In this blog post we mention some of the best rappers to listen to right now. Hip Hop has grown in popularity, and has expanded beyond its regional roots, too. While the future of the music industry remains uncertain, one thing’s for sure: hip hop is here to stay.
If you are interested check out the most popular female rappers of 2023.
Best Rappers To Listen To Right Now
Kodak Black
Bill K. Kapri (born Dieuson Octave, June 11, 1997) also known as Kodak Black, is a rapper from Pompano Beach, Florida. Kodak Black is one of the most controversial young artists in the music industry and has been arrested several times. Despite his legal troubles, Kodak Black continues to make music and through his formidable rapping skills, he’s become one of the best rappers in the industry. His fans remain loyal and continue to support him through thick and thin.
- Kodak Black: 15 Things You Need To Know About The Florida Rapper
- Best Hip Hop Rap Songs by Kodak Black
You can also listen to 2023 popular rap songs, and thanks us later.
21 Savage
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), also known as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia. 21 Savage started by releasing a lot of mixtapes and was able to showcase his talent right away. People saw that talent and gravitated towards his work pretty quickly. It was quite evident in 2016 that his hard work paid off as his EP Savage Mode reached the Billboard Top 200. He was apart of the 2016 XXL Freshman class, got three double platinum-selling songs (“Bank Account,” “X,” and “No Heart”), two gold-certified projects (Issa Album, Savage Mode) and a chart-topping song (his feature on Post Malone’s “Rockstar,” which went No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight weeks). With his quiet intensity, street-tales past and the large, crucifix-esque dagger tattooed between his eyes, Savage has acquired a certain reputation in the mainstream, even as he’s tried to deal with fame by cutting back on social media.
Tyler, the Creator
Tyler, the Creator has lived up to his title through an eccentric, unapologetic approach to creation, all while transforming himself from a blunt-force lyricist to an unguarded, versatile artist. His entire empire has been buoyed by his unwillingness to hold his tongue, continues to push the boundaries of censorship and creativity and has been considered as one of the best rappers in hip hop. Tyler still remains true to his clever, chaotic nature while introducing new sounds and themes that both display his maturation and his ability to set the stage for succeeding eras to come.
Key Glock
Markeyvius Cathey (born August 3, 1997) also known as Key Glock, also known as “Glizock” is a rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. At the age of only 18, Glock was hit with aggravated assault charges but fortunately he was able to use music as a distraction from crime and as his music career took off he vowed to be a genuine and authentic rapper. After a while, his career completed a full circle as he gained more importance. Key Glock was a featured artist on Young Dolph‘s single “Major”. The single and music video released on August 31, 2018 through Vevo was the first collaboration between Key Glock and Young Dolph (his uncle). The music video received millions of views on YouTube in less than a week. The single was also well received by critics. Pitchfork included “Major” in their monthly “5 Best New Rap Songs” while Uproxx included the single in an article titled “The Best New Rap Music To Have On Your Radar”.
Dababy
DaBaby’s entire stylistic presence is predicated on his good-natured intensity; it’s an about-face from the druggy, filtered anhedonia that’s defined much of the biggest hip-hop tracks in recent memory. While maintaining his contract with Interscope, one of America’s best rappers released an album on March 2019, Baby On Baby. For the first time, DaBaby’s album managed to reach number 25 on the Billboard 200 album in the United States. Through this album, the name of DaBaby became big and famous all over the world.
Lil Durk
Hailing from the SouthSide of Chicago, Lil Durk continues to be a rapper that does not shy away from getting deep and personal with listeners. Because of his ability to be transparent about his emotions and past traumas, he is respected by many from the hoods to the hills and his success reflects that. Among his Chicago drill peers, Lil Durk might be the one with the best shot at any kind of sustained commercial success.
Lil Baby
A couple of years ago, Atlanta’s Dominique Jones also known as Lil Baby got out of prison and learned to rap. For someone who was reluctant to join the rap game, he’s now a superstar who’s streaming in the billions and helping to set trends in the music industry. He has positioned himself as an elite rapper in the Hip Hop game, and it seems he gets better with each passing day. The Atlanta native is always busy working on new music, and is always eager drop off short snippets for hungry fans.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
NBA Youngboy is known for his consistency of releasing music regularly. The southern rapper has mastered using YouTube to its fullest capacity. His page has millions of subscribers and is growing rapidly. At one point, he was the most-watched artist across all genres and did it all without fancy marketing tactics, huge promotion budgets or the use of social media viral campaigns. Since 2017, he has secured multiple Recording Industry Association of America-certified platinum albums and mixtapes. By most numerical benchmarks, YoungBoy is among the most successful artists working today.
