Welcome to the second installment of Pad and Pencil, a new feature that will plug you into the latest hip-hop releases. In a competitive scene where rappers and producers drop new projects left and right, this column will help give credence to the worthwhile works while introducing promising acts on the rise. With contributions by New Music editors Hannah Thacker and Melissa Scheinberg, and Album Reviews writer Ryo Miyauchi, Pad and Pencil lists ten of the most exciting hip-hop artists you should listen to this September
1. Allan Kingdom
If there’s anyone among the current crop of talented new hip-hop acts who deserves to succeed, it’s Allan Kingdom. The St. Paul, Minnesota artist has been bubbling below the underground’s surface since last summer’s Talk To Strangers. It took his most recent tape – the stellar Future Memoirs – for the greater hip-hop community to take note.
With his emotion, quirk, rhythmic sensibilities, and occasional crooning, Kingdom lies somewhere between Kid Cudi, Chance The Rapper, and Andre 3000 – though he always comes across as being more than the sum of any number of parts. Songs like “Souls” showcase that steadfast rhythm and emotion, while cuts like “Evergreens” illustrate his humorous lyricism (“I’m wonderful, I’m wonderful / That works for me”) and semi-off-key, eccentric rap-singing. Even with friends across the hip-hop globe, on his newest twelve-song mixtape, he remains the star of the show. Despite boasting production credits from Plain Pat and Poliça’s Ryan Olson, as well as a guest feature from fellow THESTANDARD member Spooky Black, the entire record was written – and for the most part, produced – by the young MC. Throw in accolades from The Fader and Complex, plus an ever-improving live show and, by the end of 2014, Allan Kingdom will surely be unstoppable. – MS
2. DP
From naming his upcoming project Designer Casket to choosing the Soundcloud URL “NameBrandCoffin”, it’s clear that there’s something inherently dark about twenty-year-old rapper DP – and that’s even before you’ve given his tracks a listen. This summer, the Virginia Beach native began dropping his uniquely-toned cuts, causing the hip-hop blogosphere to take note. The young MC channels a balance of classic rap and sinister undertone, pairing classic boom-bap production with clear ’90s-style vocals, while carrying an air of creepiness and slightly morbid lyricism. The result has a mainstream accessibility that will appeal to both older hip-hop heads and those at the forefront of new rap.
So far we’ve heard three tracks from Designer Casket: we’ve got the ghostly, bass-heavy “Glitch” that showcases DP’s wordplay; the sinister “Glass Casket”, containing lyrics like “Upon birth I put that Glock to the doctor / Told her to take me to the pharmacy / I need Percocets and Oxies / To distribute to the drugged out mamas”; and the menacing “Jabar” – perhaps DP’s most accessible, classic rap-channeling single thus far.
As one of the most unique artists in hip-hop, you can bet that we’re stoked to see what the remainder of Designer Casket holds – if it’s anything like what we’ve already heard, it’s sure to be a game-changer. - MS
3. Frank Leone
Within the first few seconds of listening to Frank Leone’s self-produced single “Across the Earth”, you just know this guy is a fan of Chance The Rapper. The startling similarities to Chance’s recent cover of “Wonderful Everyday” for The Social Experiment are blatant, but there’s nothing wrong with an artist wearing their influences on their sleeve. Leone also shows his appreciation for hard-core rappers like Isaiah Rashad and JODY with his hard-hitting efforts “BUMP in the NIGHT” and “#CHILDSPLAY“.
With the backing of artists like Saba (who will be performing alongside Leone at an Illinois show on September 11th) and a new album, invitingly titled #EnterWILD, set to arrive in October, we’ll certainly be hearing a lot more from the artist whose residence is ‘under your pillow’ (at least according to his Twitter page). – HT
4. I Love Makonnen
The fan base of Atlanta newcomer Makonnen has been growing steadily since the release of his self-titled EP. This month especially saw a notable shift in momentum. First, Drake showed off his own admiration by dropping a verse on record highlight, “Club Going Up on a Tuesday”, which he followed by signing the youngster to his own label, OVO Sound.
As if that wasn’t enough, the rest of iLloveMakonnen shows promise for the young artist. Atlanta’s hottest producers, Metro Boomin and Sonny Digital, provide club-R&B concoctions mixed with drugs and sugar while Makonnen sings vulnerable, unedited ballads with awkward, yet endearing melodies. His off-key singing may not be for everyone, but his sharp ear for melodies ensure the revealing songs become an addictive set of earworms. – RM
5. Jesse James Solomon
A distinct style has been developing among the hip-hop youths of South London – it revolves around a chilled-out backbeat and an artist’s accented rhyme. Along with fellow city-dwellers Tom Misch and Loyle Carner, who recently wowed with “Karma”, Jesse James Solomon can easily be seen as a torch holder for this sub-genre. With over 3,000 followers on his SoundCloud, his fan base is rapidly growing, and that’s only after four tracks from his debut EP, Jesse From SE (for any out-of-towners, SE means South East London).
