Hip Hop saw a flood of new releases in 2013. While the year opened still feeling the impact of Kendrick Lamar’s good kid m.A.A.d city, throughout the year, most of the game’s heavy hitters released new projects. Whether it was Kanye’s polarizing Yeezus, Jay-Z’s platinum before it released Magna Carta Holy Grail or Drake’s emotion fest, Nothing Was the Same, there has been so much to talk about. Releases that would have been bigger talking points have been swept under the rug. With that being said, hype and quality are two totally different things. While established names have drawn huge attention to their projects, some of the best music released in 2013 was made by relative newcomers.
As the line blurs between proper retail albums, free EPs and projects which begin as unsanctioned DatPiff.com downloads but end up as official iTunes releases, it’s equally hard to classify Hip Hop’s “Rookies.” The distinction was formerly marked by a lack of a physical album. But with compact discs and other physical media slowly inching closer toward pagers in graveyard of dead technology, categorizing newcomers is an equally difficult proposition. Semantics aside, listeners know a less-heralded but potentially transcendent talent like Chance the Rapper when they hear and see one. It can’t be guaranteed any of the following emcees will one day be able to sell a million copies of an album to a corporation before release, but listeners looking for quality music should keep their eyes on HIpHopDX’s rising stars of 2013.
Chance the Rapper
Of HipHopDX’s 2013 rookie class, Chance the Rapper has to be considered the LeBron James (circa 2003) of it all. While several of the game’s heavy hitters dropped projects in 2013, as far as quality, Chance’s “Acid Rap” is viewed as superior to most major releases in several circles. In addition to dropping the aforementioned “Acid Rap,” 2013 found Chance appearing on Mac Miller’s “Space Migration Tour” and headlining his own “Social Experiment Tour.” His “Lonely Thoughts” collaboration with Rapsody, from her “She Got Game” project was golden, and he provided one of the very few high points off Lil Wayne’s tepid “Dedication 5.” While Chance “Doesn’t Drake, but he gets his Trey on,” his melodic flow that often transitions to singing is undoubtedly soulful. A new voice of Chicago, Chance doesn’t necessarily blend in with most of the other up and comers from the ‘Go, or the old guard.
Vic Mensa
Had Vic Mensa released “Innanetape” last year, we’d probably view things differently. Avoiding the Vic Mensa/Chance the Rapper comparison is impossible. Fortunately enough, this isn’t a DMX/Ja Rule situation. Friends and members of the Save Money crew before the fame, fans of both of the talented artists can hopefully look forward to collaborations from the two for years to come. Vic’s time spent with the band, Kids These Days gives him a composure most wouldn’t expect from an artists his age. His style varies, just like Chance; however, he comes across as more of as a straight spitter than his Chicago brethren, while still being able to give off vibes of artists like Pharcyde (see “Orange Soda”).
Vince Staples
Long Beach, California could be viewed as one of the most important cities in the whole West Coast Hip Hop Scene. While many view Dr. Dre as the most important thing to happen to Hip Hop on the West Coast, a large part of what made the The Chronic what it was came by way of Calvin Broadus. However, since Snoop and Co. were introduced to the game, outside of Crooked I, the city has been pretty silent…until Vince Staples. Vince Staples has been around for a little while, behind the scenes, popping up here and there. He was featured on Earl Sweatshirts Earl, on a track titled “epaR,” and has dropped projects here and there. But 2013 was a breakout year for the West Coast emcee. Along with appearing on Mac Miller’s “Space Migration Tour,” Vince dropped “Stolen Youth,” which was produced entirely by Larry Fisherman (one of Mac Miller’s many pseudonyms). If that weren’t enough, Vince’s scene stealing verse on Earl’s “Hive” has helped increase the buzz of the young rhymer. With co-signs from the likes of Common, and a Def Jam deal, Vince is someone to look out for in 2014.
A$AP Ferg
While debates continue to rage about whether or not New York supports its local music scene, it can’t be denied, it supports the A$AP Mob. Rocky finds himself amongst the top of the game, but 2013 was A$AP Ferg’s time to shine. As the buzz continued from Ferg’s appearances on 2012’s ASAP Mob mixtape “Lords Never Worry,” his debut Trap Lord not only kept the A$AP flag flying high, but established Ferg as a member to look out for. Ferg separated himself from Rocky’s Houston-influenced bounce by channeling Bone Thugs-n-Harmony circa 1996. It wasn’t merely a case of picking a different regional influence, but Ferg found a fitting vehicle for his unique cadence—which comes in stops and fits. The “Hood Pope” got both spiritual and ignorant on his retail debut without sounding contrived.
Isaiah Rashad
Of the five emcee’s listed, Isaiah Rashad is the only one not to drop a project in 2013; yet, his arrival can’t be denied. While he’s yet to release an official offering, Isaiah Rashad now finds himself signed to TDE off the strength of his buzz on the blog scenes, He boasts a style that resembles Kendrick Lamar’s except it sounds a bit more Southern without being forced or resorting to over the top Southern references. In 2013 Rashad went from a blog favorite with a Soundcloud full of dope tracks to spitting next to Black Hippy at the BET Hip Hop Awards. While Isaiah hasn’t dropped one of the top projects of 2013, let alone a project ever, his music has been in demand so much, bloggers have created unofficial releases of his music, ripping songs from his Soundcloud. It’s been awhile since “Best of…” mixtapes were popular, but the demand is that high.
