Most of Hip Hop’s brightest stars commonly exist at an apex of originality, authenticity and influence. 22-year-old MC Sheff G is one such artist, credited with refocusing the sound of Brooklyn street music. He is considered one of the crucial voices that gave life to the borough’s drill scene: capturing his city’s energy without compromise.
“[I’m] definitely one of the realest … one of the realest originators and never copied nobody, never faked it, never nothing,” he told HipHopDX during a recent interview. “Everything is 100 percent from the jump to now, and we going to keep it like that. That’s why so many people tuned into this type of shit because it’s real. That’s a fact.”
Hometown: New York City, NY
Notable Co-Signs: Fivio Foreign, Rich The Kid, DJ Drewski
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Notable Projects To Date: One & Only (2020), Proud Of Me Now (2020)
Accolades To Date: Over 2.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify; landed two major partnerships; first with EMPIRE and more recently with RCA Records; his single “No Suburban Pt. 2” quickly went viral racking up over 20 million spins; his One & Only LP cracked the top 20 on the Billboard 200.
[This post has been updated. The following was originally published on February 2, 2021] Read updates below.
Musical Style
With contextual roots in Chicago’s drill movement and sonic roots more so in the U.K.’s sister movement, Sheff burst on the scene with 2017’s “No Suburban” — a song he recorded while still actively living in a homeless shelter. His come up is, in many ways, the American dream. Rather than fall in line with the music that helped mold him, he adapted it to meet the dark realities of Flatbush, where he’s spent his life. In this honest, organic approach, he became an unexpected torchbearer for a new cohort of scribes documenting the contemporary mayhem of life in the projects.
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Still, the most exciting element about Sheff is his versatility. While growing up in the bubble of Chicago’s industry takeover, he also immersed in the regional royalty that predated his cohort, like Brooklyn icon Notorious B.I.G.
Whatever the limitations and longevity of the BK borough’s latest sonic stamp, his baritone bars (crafted with a pen game matured beyond his years) are beaming with potential. Sheff can easily pivot into new exciting directions — something he continually shows glimpses of with subsequent releases.
Rising Star Power
And at the young age of 22, his growth potential is unlimited. It’s something of which he’s acutely aware. “I want people to see that we’re not trying to stay in the hood and do fuckery,” he has been quoted as saying. “We’re trying to make it out. We’re trying to better our lives.”
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For the time being, though, despite some subtle, more melodic shifts in tone, he’s riding the wave that his rising tide helped to send toward shore, building an empire.
HipHopDX's Rising Stars 2021: 10 New Rappers Shaping Their Legacy
Following his 2019 The Unlucky Kid mixtape’s success, he released his May 2020 album One and Only, which — drenched in his new New York Hip Hop energy — put him on a whole new plane. It landed at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, positioning his Winners Circle label with fellow rhymer Sleepy Hallow to engrain itself amongst the Mount Rushmore of game-changers from the culture’s Mecca.
His new album, Proud Of Me Now, which dropped in December of 2020 — christening his imprint’s newly minted partnership with RCA Records — is further proof of his foot planted on the gas with the weight of concrete. 2021 is his for the taking, whether you like it or not.
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Congrats to BK Drill trailblazer Sheff G for making HipHopDX’s Rising Stars 2021! HipHopDX will closely follow his movements as he continues to lounge in the “Winners Circle.”
Sheff G is one of 10 up-and-coming rappers named to HipHopDX’s 2021 Rising Stars! For more info on Sheff G and the rest of the talented Hip Hop bunch, read about them here.
SHEFF G’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO FAR
- “Lights On” music video hits 5 million views
- Dropped “No Negotiations” music video
- “Mistakes” music video surpasses 4 million views
- Performs “Lights On” live session for VEVO
- Performs “Eeny, Meany, Miney, Moe” live session for VEVO
- “Proud Of Me Now” music video hits 1 million views
- Sheff G is recruited to Kendrick Lamar-headline festival Day N Vegas
- Announces Summer Jam Festival 2021 performance
- Drops 1st 2021 single “Start Some Shyt” music video
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SHEFF G’S SET BACKS SO FAR
- Was arrested for driving with a loaded handgun, but released on $35,000 bail [January 19]
- Misses another Rolling Loud performance because of arrest.
