello Buckzz, a rapper from Chicago’s East Side, first started rapping in 2020 after spending time hanging around studios with brothers and friends, but she solidified her momentum earlier this year with “Mouskatool,” a collaboration with three fellow Chicagoans that reinterpreted a song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Her latest single, a team-up with Atlanta star Latto, begins with a summary of Mello’s history of dogging other rappers before she and Latto take turns dismantling their opposition on the second verse.

Kenny Muney

Hometown: Memphis, TN

Alongside Key Glock, Kenny Muney has been keeping the Paper Route Empire name alive. The Memphis rapper’s recent single “Top” has been quickly gaining traction and serves as a reminder of Kenny Muney’s dynamism. Over a classic Memphis drum pattern and bluesy guitar licks, he attacks the beat, double-time rapping, “Came from the bottom, now I’m where the top is/But I won’t ever forget that I sold dimes.”

Deebaby

Hometown: Houston, TX

Clearly, Deebaby came up listening to a lot of Kevin Gates, who can now apparently count among his fans. The Houston rapper brings many similar melodic ideas to his pain-filled songs as the Baton Rouge rapper across his recent 26-track album Junkie Mode. “Anymore,” the closing track on the album, is both doleful and celebratory. Over minimalistic production that consists of just guitar and bass, Deebaby describes the tough road he took to get where he is now.

Check out our review of Deebaby’s Junkie Mode album for First & Fifteenth.

KP Skywalka

Hometown: Washington, DC

The DMV rap scene has experienced its ups and downs over the last decade. In the early and mid-2010s, the region seemed ascendant: new talent was emerging seemingly every day, more established pioneers were signing to major labels, and the “DMV flow” was becoming a hot topic of online rap discussion. Over the last few years, some artists have been incarcerated, some have fallen back on their rap careers, and the tragic death of Goonew in 2022 marked a devastating low. Still, young artists in the region have never stopped striving. KP Skywalka is among the most exciting artists to come out of DC in quite some time. He tends to rap over soulful samples, as he does on the recent Lil Dude collaboration “Love Of Money,” a co-sign from one of the DMV’s stalwarts.

THOTTWAT

Hometown: Harlem, NY/Chicago, IL

THOTTWAT is a duo comprised of Harlem rapper Thoto—a longtime member of A$AP Rocky’s crew, who was apparently arrested alongside Rocky in the 2021 Sweden incident—and ICYTWAT, the prolific Chicago producer and rapper who’s built a cult following around his work with Divine Council and Playboi Carti, among others. “Fold” is the duo’s second single, a hypnotic track that finds both ICYTWAT and Thoto injecting their respective charismatic flows over an ominous production.

iCandy

Hometown: Pompano Beach, FL

Before her breakout song “Keep Dat” went viral earlier this year, Florida rapper iCandy had been a regional powerhouse for years in her native South Florida. A rapper since high school, she first gained local fame around a decade ago, but it’s her recent turn that’s made her into a rising national star. “Keep Dat,” a carefree anthem for moving on from an ex and living life, coasts over an easygoing sample from Florida’s own KC and the Sunshine Band that contrasts with iCandy’s assertive bars.

Lil Nuu

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Lil Nuu’s “Wicked Inna RaQ” was originally released a year ago, but the song has now been given new life thanks to an updated version that adds a verse from G Herbo. Though Chicago rap in 2023 has somewhat moved on sonically from the city’s drill sound of a decade ago, it often maintains the same sinister qualities, and “Wicked Inna RaQ 2” is a prime example. A rapid piano melody and Nuu’s menacing rapping emphasize the track’s threatening tone.

Saadi Four

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

While many of Philly’s upcoming rappers focus on the club rap sound, others are continuing to forge ahead with the city’s more hard-nosed edge. Saadi Four, a North Philly rapper, is part of the latter camp (though he’s signed to Stack Or Starve, the same label as Philly Goats), who’s recently built a buzz around his strong solo songs and collaborative tracks. On “FWM,” he teams up with Detroit’s Baby Money, and the two trade verses about their motion over a subtle beat.

C Stunna

Hometown: Fort Myers, FL

C Stunna already had some momentum with his 2022 single “Motion,” but adding two of Florida’s hottest up-and-coming rappers to the track—Loe Shimmy and Wizz Havinn—brings the track to another level. All three rappers tend to rap over plainful, Detroit-referencing beats, and the “Motion” instrumental is a perfect palette for each rapper’s style, as the three trade verses about their ways of life.

jahhlu

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Courtesy of Milwaukee rappers like Certified Trapper and AyooLii, the eighth note clap—pioneered decades before in New Orleans bounce production—has become a staple in rap songs across the internet. The same element can be heard in “nickelodeon,” a song by Chicago artist jahhlu, yet the track combines the steady claps with what sounds like a sample from a Midwest emo song. Over that interesting combo, jahhlu supplies lines like “My choppa, it get silly like it’s Nickelodeon,” and, “She gon’ play with my balls like it’s Dick’s Sporting Goods.”

10 Rappers You Should Know Right Now (April 2023)