RELATED: The Most Important Rookies Of 2012
LOL, you guys forgot RITTZ BITCH!
RITTZ has been out and his buzz hasnt grown that much.
asap ferg is not a rising star LOL hes peaked and his shit flopped
no it did good for a debut album.
since when is 32k first week is on a major label good??????
indie rappers are selling 3 times that easily
he sold 65k and he had no prior material out you fucking idiot.
so it really wasn’t a “flop”. wtf you expect someone with not even a mixtape out prior to do? unrealistic expectation having faggot.
This list should be called “The new hot garbage”.
rashad is far from garbage!! TDE BITCH
^to Anon
Yea, you Tde’s bitch alright
Isaiah Rashad
Dreadful to say the least
Kendrick and Rashad will kill the game next year.
So they’re going in prison. Fuck.
chance the rapper and isaiah rashad have the brighest futures of the list (although i hate chance)
nah nigga that acid shit does won’t carry him 2 albums. brightest for me is asap ferg. i would say rashad but the tde roster with its top mcd might hinder his shine. that vic mensa guy is good too but he has to put in good work to earn a spot. ASAP ferg will be here in the next 7 yrs. bet that.
I can honestly say that I will never listen to any of these cats. I tried to give Isaiah a spin but the shit was god awful.
yeah right. you know as soon as these niccas blow up you gonna hop on the bandwagon
No sir, I still need to give Chance a listen but the rest are definitely not making good music.
What a wack list, Chance maybe…possibly but the rest are just average at best.
Rashad is the next kendrick
Really now…”next kendrick”???
Dude just blew up last year & ya’ll acting like he the goat?
Get the fuck outta here.
Nothing special here
vic’s the best on this list. easy.
my co-worker’s step-mother makes $68 every hour on the laptop. She has been out of a job for eight months but last month her check was $21239 just working on the laptop for a few hours. read the article,,,,,,,,,,,,,,http://x.co/3XZfQ
Isiah is the poor man’s K.Dot. Nothing impressive about him apart from the fuckboys dickriding TDE gassing him up.
ive only heard like 3 songs but hes easily better than all these cookie cutter mainstream rappers getting love
^ co-sign.
Listened to a few of his joints, but he sounds way too much like kendrick for me. The dick riding for TDE is on some Sodom and Gomorra shit.
Pretty damn weak list
before I looked at the check of $4362, I accept that my brothers friend really erning money part-time on their apple labtop.. there dads buddy started doing this for only about eight months and a short time ago paid for the mortgage on there mini mansion and got a brand new Cadillac. Get your free trail from use this link, Get your free trail from… http://www.WIKI34.COm
we don’t support them. Ironic if you tell me. Oh well Beyonce will stay on top for the coming weeks cause her fanbase support her.
Stalley? Dizzy Wright?
stalley been out for years. hes never going to be a star even with rick ross and mmg behind him!
Stalley is dope son foh
doesnt mean hes a rising star
Chance looks like a fuckin ninja turtle just put a bandanna wit eye holes on his face their goes Donatello
HipHopDX, you people are fucking RETARDED, FOR REAL. Asap Ferg?? Get the fuck outta here!! You wanna know who’s 10 times better than all those clowns?? LOCKSMITH. Get it through your fucking brains that LOCKSMITH is the truth and will annihilate 98% of rappers. Stupid muthafuckas! DX, fuck you idiots, did you even ACKNOWLEDGE LOCKSMITH’S mixtape, “The Green Box” that came out in 2013?? That shit was better than most people’s albums!!! Get a fucking clue!! At least DJbooth knows what’s up!
Are you Locksmith?
I actually checked out that Locksmith Green Box mixtape its fuckin dope good lookin on putting me onto him he should definitely be on that list kick asap ferg out da fuck
A few others to consider:
Dizzy Wright, Black Hippy(minus Kendrick, he already blew), Childish Gambino, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Jarren Benton, Joey Bada$$, Mac Miller(sort of, he’s getting dope but he’s been around a while)
Also, Vince Staples is good but I wouldn’t say he “stole the scene” on Earl Sweatshirt’s “Hive”. Earl’s verses were crazy too, and probably slightly better then Vince’s very good verse.
Like your list, but most those dudes belong on a 2011 / 2012 Rising Stars list.
These lists aren;t supposed to highlight young rappers who are kind of dope. It’s for kids who have little to no recognition and haven’t released an official album. All of Black Hippy, Mac Miller, Earl and Domo have all released full length albums on top of mixtapes.
SKYZOO> everyone on this list
Skyzoo been putting in work for a decade, son. He is no rising star.
a few good ones there which i like isiah chance and vince but check out Logic and Passionate MC two more that will have bright futures
logic isnt upcoming for 2014 bro. he was on the freshman class in 2013
Drake should have been on this list
Rocky is dope but A$AP Ferg is so fucking wack. The rest of this list is dope though.
solid list. i can agree with everyone, except for Ferg. just can’t enjoy his music at all. Chance is big time and i think Rashad & Vince Staples are just behind him.
Dizzy wright!
Isaiah Rashad has a mixpate, it’s called Hurt Cobain