How We Predicted Top Rap Artists to Break in 2020

Methodology

The applications of data analytics in A&R has been a hot topic in the industry for a long time. BigChampagne’s Ultimate Chart, WeAreHunted, NextBigSound, Hype Machine Charts — throughout the years, we’ve seen numerous companies offering A&R scouts a distilled list of hottest acts. But up to this day, no widely available solution allows to answer the primary A&R question: “Which artists are going to make it big next year?”

For the past few months, we’ve spent some time developing an algorithm of our own. Our goal was to tell which artists will break in 2020, and that was no small feat. But we have something unique: a database of 2,5+ million artists, supported by the best in class metadata management system. 

Quickly enough, we realized that there is no such thing as a unified, global A&R chart. Algorithms work with raw figures, which are a by-product of both the artist performance and overarching social, economic, or platform-specific trends. We had to teach the algorithm to tell these trends apart and single out the actual artist's growth. 

That’s why we’ve decided to compare comparable. Instead of trying to benchmark careers across borders and genres, we’ve broken the music industry down into clusters based on the stage of an artist's development, country of origin and so on. Then, we’ve pulled and studied data across all the platforms of the music industry, analyzing the momentum of the artist career at large. 

Tapping into data gathered across YouTube, Deezer, Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Shazam, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as airplay from a number of handpicked local radio stations, our algorithm allows us to identify up-and-coming talent with unmatched accuracy.

Instead of producing another list of “fastest-growing artists”, it locates the surge in engagement, pairing big data analytics with our expertise and industry insight.

Top-20 Rap Artists for 2020: USA

Listen to the top here:

1. Arizona Zervas

Arizona Zervas is the worldwide phenomenon of the end of 2019. Following the viral success of his track Roxanne, the 24 y.o. rapper from Maryland has effectively become one of the hottest acts in the business. The track's journey has started on TikTok in October 2019, and by the end of the month, Roxanne landed on the 1st place of the Spotify Top-200 US Chart, making Arizona Zervas the first-ever independent artist to get that feat since 2017. Since then, Roxanne was played more than 5k times on the radio across the US, and, following in Lil Nas X’s footsteps, the young rapper joined Columbia Records, making him the #1 US act to follow in 2020.  

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2. Lil Tecca

It’s kind of hard to believe that, but in January 2019, Lil Tecca had less than 2k followers on Spotify. Today, his subscribers count on the platform tops 1,1 million. As if that wasn’t enough, we’ve recorded over 59k radio spins for the NY-born rapper throughout 2019 — all while his hit “Ransom” smashed through the charts across all major streaming platforms. While still independent at the time of the “Ransom” release in May 2019, Lil Tecca has since signed a joint venture deal between Galactic Records and Republic Records. Under the new agreement, the rising hip-hop star has already put out his debut mixtape “We Love You Tecca” — but he has still to come through with a full-blown LP. Will we see it in 2020?

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3. Polo G

The 20 y.o. rapper from Chicago has managed to grow his fan base from 16K to over 600K Spotify followers throughout 2019. That is mostly thanks to the release of “Pop Out”, a song that ended up at the 2nd spot of the Youtube’s Top-100 chart in the US. Undoubtedly a highlight of Polo G’s career in 2019, “Pop Out” got him some 30k radio spins around the States since its release in early February. In 2019, Polo G has managed to not only break the drill-rap sound in Chicago, but all over the US, all while keeping his free-agent status — as of December 2019, Polo G remains a fully indie artist (though pulling distribution support from Columbia).

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4. Roddy Ricch

This month alone, the young Compton rapper saw over 25% increase in his aggregated social media following off the back of his collaboration with DJ Mustard on “Ballin” — a track that peaked at the 4th place on the Top-100 YouTube Chart in the US. Yet, it’s not all about the collaborations — this year, Roddy’s own catalog generated over 30k radio spin around the US, an increase of 27,527% vs. the previous year. Just a couple of weeks ago, on December 6th, the LA-rapper had dropped his new album — and we expect it to propel him into the hip-hop mainstream in 2020.

