In today's age, new hip-hop artists are popping up constantly. It's hard to determine who is worth listening to and who is not. So I'll share my thoughts and allocate which rappers I think those are... As I said however, there are new artists emerging left and right, and we are now in a new era of hip-hop. Due to this, I won't include the likes of Tupac, Biggie, N.W.A., Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop, 50 Cent, etc; even though I thoroughly enjoy all of them and respect the path they have paved for this new generation, it would simply be too long of a list if I included every generation of rapper on this list, so I will stick to the current-reigning era. I am judging these artists on the basis of talent, thoughtfulness, structure of songs, and overall enjoyability while listening to them. Keep in mind this is purely just my opinion...
Rappers Worth Listening To
Post Malone - Beautiful instrumentals, ambient sounds, and even implementations of guitar and drums into some of his songs; Post Malone is truly cut from a different cloth than most of his contemporaries. My favorite artist in the genre at the moment.
Drake - Although he is by no means a 'new' rapper, Drake's popularity only seems to grow. He is currently 1st in world for most streamed artist in any genre. He seems to effortlessly balance both singing and rapping into a perfect blend.
21 Savage - Cold-blooded and part of the new era and young generation of rappers; 21 delivers very dark, cold, and nocturnal flows and vibes in his songs. His 'Without Warning' collab-album with Offset should be a must-listen to for any hip-hop fan.
Future - I can't lie and say that Future is a very lyrical and deep artist, he's not. However that doesn't mean you should overlook him. His 'DS2' album is a very fun album to listen to, and his 'FUTURE' album and 'SUPER SLIMEY' collab-album with Young Thug were good listens as well.
Joey Bada$$ - Embodying the spirit of the older generation of rappers, Joey is a very talented artist whose songs have depth and deep meanings. He proves that not all rappers in this current era need auto-tuning or blasting bass to be fun and listenable. He is certainly a thinking-man's hip-hop artist.
Kanye West - Although he is not a part of the 'new' generation of rappers, I found his latest album 'Life of Pablo' to be amazing, as well as his past project '808's and Heartbreak'. Kanye is not only an icon but a rapper everyone should give a listen to.
Childish Gambino - Fun and innovative artist to listen to, it's nice to see him grow more ambitious and mature with each project and album he drops. Definitely a multi-talented guy you should check out.
Kendrick Lamar - Very intelligent artist, I have found each of his albums up to this point to be extremely deep, thoughtful, and rich with narrative; surely works of art.
Migos - This hip-hop trio flows and works together like a well-oiled machine, as if they were all one rapper. You should give their 'Culture' album a listen, and check out on one of my previous posts just as to what songs on 'Culture II' you should check out.
Honorable Mentions
- Chance The Rapper
- Playboy Carti
- Rae Sremmurd
- Rick Ross
- Travis Scott
- YG
- A$AP Ferg
- A$AP Rocky
- Ski Mask The Slump God
- 2 Chainz
- A$AP Rocky
- Pusha T
- J. Cole
- ScHoolboy Q
Rappers You Should Avoid
- Lil Xan
- Lil Pump
- Lil Peep
- Lil Skies
- Lil Dicky
- Lil Yachty
- Lil Baby
- Ugly God
- Logic
- NAV
- Desiigner
- Russ
- Kodak Black
- Nicki Minaj
- Cardi B
- Bhad Bhabie
- French Montana
- 6ix9ine
- Trippie Redd
- Smokepurpp
(Probably forgot to include some, but they should be easy to pick out when you hear them)
Rappers Worth Listening To
Post Malone - Beautiful instrumentals, ambient sounds, and even implementations of guitar and drums into some of his songs; Post Malone is truly cut from a different cloth than most of his contemporaries. My favorite artist in the genre at the moment.
Drake - Although he is by no means a 'new' rapper, Drake's popularity only seems to grow. He is currently 1st in world for most streamed artist in any genre. He seems to effortlessly balance both singing and rapping into a perfect blend.
21 Savage - Cold-blooded and part of the new era and young generation of rappers; 21 delivers very dark, cold, and nocturnal flows and vibes in his songs. His 'Without Warning' collab-album with Offset should be a must-listen to for any hip-hop fan.
Future - I can't lie and say that Future is a very lyrical and deep artist, he's not. However that doesn't mean you should overlook him. His 'DS2' album is a very fun album to listen to, and his 'FUTURE' album and 'SUPER SLIMEY' collab-album with Young Thug were good listens as well.
Joey Bada$$ - Embodying the spirit of the older generation of rappers, Joey is a very talented artist whose songs have depth and deep meanings. He proves that not all rappers in this current era need auto-tuning or blasting bass to be fun and listenable. He is certainly a thinking-man's hip-hop artist.
Kanye West - Although he is not a part of the 'new' generation of rappers, I found his latest album 'Life of Pablo' to be amazing, as well as his past project '808's and Heartbreak'. Kanye is not only an icon but a rapper everyone should give a listen to.
Childish Gambino - Fun and innovative artist to listen to, it's nice to see him grow more ambitious and mature with each project and album he drops. Definitely a multi-talented guy you should check out.
Kendrick Lamar - Very intelligent artist, I have found each of his albums up to this point to be extremely deep, thoughtful, and rich with narrative; surely works of art.
Migos - This hip-hop trio flows and works together like a well-oiled machine, as if they were all one rapper. You should give their 'Culture' album a listen, and check out on one of my previous posts just as to what songs on 'Culture II' you should check out.
Honorable Mentions
- Chance The Rapper
- Playboy Carti
- Rae Sremmurd
- Rick Ross
- Travis Scott
- YG
- A$AP Ferg
- A$AP Rocky
- Ski Mask The Slump God
- 2 Chainz
- A$AP Rocky
- Pusha T
- J. Cole
- ScHoolboy Q
Rappers You Should Avoid
- Lil Xan
- Lil Pump
- Lil Peep
- Lil Skies
- Lil Dicky
- Lil Yachty
- Lil Baby
- Ugly God
- Logic
- NAV
- Desiigner
- Russ
- Kodak Black
- Nicki Minaj
- Cardi B
- Bhad Bhabie
- French Montana
- 6ix9ine
- Trippie Redd
- Smokepurpp
(Probably forgot to include some, but they should be easy to pick out when you hear them)
