Celebrating National Hip-Hop Month: 7 Emerging Hip-Hop Artists To Get Familiar With
Written by: @_BlairMoon
Hip Hop has been around since the 70’s and has persevered through many obstacles since its inception. Today, it’s one of the top genres in the world with everyone wanting to try a hand at rapping or featuring Hip-Hop artists on their songs no matter the genre.
Back in August, the US Senate passed Resolution 331 which officially designated November 2021 as ‘Hip Hop History Month'.
So in honor of celebrating Hip Hop History month, I have curated a list of 7 Hip-Hop artists to pay attention to.
*All of the artists mentioned below can be found on streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, etc.
Counting down, there is:
7. B Free
B Free is an up-and-coming rapper in Detroit, Michigan who according to Motown Musician Accelerator is “Detroit’s menace in paradise.” B Free has been very consistent with getting his name out to the masses and releasing music. Since 2018, B Free has released projects titled ‘Motor City Menace’, ‘Lost in Paradise’, ‘Dead or Alive’ and more recently “Bloom in a Dark Room.’ B Free has his own unique style of rapping by connecting anime to hip-hop and even calls himself the “Rap Game Hokage.” He has accomplished many impressive feats in his career by becoming the official ambassador for the Detroit Pistons and obtaining partnerships with brands like Puma. Music-wise he’s collaborated with Diggy and has performed at festivals sharing the same stage as artists like Lil Wayne, Young Dolph, and Rich The Kid. He is also a part of the Detroit group 'Forever Golden'.
Instagram: @officialbfree
6. Ace Bugey
Ace Bugey is another one out of Michigan who you should have your eyes on. Whether it’s his own projects like ‘What’s The Rush’, ‘Mr. Nice Guy’, ‘Do Better’ or collaborative projects with rapper 313phresh, like ‘All Love’ and ‘Deion’, Ace Bugey is telling stories based on personal relationships and life experiences. From topics such as love to heartbreak, Ace Bugey isn’t afraid to get vulnerable and state what it is he’s really thinking. The video for his latest single ‘Pressure/ Numb’ just dropped last week.
Instagram: @acebugey
5. Wes Lee The Wordsmith
Wes Lee The Wordsmith is a poet/ rapper on the rise who is bringing “Raw Soul back into Hip-Hop.” He recently released a song titled ‘Flying Lotus’ where he expresses how “The beauty in the struggle brought the freedom to my soul.” Wes Lee The Wordsmith has a unique style of rapping preferring “dope beats rather than haikus.” His new album “COPE Deluxe” was released through his production company, Bonzeye Productions, to streaming services on November 1st. The effort explores the different experiences that Wes Lee The Wordsmith has encountered and chooses the positive outcome whether in good or trying situations.
Instagram: @wesleethewordsmith
4. Lana LaDonna
Female rap is back and thriving. From 2018-2020 female rappers have been back at the forefront of Hip-Hop and have become a norm in the music industry again. There’s a new female rapper who has hit the scene and is getting ready to take over and she goes by Lana LaDonna. Lana Ladonna who moved from Detroit to Atlanta to take her career to the next level has deemed herself as the “Voice of the Gworls.” Lana has been dropping music since 2019. From her first two tracks ‘Easy (Freestyle)’ and ‘Get a Check’ Lana has been consistently releasing music and videos to keep growing a following. Lana’s EP ‘$B1GLAN’ released back in 2019 showed she had the confidence, bars, and skills to launch her to superstardom. She also released a video for her single 'Alluhdat' last month.
Instagram: @lanaladonna
3. Curtis Roach
Curtis Roach is an up-and-coming rapper out of Detroit that helped us all get through quarantine. He is the creator of the Tik Tok trend that we all know as “I’m bored in the house and I’m in the house bored." That video became a viral sensation and even spawned an official remix with Tyga. Though Curtis received notoriety from his popular Tik Tok, he’s been releasing music since before then. Curtis released his project ‘Lellow’ back in 2019 and is currently gearing up to release his new album ‘The Joy Tape’ this Friday, November 5th.
Instagram: @curtistootrill
2. Lonr
Lonr is not only a rapper but a singer as well. After performing his H.E.R. assisted single ‘Make the Most’ live at the BET Awards back in 2020, Lonr has been making big moves to ensure he leaves a mark in the industry. Lonr has released “Land of Nothing Real” and more recently dropped “Land of Nothing Real 2” in October which features collaborations with Coi Leray and Yung Bleu. Lonr was also featured on ‘The Reminiscence’ starring Hugh Jackman and Thandie Newton soundtrack with a song titled ‘Save My Love’ featuring Amber Mark.
Instagram: @1lonr
1. Domani
Though he may be the son of one of Hip-Hop's biggest artists, that didn’t stop him from putting in the work to make a name for himself. Domani has worked his way up from handing out his mixtape at Rolling Loud back in 2019 to performing at music festivals himself. Domani has been consistent with releasing music since 2017 and shows no signs of slowing down as he just released his latest album ‘Skydive’ back in September which features popular songs like ‘Henny & Crystals’, ‘I Know it’s Real’, ‘Numb’ and Rapsody & Anthony Hamilton assisted track ‘Fallin’.
Instagram: @Domani