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5. 24Kgoldn

Yet another TikTok-driven success story on our Top-20 US chart, 24Kgoldn, has got his shot this year thanks to his viral hit “Valentino”, that has exploded on the platform around October 2019. Building on that viral clout, the 18 y.o. rapper has just dropped his debut “Dropped Outta College” via Columbia Records. His first commercial release has allowed him to successfully leverage his viral potential, turning it into massive cross-platform social following growth — this month alone, 24Kgoldn has more than doubled his YouTube following from 60K to 135K. This year, the young MC has pulled 1,8K+ radio spins in the US, as radio programmers unacknowledged the hit-potential of “Valentino” — and with the new album just out, we’re sure more hype will follow. 

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6. Social House

Social House got signed in a joint venture between Scooter Braun, TBHits, and Interscope back 2018. First, joining Ariana Grande as a supporting act on her 2019 Sweetener World Tour, they’ve shortly followed through with an Ariana X Social House collab titled “Boyfriend”. The weight of Ariana’s following propelled the track to the third spot on Spotify Top-200 Worldwide chart, while also pulling over 57k radio spins across the US. However, while Ariana Grande’s endorsement has turned Social House into a chart-topping act through the Summer of 2019, since then, things got very quiet for the Pittsburgh duo. However, we see it more like the calm before the storm and expect Social House to make huge waves throughout 2020. 

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7. YK Osiris

Since the beginning of the year, the 24 y.o. R&B crooner has multiplied his Spotify following by a factor of 10, getting from 45K to 483K. Signed to Def Jam records, Jacksonville-native YK Osiris has broken into the Top-10 on Apple Music US Charts with his track “GOSPEL”, while pulling more than 30K radio spins across the country. 

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8. City Girls

Signed to Quality Control Music, the Miami-based duo City Girls was on fire this year. In 2019, they’ve managed to score more than 86k radio plays, while their top single “Act Up” reached the 5th position on the Apple Music Chart in around March, to stay in the ranking up until October 2019. The duo composed Yung Miami and JT is now cooking up a new album — while JT has just been released after serving a 16-months jail sentence.

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9. Layton Greene

St-Louis native Layton Greene has become an enormous radio success this year, pulling over 20K radio plays in the US alone. The 21-years old singer was the first R&B act signed on Quality Control Music. Following her radio breakout, Her single featuring “Leave Em Alone” reached the 11th spot on the Top US Shazam Chart around October and stayed in the top-20 up to this day. The radio promotion paired up with excellent Shazam performance, successfully translated into a massive upsurge in streaming consumption metrics: from May to November 2019, Layton Greene grew her monthly listenership on Spotify from under 250k to whopping 2,2M.

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10. Lil Tjay

Lil Tjay has enjoyed massive traction across streaming platforms this year. In 2019, he went from 22k to over 650k in Spotify subscribers with no less than six songs off his new album — “FN”, “Brothers”, “Hold On”, “One Take”, “Leaked”, and “LANESWITCH” — making it into the Spotify Top-200 US Chart. While he’s yet to make significant waves on the radio, we predict that 2020 will be the year when the 18 y.o. rapper out of Bronx makes his big break.

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11. Dominic Fike

Florida-based rapper Dominic Fike signed a 4$M deal with Columbia Records back in 2018. That deal led to him withdrawing his first ep “Don’t Forget About Me, Demos” from across the streaming platforms — before re-releasing it in 2018 under the Columbia’s banner. This year, the young talent has managed to fully capitalize on that release to make him a worldwide phenomenon — getting more than 160K radio spins across the globe with only 1/4th coming from the US. All while he released just three new songs throughout 2019, it was the year when he’s managed to really grow his fanbase, getting from 13 to 200k Spotify followers. 