We heard the early kindling of Solomon’s confident performance on past singles like “Came In the Name Of” and “White wine & a pizza”, so don’t be fooled by the online newness of the EP because it’s a well overdue release. At this point, most writers are expected to choose a highlight from the collection. Many will pick up “TIDES”, with a guest appearance from Irish rapper Rejjie Snow, which takes an unflinching look at the mundanity of London life; this is further emphasized by a rather bare, but fitting music video. “JFSE” is also a thoughtful track, with lo-fi production and hazy rap, and is the most laid-back single on an already down-to-earth EP. Just in case you feel yourself drifting, the artist steps up the tempo with “Lionel Jesse”, a trap-heavy tale of gang territories. The difference with Jesse From SE is the interlocking nature of all four songs. Like the artist tells us on lullaby outro “Sleep Tight”, “I got a book full of stories fit for a novelist”, this is just an introduction to a whole hip-hop narrative. It’s this kind of music that makes me proud to live in SE. – HT
6. Lonny X
In a realm of hustlers and hard workers, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a hip-hop artist who openly admits to being ‘lazy’, but then I came across an Internet-born rapper called Lonny X. His two standout singles, “BORN 2 LOSE” and “Tokyo 7”, have been sitting online for a while now, but they still sound super fresh. Working with a wide range of producers, this artist makes the most of lo-fi, particularly on the MYRROR and epvr produced single, “BORN 2 LOSE”. This personal favorite sits on a honeyed and hazy guitar hook, sampled from Soul Mann & The Brothers’ classic “Bumpy’s Lament”, and it has been further embellished with drowsy trap throughout.
If you want to hear more from this mysterious artist, then I recommend backtracking to the SLEEP EP. It’s a lengthy, ten track collection without the uniform style we’ve been hearing recently. You should also make time for the playful “Melrose“, which showcases just how strong Lonny X can be. – HT
7. Lucki Eck$
Yes, the new tape Body High, by Lucki Eck$, is a drug record. The intro, “4th Commandment Broken”, finds him stoned out of his mind on his own supply, violating the fourth rule of Biggie’s law book on drug trade, “Ten Crack Commandments”.
The Chicagoan is not a weed abuser, however, but a slick pusher on his mixtape. Rather than a celebration of being wasted, Body High is an amateur chronicle of the trade, with the rapper assuming the mindset of a careful hustler. The production also sounds under the influence, though the knocking beats never thin out into vaporous matter like other drugged-out records. Eck$’s style stays more traditional than desired, but his lyrical supply reaches outside the established tropes. – RM
8. Mick Jenkins
Put simply, Chicago spitter Mick Jenkins nails the delicate balance of urgent content and a fresh style. On his latest tape, The Water[s], he navigates through harsh reality on top of dank boom-bap that recalls the jazz-loving ‘90s. While many borrow the sound from the faded age only on a surface level, Jenkins fully fleshes out his thoughts against the contemplative backdrop, pondering the lackluster quality in popular music on “The Water” while calling out shady acquaintances on “Black Sheep”. Delivering a valuable point is one thing, but it’s another for a rapper to present them with a skilled, accessible style. He flexes his rugged, authoritative voice into lean cadences that pop and snap until, sliding smoothly in a reality check without a bitter note, Jenkins proves rappers don’t have to sacrifice content to deliver the goods. – RM
9. Your Old Droog
No one has received more hype while giving the world less information this summer than Coney Island emcee, Your Old Droog. While the only background information we have on the rapper is his hometown, we do know that his debut EP stands out as one of the best we’ve heard in quite some time, sounding like a seasoned veteran of the hip-hop world with a ’90s-nostalgia, Nas-like flow.
Putting aside the rumors that Droog is actually Nas, the Brooklyn MC has managed to create a sound that brings forth this nostalgia without coming across as too yearning. He exudes an authenticity that brings classic rap to places it hasn’t been in years with his deep, impeccable flow, high-tier lyricism and wordplay (“Nutty Bars ain’t no chocolate wafers / Wanna see what I can do, get out my way first”). And then there’s the studio work: a subtle, yet high quality production that, instead of overpowering, merely highlights his unstoppable delivery. While there are still so many questions to be answered, a debut this strong only shows us that Droog is about to go places – the first of which is New York City for his live debut this week. Hopefully, he’ll be answering at least a few more of our (and the rest of the world’s) questions there. - MS
10. ZelooperZ
While Your Old Droog brings back the classic sounds of ’90s hip-hop, Detroit’s ZelooperZ does the complete opposite, with every song from his seventeen-track HELP mixtape sounding like it’s from the far-off future – and possibly from a far-off planet. ZelooperZ – perhaps the next to make it big out of Danny Brown’s Bruiser Brigade – combines heavy, machine-gun production with an aggressive, yet woozy flow and equally belligerent lyricism. All this, plus an undeniable eccentricity, wordplay and uniquely crazed vocal quality, make him endearing. The rapper responsible for the hook on “Kush Coma” continues where mentor Brown (who’s also featured on his tape) leaves off: more quirk, more off-key singing, more voices, more absurdity. From the nonstop and manic “Plateau” to the aggressive, yet massively hook-laden “Hit A Lick”, it looks like ZelooperZ will add to hip-hop’s ever-changing landscape by leading the genre to exciting new places. - MS