There have been a number of rap artists that have changed the face of the genre. Names like the Notorious BIG, Tupac, MF DOOM, Dr. Dre, and more recently names like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. However, just like many of the artists I just mentioned, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole seem to be winding down on their careers and slowly passing the torch to the next generation.
Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole have done quite well when it comes to the way they are reviewed by critics and with their commercial success. Rap music is sometimes a more difficult of a genre to break into the mainstream because of the unique and sometimes experimental beats many rappers like to use. But Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole have found ways to blend the lines of making good rap music while also appealing to a mainstream audience through their storytelling and rapping skills.
Roger Cosby/Unsplash
So while these two artists are slowly starting to wind down their careers, who are primed to take over their shoes? Drake is an artist who is as big as them and probably bigger than these two artists and doesn’t seem to be slowing down making music anytime soon. However, Drake doesn’t do exclusively rap, so it feels a bit wrong to add him to this conversation.
If you were to ask me who the next two big names in rap will be, it will without a doubt be JID and Denzel Curry. Both these artists are coming off a 2022 where they released albums that were received quite well by fans and critics. They both are great storytellers and use very unique beats while carrying their own style of music. Both these artists have spectacular discographies as they both don’t have a bad album in my opinion.
JID has grown into such a superstar, he got the crowds going CRAZY at his concerts 🐐🔥 pic.twitter.com/BepJXKv1hf
— Hip Hop All Day (@HipHopAllDayy) January 25, 2023
Another artist who I feel will make some noise soon is Doechii. Doechii has such a fun style of music, a bit similar to someone like Megan Thee Stallion or Doja Cat, but her flows and rapping ability are incredibly infectious and easy to bop to.
The one thing these three artists don’t have is a big mainstream song. Denzel Curry did have Clout Cobain, but that wasn’t as big, and JID was on Enemy by Imagine Dragons, but that is not his song. Doechii has yet to have a really big mainstream hit either.
However, I believe that these three artists are all primed to have a mainstream hit in the near future. We’ve seen glimpses of it happening, but we haven’t had that big hit just yet.
Regardless of if it happens or not, rap music is in good hands with these three taking the wheel.