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12. Rod Wave

Born Rodarius Marcel Green, the 20 years old rapper from Florida, got his first (and quite modest) radio coverage this year, pulling 142 spins on the US-based radio. However, his mediocre radio performance hasn’t stopped him from getting massive traction across social media upon releasing his latest album “Ghetto Gospel” — described by many music critics at Pitchfork and XXL Mag as a masterpiece. Building on the rave reviews of his most recent LP, Rod Wave has more than doubled his audience on both Instagram and Spotify — from 450k to 1.2M and from 70k to 150k, accordingly — all in a matter of a single month. 

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13. Stunna 4 Vegas

Come January 2019, Stunna 4 Vegas had around 700 followers on his Spotify account. A few months later, his collab on DaBaby’s “REALLY” propelled the rapper out of North Carolina into the top-10 of Apple Music US Charts — the song has peaked at the 9th spot around September 2019. Stunna 4 Vegas was able to leverage this exposure to build a substantial following of its own. Getting several acclaimed rappers on his debut LP — Offset and DaBaby being the prime attractions — DaBaby’s Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment sign-y, Stunna 4 Vegas managed to get his subscriber count on Spotify up to 90k+, and counting.

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14. Iann Dior

The young Texas-based rapper got some significant traction lately. In the last month alone, has was able to score a 36% increase in his aggregated, cross-platform audience. With two of his songs, “Gone Girl” and “Dark Side”, making it to the Top-200 Spotify Chart this year, the 20 y.o. rapper was recently interviewed by XXL Mag — just as his debut LP “Industry Plant” hit all the streaming platforms. Throughout December 2019, the songs of his first album generated more than 900 spins across the States: a promise for a bright future? 

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15. Sudan Archives

Having just released her debut album, mixing R&B infused beats with violin instruments, Sudan Archives built up massive clout this year on her socials and streaming platforms alike. Going from just 3K Spotify followers in January to 67k by the end of November, the 25 y.o. LA-based artist has spread wide — building up a sizable audience both in the US and all over the globe. This year she’s pulled more than 5k radio spins worldwide — with only 650 of them coming from the US (still an increase of over 1,000% vs. the previous year, though). Backed by the New-York Times, we bet 2020 will be the year the R&B singer conquers her domestic market.

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16. NoCap

Going from 2,5K to over 100k Spotify followers in the last 12 months, the 21 y.o. Alabama-based rapper has made his big break this year with his album “The Hood Dictionary”. A few weeks prior to the album’s release, the rapper was arrested for discharging a firearm within the city limits — and the album benefited greatly from the extended coverage of the NoCap’s arrest. Following up on his PR driven success, we expect the controversial rapper signed to Globe Lyfe Entertainment (Atlantic Records/Warner Music subsidiary) to blow up in 2020.

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17. Tyla Yaweh

With more than 3.2K radio spins in the US this year, Tyla Yaweh has really made a name for himself. The LA-based rapper has signed a record deal with Epic Records (Sony Music) in February 2019 and released his first album, “Heart Full Of Rage” the same month. The release attracted some significant attention as his Spotify following grew from 6.3K to over 75K. Building upon the success of the album, his latest single “I Think I Luv Her” got into the Spotify Viral-50 US Chart, peaking at the 28th spot. Will the next album of the 24 y.o. singer be the one to cement his place in the hip-hop stardom?

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18. Lil Keed

Yet another young talent coming from the prolific Atlanta rap-scene, Lil Keep, had a lot of traction on Spotify this year, getting from 9k to 241K followers throughout 2019. Thanks to a couple of major collabs — Young Thug’s “Big Tipper” being the prime example — Lil Keep’s pseudonym could be found this year on top charts across both Apple Music and Spotify. The 21 y.o. rapper signed on the YSL Records (managed by Young Thug) was also made it big on the radio this year, with his song “Nameless” charting on Billboard Airplay Chart. The entirety of his catalog amassed over 3K plays across the US-radio this year — and we have all reasons to believe his growth will only accelerate in 2020.