Fivio Foreign
When it comes to New York hip hop, Fivio Foreign is on fire. Fivio Foreign was also added to the list of “XXL Freshman” in 2020. He was chosen alongside fellow spitters like Polo G, Latto, Lil Tjay, CHIKA, Jack Harlow and Rod Wave. Touting recent features with Ye, French Montana, Lil Tjay, Toosii and more, the New York drill phenom has repeatedly outdone himself in both collaborations and solo tracks in his blossoming career. Continuing to grow at a rapid pace, Fivio Foreign is on track to become the face of New York drill for years to come.
Future
Future, a rapper, singer, and songwriter hailing from Atlanta has released a number of projects including his debut album Pluto (2012), Honest (2014). He’s also released a trio of mixtapes: Monster (2014), Beast Mode (2015), and 56 Nights (2015). His other projects include, DS2 (2015), What a Time to Be Alive (2015, in collaboration with Darke), Evol (2016), Future (2017), Hndrxx (2017), and The Wizrd (2019) all debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. 2020 has see Future and Drake release their single “Life Is Good” with more projects to follow.
Young Thug
Young Thug has been described as departing from traditional rap lyricism and sometimes intelligible meaning. With a host of projects project: Barter 6, Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1, 1017 Thug, Slime Season 2, Beautiful Thugger Girls, the rapper is nowhere near finished. In 2019, he released the song “The London”, a collaboration with J. Cole and Travis Scott as he prepared to release his debut album So Much Fun, on August 16, 2019, the rapper’s birthday. It debuted atop the US Billboard 200, becoming Young Thug’s first US number-one album. He’s also set do a follow-up project in 2020.
J. Cole
J. Cole gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007. He released more mixtapes: The Warm Up (2009) and Friday Night Lights (2010) along with five albums: Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011), Born Sinner (2013), 2014 Forest Hill Drive (2014), 4 Your Eyez Only (2016) and KOD (2018). Set to release his next album The Fall Off (2020), the North Carolina artist has grown up in the game and evolved as an artist. J. Cole has expanded his style to touch young people and old hip-hop heads.
Joyner Lucas
Joyner Lucas, the rapper, singer and songwriter gained recognition for his single “Ross Capicchioni” in 2015. In June 2017, he released his fourth mixtape, 508-507-2209, which was his first on a major label. He then went viral for his single “I’m Not Racist”. This cemented his achievements with two Grammy nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Music Video. Joyner Lucas was also featured on featured on “Lucky You” from Eminem’s tenth album, Kamikaze. He later announced that his debut studio album ADHD will be released in 2020 with six singles already out.
Playboi Carti
Playboi Carti has already gone through multiple eras and become a generational icon. His self-titled debut mixtape was released on April 14, 2017, and his debut studio album, Die Lit, was released on May 11, 2018. Since then his fans have been clamoring for new music. His second studio album, Whole Lotta Red is yet to be released, hopefully in 2020. Asked by The Fader Magazine if Whole Lotta Red is finished, he shrugs: “I could be done if I wanted to. I’m just trying to top shit. I might make the hardest song ever tomorrow.”
Gunna
Young Thug is signed to 300 Entertainment, Atlantic Records and Young Thug’s record label, YSL Records. Gunna was featured on Young Thug’s “Floyd Mayweather” in August 2016. He released his debut mixtape Drip Season through YSL Records followed by Drip Season 2 (2017) and Drip Season 3 (2018). He released the EP Drip or Drown, with YSL producer and close friend Wheezy. His collaboration project Drip Harder with Lil Baby gave him much needed recognition and critical acclaim which, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 200 with the lead single “Drip Too Hard.”
Rick Ross
Rick Ross, the Godfather of paper rap, is now a Grammy nominated rapper for his song “Gold Roses.” But its on this same song that he also comes to terms with the reality that he’ll probably never win one. Having come to the game with his debut hit single, “Hustlin'” in 2006, Ross has released very successful projects. His debut album Port of Miami and Trilla, both debuted at the top on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart. Rick Ross then founded the record label Maybach Music Group in 2009, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap (2009), Teflon Don (2010), God Forgives, I Don’t (2012), Mastermind, Hood Billionaire (2014), Black Market (2015), and Rather You Than Me (2017).
