5 Rising Artists You Should Listen to: November Edition
As a huge fan of music in general there’s little I love more than finding a super talented small artist who has a great sound but just hasn't had enough exposure to go “mainstream”. The following artists come from a colorful variety of backgrounds but one thing they all share is an underappreciated talent and limitless potential.
AJ Radico
The rap scene in New York has been synonymous with drill music for some time. Drill is a hard-hitting style of rap that has its roots in Chicago before being transplanted to the UK and finally, UK drill came back across the pond to influence NY drill. With the posthumous rise of NY rapper Pop Smoke, many NY artists have been incorporating elements of the drill into their sound, but there remain some NY rappers who have stayed in their own lane musically. AJ Radico exemplifies this perfectly, with his self-produced beats that provide a very unique and varied sound with eccentric flairs at times. On his latest project Transit, AJ made use of “found sounds” which are random sounds recorded on the subway to match with his transportation-themed album.
Songs to listen to: Ballhog, Vertigo, Armor
2. Paris Texas
One of my favorite varieties of artists are those who take a genre in a new direction, specifically those who do it well.Paris Texas definitely checks that box. The duo from LA has a sound that expertly spans rock and rap using the best elements of both, and their songs run that gamut.The group has recently started climbing with shoutouts from the likes of Schoolboy Q. With only an album and an EP out now, their library is limited but already incredibly strong.
Songs to listen to: Force of Habit, RHM, Bullseye
3. Q:
The origin of this artist’s single-letter name comes from his full legal name, Q Steven Marsden. In the infancy of his music career, this made him pretty difficult to search for. Now that he’s more established with his one major hit, “Take Me Where Your Heart Is” Q is not so hard to find. Q brings his own flair to R&B with a sound that is maybe most reminiscent of someone like Steve Lacy. Now signed to Columbia Records, Q draws on his current love of Jazz as well as his parental influences of 70’s music like Earth Wind and Fire.
Songs to listen to: Alone, Lavender, Take Me Where Your Heart Is
4. Oliver Malcom
The story of a prolific producer-turned-solo musician is a common one and Oliver Malcom is no different. The Swedish born, London raised artist developed his producing chops making songs for the likes of Joey Bada$$, IDK, and Tinashe, and before that participated in beat battles in LA. Now Malcom is developing his own genre-bending sound which can go from Kanye-esque to sounding like a Gorillaz song. You can never quite pin him down to one genre.
Songs to listen to: Kevin, Runaway, Outside
5. Baby Queen
It makes sense that Baby Queen’s first musical influence was Taylor Swift. When listening to her for the first time my initial thought was: “Wow this is Taylor Swift if she was British and went a lot harder.” This isn't too far off from reality. Baby Queen's lyrics capture the grittier and less glamorous dimensions of being a young adult in the 21st century.hHer song Internet Religion speaks to the way we worship a fake virtual version of ourselves and use social media to feed egos. If you were on the Olivia Rodrigo train you’ll love Baby Queen.
Songs to listen to: Raw Thoughts, Want Me, Internet Religion