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19. Shordie Shordie

A former member of Peso da Mafia, Shordie Shordie charted across all major streaming platforms this year with his single “Bitchuary”, released late 2018. The 23 y.o. rapper went solo in December, releasing his debut LP “Captain Hook”. Now signed to Warner Bros. Records, the Baltimore rapper has gathered over 2.4K radio plays in 2019, and scoring features from the top music publications like Fader or XXL Mag.

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20. Londynn B

The Atlanta-based rapper Londynn B is the breakout success of the new Netflix show “Rhythm + Flow”. Th used-to-be hair-dresser impressed the public with her raw talent, making it to the finals of the show to end up on the third spot. Thanks to the Netflix-casted spotlight, she went from 600 to over 56K followers on Spotify in a single month, while her song “I Can’t Change” charted in the Viral-50 US Spotify, peaking at the 6th spot in November.

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Top-20 Rap Artists for 2020: France-Belgium

Listen to the top here:

1. Gambi

With 4,942 airplay spins this year, Fontenay-native Gambi is unquestionably the biggest French rap phenomenon of late 2019. There is no doubt that Gambi will mark a new page in French rap. Since early September, the 20-year-old rapper's social and streaming platforms went crazy. In a matter of months, he went from 15 to 150 thousand followers on Deezer — and similar dynamics can be found across all of his artist platforms. 

Not one, but two of his tracks, "Popopop" and "Hé Ho", topped the French charts on all major streaming platforms, reaching the #1 spot on Spotify's Top-200, Apple Music All Genres and Deezer's Top charts alike. Signed on Rec 199, a label under Warner Music France, there is no doubt that 2020 will be a massive year for the new prince of French Hip-Hop. 

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2. Chily

Born in Chevilly, a small city in Val-de-Marne, Chily has barely escaped a jail sentence this summer as he faced aggravated violence and insulting behavior charges. That, however, hasn't stopped him from getting on radio playlists across France. From early May to mid-November, Chily accumulated more than 1,600 radio spins, thanks to his chart-smashing hit San Pellegrino, which reached the fifth place on Spotify's Top-200 FR back in July. Shortly thereafter, the young rapper made headlines on Le Parisien and was picked up by Arista, the label under the Sony Music France umbrella. A new project is on the pipe: it should probably land on all the platforms at the beginning of 2020, stay tuned!

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3. Landy

Since January 2019, the 22-year-old rapper from Saint-Denis had over 3,5K radio spins in France — an increase of 4912% compared to 2018. Originally coming from Joliot-Curie block, in 2019, Landy has managed to triple his Spotify following. That was in part due to his hit collab with Dadje "Muerte" — released early 2019. By March, the song got launched on Apple Music All Genres charts, peaking at the third spot. There is no doubt that in 2020, we'll see the rappers upward trend propelling his into the big league of French rap. 

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4. Zola

From January to November 2019, Zola went from 66k to 330k Spotify followers, pulling together an increasingly engaged fan base. The highlight of the year for Essonne-based rapper was his collab with Ninho on "Papers" — the song that launched him to the 5th position on Spotify charts in France. Already spotted by the Inrocks and Booska-P, Zola is, without a doubt, one of the rising stars of the French hip-hop scene. But even more importantly, he already got his first mentions from mainstream French publications like La Provence and 20 Minutes — a proof of undeniable and wide-reaching heat.

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5. Eva

The newspapers often (wrongly) describe Eva only as the sister of a French reality TV star — yet, there's a pretty good chance in the coming year her music becomes her first bragging right. Throughout 2019 Eva has pulled through with a number of commercial successes, managing to build up a massive fan community both around her persona and her music. With the songs of her debut album "Queen" played more than 11,000 times on the radio, and her Deezer follower count multiplied by a factor of 14 this year, there's no surprise the 18 y.o. rising star is already signed to Universal Music. And 2020 is already full of exciting news: with a Zenith tour organized across the French territorry in May and some festival dates already announced for this summer...

