As the birthplace of hip-hop, all eyes are usually on New York City to see who the latest rising stars are. Some of the top talents out of New York City, such as Pop Smoke, Ice Spice, and A Boogie With The Hoodie, have gone on to gain national attention.
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Here are four artists on the rise that you should definitely be on the lookout for.
41 (Jenn Carter, TaTa, and Kyle Richh)
Most, if not all drill artists have a controversial start to their careers. The rap group 41, consisting of Jenn Carter, TaTa, and Kyle Richh, burst onto the scene with their hit song “Notti Bop” in 2022. The song mocked the death of Bronx drill artist Notti Osama, who was fatally stabbed by a rival gang member inside a train station, with the accompanying dance that gestures being stabbed in the torso. But after that song went viral, the rap group began to gain notoriety, scoring features from the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, NLE Choppa, and Skilla Baby. Look out for them to do even bigger things in 2025.
Cleotrapa
Cleotrapa is the definition of making lemons out of lemonade. Once a social media sensation, Cleo began making music in 2018 when her song “Letter to My Haters” went viral on social media. She later connected with Ice Spice. And even began to open for her on her tour in 2024. However, things went sour after she felt she was being mistreated by the Bronx artist. After parting ways with Ice, Cleo dropped another viral track titled “Everybody Ate.” The song features a sound bite from a viral TikTok rant where Cleo tells a story about how Ice Spice and her tour crew went to a steakhouse dinner and left her at the hotel without an invitation. Everything Cleo touches seems to turn to gold. It will be interesting to see if her stardom will finally skyrocket in 2025.
26AR
26AR is another artist who helped make Brooklyn’s drill music scene as popular as it is today. Much like most drill artists, he gained notoriety from dissing one of his opps. His first song, “How You Do That?” takes aim at fellow NYC drill rapper 22Gz. However, the rising star really took off when he dropped his single “Aaron Rodgers” in 2019, where he compares himself to the former New York Jets QB. He has yet to score any major features like the other previously mentioned artists. But his elite storytelling through his music has made him a major deal in his hometown of Brooklyn.
Ron Suno
When people first started to recognize Ron Suno it wasn’t even because of his skills as a rapper. He was a local funny guy who would post his daily hijinks on social media. But he used the 800k-plus people who followed him for his funny skits, such as the #weavechallenge, to etch out a successful career as a drill rapper. Suno says he has been rapping since he was 13. And you can tell with his elite skills in the booth that things just come naturally to him. Because he is telling things from his own account. His biggest hit, “Pinocchio,” went viral online after being remixed by popular West Coast artist Blueface. In addition, he has scored features from Sheff G, Rowdy Rebel, and Fivio Foreign. Suno is the next big thing to come out of Brooklyn.