Travis Scott
In 2018, Travis Scott released Astroworld which prodced his first Billboard Hot 100 number one single, “Sicko Mode.” In late 2019, Scott’s record label Cactus Jack Records released the compilation album JackBoys which became the first number one album on the Billboard 200 of the 2020s. As mentioned on XXL Mag, Scott says “Highest in the Room” is on that album. It was a song that I had for a while and I love performing it. It was something I felt I should give to the fans ’cause I felt it was fire…”
Meek Mill
Meek Mill, a rapper born and raised in Philadelphia, signed with Miami-based rapper Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group (MMG). He released his debut album, Dreams and Nightmares in 2012. The album, preceded by the lead single “Amen” (featuring Drake), debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200. His fourth studio album, Championships, was released in November 2018 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. On Highsnobiety Meek also revealed that his drug addiction was partially to blame for his infamous beef with Drake.
Russ
Russ is known for his singles “What They Want” and “Losin Control.” His 13th album, Zoo, was released in 2018, and peaked at no. 4 on the US Billboard 200. His 14th studio album, Shake the Snow Globe, was released in 2020, again peaking at no. 4 on the US Billboard 200. Asked about why everyone hates Russ on The Morning Breakfast Show, he replied “I wore a t-shirt that said, and this is what really started the whole F Russ, you’re making addiction a joke. The shirt said, ‘How much lean and Xanax do you have to do before you realize you’re a fucking loser.’ ”
Big Sean
On July 24, 2019, Big Sean released his first solo single since 2017 titled “Overtime”, produced by Hit-Boy, Key Wane, and the Tucker Brothers. Early this year in 2020, Big Sean sat down with Joe Budden for a 2-hour interview on the new season of Joe Budden’s Pull Up show on YouTubeThe “Sacrifices” rapper recently announced that he’ll be performing at Coachella this year and is prepping his 5th album around that date.
Tory Lanez
Tory Lanez released an album titled Chixtape 5, a mixtape series laced with skits and samples of favorite R&B classics. Tory Lanez also has an upcoming album The New Toronto 3 (2020) with a release date announced for 2020. On working with various features on the Chixtape 5 including Ashanti, Lil Wayne, and Fabolous, Tory Lanez says, “I just went off my favorite records, what meant something to me and what meant something to the culture around me when I was younger. So if a record played a big part of my childhood, that’s what I searched for.”
NLE Choppa
NLE Choppa is a rapper based in Memphis, Tennessee. He is best known for his 2019 breakout single “Shotta Flow”, which was certified platinum by the RIAA. On talking about his full length project on XXL Magazine, NLE Choppa says, “I wanna drop a tape, but I’ve got so many good songs that I want all of them on one fucking tape,” he shares. “I want that one hard-hitter that everybody just remember forever.”
Denzel Curry
Denzel Rae Don Curry is an American rapper Carol City, Florida. Curry released his first mixtape in 2011 and in 2013 released his debut studio album Nostalgic 64, followed by more projects. In 2019, he released his fourth studio album, Zuu. In 2020, Curry released Unlocked an EP collaboration with Kenny Beats, which was accompanied with an animated short film. On MTV, Curry says “You also get glimpses of DMX, but Wu-Tang was the base for it, I wanted to make my own version of their sound.”
Moneybagg Yo
Moneybagg Yo, is a rapper signed to Yo Gotti’s record label, Collective Music Group (CMG). In 2018 Moneybagg Yo released a nine-track mixtape, Bet On Me, with features from YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Lil Baby, and Gunna with the production handled from Tay Keith, Drum God, Javar and others. Moneybagg Yo released his debut studio album Reset in November 2018. He released his second studio album, 43va Heartless, in May 2019, followed by Time Served in January 2020.
Tyga
After a long period of poor sales and negative reviews from previous albums, his May 2018 single, “Taste” featuring Offset, peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, being his first Top 40 single since “Ayo” with Chris Brown in 2015. That single would later serve as the lead single for his seventh album Legendary, which was eventually released in 2019.
A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
A Boogie wit da Hoodie is best known for his singles “Look Back At It” as well as “Drowning” featuring American rapper Kodak Black. He released his debut studio album, The Bigger Artist,in 2017 later releasing his second studio album, Hoodie SZN, in 2018. In 2020, he then released the single from his album Artist 2.0 called ‘King Of My City.” In an interview with Rolling Stone, A Boogie mentioned his relationship with Young Thug, “He uses his voice in ways you wouldn’t even imagine. I took that advice from him. I’m not afraid to show love…”
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