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6. 100 Blaze

The Marseille-based rapper signed to Def Jam France label had an outstanding year in 2019. First, his collaboration with Koba laD on "Binks" brought him over 600 radio spins around France. Then, following his face reveal on the second season of "Rentre Dans le Cercle", the rising rapper exploded on Spotify, increase his follower base from 18k to 76k in a matter of months. Known for his bi-lingual freestyle skills, 100 Blaze is definitely on track to become one of the hottest French rappers in 2020. 

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7. Tsew The Kid

Tsew's latest single "Peur de sombrer" is taking over the French radio waves as we speak — already picked up by Ado FM, BlackBox, and Générations — but in fact, his story began a few months ago. The Essonne-based rapper made his first big break back in November with "Wouna", a track that propelled him to the 44th spot on the Deezer's Top France. The Madagascar-born 22-year-old artist is now at the breaking point of his career, getting his first features in publications like Le Monde and Konbini, which are taking a massive interest in the rising rap phenomenon.

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8. 47ter

47ter is a collective of three 22 y.o. rappers: Pierre-Paul, Blaise and Miguel, all coming from the Yvelines, a region west of Paris. The trio of collaborators has just released their debut album, mixing freestyles with the iconic beats of hip-hop classics. Their single "Côte Ouest" has turned the rap collective into a streaming sensation: the song peaked on the 5th place then on Spotify's Top 200 FR following its release in July, and still going strong now at the 10th place in the rankings. Prominently featured in hip-hop publications like Booska-P, and with a French tour on the go (24 gigs programmed, already 13 fully booked), there is no doubt that the 47ter left to continue their ascent to fame throughout 2020.

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9. Diddi Trix

With his "Chien d 'la Casse" climbing up to 52nd place on Youtube Top-100 in France late August, the Bondy-native rapper began to show his fangs. Diddi released his debut album "Trix City" via Awa label owned by Sony Music in 2019. Since then, he crossed the milestone of first 500 radio spins in France, pulled some heat on the radio in Belgium, and entered a stage of exponential growth on streaming platforms, going from 1K to 50K followers on Deezer in just eight months. 

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10. Imen Es

For the Sevran-born singer Imen Es, the peak of the year was the release of "Oui" in early November. The new track got up to the 15th position on Apple Music All Genres Charts in France and helped her get her first radio airplay, with over 1,800 spins amassed under her Soundcharts profile throughout the year. At just 20 years old, the young R&B artist already got mentions in from Hip-Hop publications like Booska-P and Rapunchlinehas — surely a sign of a bright future ahead of her, and we bet 2020 will become a year of her nationwide breakout.

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11. Anas

This year, the 24-year-old rapper went from under 1K to 20K followers on Deezer, with his song "En l'Air" charting on Youtube's Top 100 in France throughout this fall. Already getting some hear on social media, Lille-native rapper was discovered back in 2018 by the south of France famous rapper YL, also owner of the Bilka Prod label (Sony Music). Shortly thereafter, YL signed him to his label to release his 2019 debut "Dans mon Monde".

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12. Bolémvn

Bolémvn is a part of the influential (and very prolific) collective "7binks" coming from the same appartment block out over Evry, Essonne. Thanks to his collaboration with Bat 7's prodigy Koba laD (who also happens to be Bolémvn's cousin) on "Sankhare #4", the young rapper has been a part of Spotify's Top-200 since the beginning of September. With his tracks gathering 500+ radio spins this year, we look forward to the next project of the rising Evry talent.

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13. Key Largo

Originally from Gonesse in the Val d'Oise, the rap-duo was signed to Def Jam France back in April. In an interview given to Superbe, Le Purple (½ of the rising rap group) told that he picked this name after listening to one of Booba's songs that mentioned Key Largo, an island located south of Miami. Fueling a steady growth across all the major streaming services, Key Largo's song "Attaque" entered Viral-50 Charts in France in early November 2019 — yet we expect that's just a first get in a long list to come.

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14. Shotas

Another talent linked to the "7binks" collective, the young Evry-based rapper Shotas, put out his debut mixtape "Capuché" this year. The release earned him coverage by Booska-P and powered an explosive streaming growth, getting him from 600 to 26K Spotify followers (as of November 2019). His biggest song of the new release, "LVC" has already made waves on the Spotify Top-200 — yet, we're sure there's much more to in stock. 

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15. ZeGuerre

ZeGuerre proudly represents the renaissance of the Lyon hip-hop scene. Discovered by Fianso in 2019, ZaGuerre is now signed to Affranchis Music (managed by Fianso), a label under Capitol Records/Universal Music. Since then, the young rapper has released numerous freestyles under the name Corsé, with some of them getting into Spotify Viral-50 charts in France. 

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16. YUZMV

Like many of the rappers on our UK top-20 list, YUZMV hides his true identity. However, that hasn't stopped him from having an explosive success across streaming services in 2019. Three of his songs have been included in Spotify Viral-50 Charts, with "Episode IIII - Les Mains Libres" also getting viral on TikTok, reaching the first spot on the France top-40 TikTok rankings. As the TikTok's viral power is not really a question on the brink of 2020, we predict a bright future for the 21 y.o. rapper from Perpignan.

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17. ICO

Salim Elakkari, Brussels-based rapper behind the ICO alias, grew up in the Koekelberg district. His approach to social media allowed him to develop a significant fan base even before the release of his debut "Petit con" in 2019. A master of quirky lyrics, the rapper got his first break on the Belgium radio with 250+ spins recorded this year. Now, his blowing up in France with his track "Siri 3" launched into Spotify's Top-200 in November.

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18. Luv Resval

 Luv Resval released his first EP late 2018 in collaboration with Alkpote, who can be considered somewhat of the young rapper's mentor in the hip-hop world. The Essonne-based artist has been getting an extremely warm reception from his growing audience across France — check the comments under any of his YouTube videos and see for yourself. His track Celebration, released via Dj Kore's label Awa (Sony Music) in June 2019, became the prominent phenomenon on Instagram, propelling him into the Instagram Trending Charts in France. Luv Resval has already mentioned a new project in the pipe — according to the artist, it will see the light of day in 2020.

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19. Zed Yun Pavarotti

Backed by the "Le Fair" (which Soundcharts has been supporting since 2017), Zed Yun Pavarotti is now enjoying steady and robust growth across all dimensions of his career. In 2019, he went from 90k to 153K monthly listeners on Spotify, with comparable dynamics visible across all the artist's platforms. Signed to Artside, the 22 y.o rapper out of Saint-Etienne released his second album "French Cash" in 2019, gathering rave reviews from the music publications like Clique and Konbini.
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20. Kobo

This year, Belgium-based Kobo, attracted the attention of music critics and audiences alike, featured in publications like Introcks and Konbini. Throughout 2019, he got himself over 250 radio spins across France and Belgium, all while going strong on streaming services. Since April 2019, Kobo has more than tripled his Spotify following, getting from 3k to 10k by late November.

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Top-20 Rap Artists for 2020: UK

Listen to the top here:

1. Aitch

Following the release of AitcH2O in September 2019, Aitch is now on track to become one of the hottest UK rappers of 2020. Following the release of his commercial debut, 19 y.o. w\rapper managed to score some major coverage from publications like Forbes, landed on the first spot of Spotify’s top-200 UK. But even though the Manchester-born rapper is getting some serious traction across social media and streaming services, his greatest power is in his radio presence: by mid-November 2019, he amassed more than 23k radio spins across the UK. 

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2. Jay1

Often categorized as a drill rapper, the Coventry-native Jay1 has managed to get massive traction on his social accounts following the release of his debut EP in 2019. Kicking the year off with less than 8k followers on Spotify, by mid-November, Jay1 multiplied that number by a fraction of 14, gathering over 114k followers under his account. The 18-years old rising star has already been featured in The Guardian, who recently wrote an extensive piece covering his concert at the Electric Balloon.

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3. DigDat

One of the most promising talents of the London drill-scene, DigDat was a part of Complex’s “Ones to Watch” list, published back in January 2019. Since then, the MC managed to get his first radio spins across the key global markets, getting on the air in Germany, Australia, and the US. On the streaming side of things, while DigDat has yet to conquer the worldwide charts, his UK traction is undeniable, with each new single reaching a new high on the local Spotify Charts. 

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4. NSG

Through 2019, the East London collective NSG amassed over 12K radio spins in the UK, with their song “Options” scoring status of a global viral hit, peaking at the 4th positions on the Spotify Viral-50 Worldwide charts. Kruddz, ODG, Papii Abz, Mxjib, and Mojo have now positively put the Afro Bashment scene in the spotlight, scoring articles from Pitchfork, Fader, and alike. No doubt that we will hear from them in the coming year. 

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5. Russ Mb (AKA Russ, Russ Splash and MC Russ)

Russ MB has many names — but more importantly, he has many talents. This year, the Levisham-based MC attracted the attention of the likes of Noisey and pulled together near 5K spins on the UK airwaves. His single “Keisha & Becky” peaked at the 28th position in the Spotify Chart top-200, making him one of the hottest acts of the South London drill-scene on par with DigDat.

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6. Bandokay (and the rest of OFB members)

OFB (aka Original Farm Boys) is a Tottenham-based drill-collective composed of three young MCs: SJ, Double LZ, and Bandokay. Recently, the band lit major media interest with Guardian making a feature article on their daily life. Bandokay is the son of Mark Duggan, who was shot by the police in 2011, the event that became nationwide news, igniting protests across the UK. Now, Bandokay is getting a lot of heat on his own, with his song “Once in a While” getting into playlists of some of the biggest radio stations in the UK, from BBC 1 to Reprezent.

7. Digga D

Rhys Herbert, the 19-years old rapper coming from Ladbroke Grove, produced a chart-smashing story this year with his “No Diet” getting to the 21st position in Spotify’s Top 200 back in May. However, the story of Digga D began way before that. Back in 2018, Digga D, along with other members of 1011 collective, were handed a CBO, or Criminal Behaviour Order'. This meant that from now on, all their songs had to be screened by the police before the release. Ironically enough, that event alone has launched the Digga D’s career to the next level, with his tracks amassing over 2k radio spins in the Uk throughout 2019.

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8. Ms Banks

Ms Banks was the surprise guest announced at the 2019 AIM Awards show, where she performed in front of a crowd of UK music professionals. Her first break came long before 2019, as she got her first significant exposure back in 2017 when she got featured as a supporting act for Cardi B’s UK tour. This year, however, the 25 y. o. singer has managed to a lot bigger: this month alone, her audience across all social media grew over 10% — all while her aggregated radio spin count for 2019 has surpassed 9K, and still counting. 

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9. Poundz

“Opp Thot” is a hit. That’s it. Since its release, the song has seen massive support on the UK radio, including heavyweights like Beats 1. Poundz got his first traction through Tik-Tok as Opp Thot has gone viral on the platform before landing on the 40th position on Spotify’s Top 200 UK chart. Since then, the 22-years old rapper was featured in magazines such as Clash and CapitalXtra — all while Poundz has yet to come through with his first album. 

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10. Fredo

The Drake-endorsed 25 y.o. MC saw a 12% surge in the number of followers across his social media in the workplace last month alone. Since January 2019, he more than doubled the number of his Spotify followers and got shoutouts from The Sun and Financial Times. In 2019, Fredo got his song on the air in more than 30 countries around the globe — so there’s a good chance we see Fredo becoming a global act in 2020.

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11. K-Trap

With three long play albums under his belt, the South London rapper rose to the 29th position of the Apple Music all genres chart in July 2019 with his first feature breakout, “I Spy”. The song stayed in the top-100 up to this day. Known for wearing a Balaclava to hide his identity, the emerging MC has recently revealed his true face, which might be a sign of a big release to come. Meanwhile, his new song “Exit” has been making waves on UK Tik Tok charts — so, will we see another viral success story out of the UK? 

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12. Swarmz

Born in Coventry 22 years ago, Swarmz got on some prominent features recently, sharing the mic with Russ on “Keisha & Becky”, and Dappy & Deno on “Motorola”. The carefully placed feats allowed him to get over 7k radio spins this year, and generate some considerable press across publications like Complex and Clash Magazine.

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13. Hamzaa

A rising R&B singer endorsed by Stormzy, Hamzaa has already made some waves not only in the UK, but all over Europe and the US. Out of 1,5K+ radio spins she has scored throughout 2019, more than half is coming from outside the UK. There’s a good chance the gifted R&B singer will follow in the steps of the likes of Jorja Smith in 2020. 

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14. M Huncho

M Huncho is another balaclava-wearing rapper on our top-20 list. Since January, North London rapper has more than doubled the number of his daily views on YouTube, all while getting some traction on the radio, amassing over 5K spins in the UK in 2019. While the rapper has still to unveil his true identity, M Huncho is no shy of the interviews: back in April, he was caught on Noisey talking about his long-term plans — we will keep our eyes peeled throughout 2020 for what might come next.

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15. Sav’o

A frequent collaborator of Digga D, Sav’o is currently held in detention, serving a year-long sentence. Member of the ex 1011 (now CGM) drill-band, Ladbroke Grove-native rapper had his song “Violent Siblings” peaking in the Most Viral Uk Chart of Spotify in September.

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16. Alicai Harley

Jamaican-born, London-based Alicai Harley has scored over 4K radio spins on the UK radio throughout 2019. With her song “Instruction” charting on several Apple Music charts in the UK, Alicai was also featured in Clash Magazine, Fact and The Fader. Just 22 y.o., the young talented singer is now ready to explode.

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17. Deno

Formerly known as a member of AJ X Deno, the UK rapper has kicked off his solo career in 2019 out of necessity, as his collaborator AJ Jacobs has been stabbed in late August and has yet to recover from the wound. However, the new artistic setup didn’t put out the Deno’s fire, with 4 of his songs charting on Spotify’s top-200 UK throughout 2019. Besides, the 17-years old South London rapper has made his first significant airplay, pulling together over 4,5K spins throughout the year. 

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18. Darkoo

That’s Soundcharts’ bet. The London-based rapper has released only one song so far, but what a tune! Throughout November 2019, Darkoo’s "Gangsta" has entered various charts in the UK, including Shazam and Spotify Top-200. She has also scored some attention from the top music publications (Pitchfork being the main achievement) and radio, as her breakout since has generated more than a thousand spins since its release in November. 

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19. SL

SL is yet another masked rapper who’s been getting vast amounts of radio attention since March 2019. By mid-November, SL has managed to pull together over 2,5k radio spins. Besides, the 18-years old rapper coming from Peckham has already got his first major interview with Noisey, where, among other things, he explained that the mask is not just to hide his face.

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20. Dolapo

Powered by her collaboration with Mostack on “Make me Fall in Love & You Can Keep Me Forever”, Dolapo peaked at the 37th position on the Apple Music All Genre Charts. The Tottenham-based singer has gathered a bit over 1,000 spins since early June, with publications like Hunger and FWord taking note of her talent. 

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* This chart is limited to acts that have made their first commercial release after 2017.

** Unknown T was originally a part of the chart, but due to the fact that he has been charged with murder, we’ve decided to withdraw his name from the list.