Ask anyone who’s causally followed mainstream hip-hop throughout the past decade which city has been dominating the genre and they will almost certainly tell you that that city is Atlanta. Love it or hate it, trap has undeniably been the predominant subgenre of hip-hop in recent years and Atlanta artists are to thank. Starting off the decade with Waka Flocka Flame’s massively influential Flockaveli, Atlanta has continued to churn out many of the decade’s biggest rap stars from Future to Migos to 21 Savage to Young Thug. In more recent years the city has generated rising-stars Lil Baby and Gunna and just last year Atlanta-native Lil Nas X shattered record after record with his monumental single Old Town Road. But now as we enter a new decade, rap seems to be full of stars from all over the country. Charlotte’s DaBaby and Houston’s Megan Thee Stallion, along with Roddy Ricch from Compton seem poised to usher the genre into the new decade. It raises the question of whether or not Atlanta’s dominance over the genre will be nearly as strong in the 2020s as it was in the 2010s. In order to continue its reign over the constantly-changing rap landscape, Atlanta will undoubtedly need to keep up its track record of producing new hip-hop stars. Below are five Atlanta rappers who seem more than capable of upholding their city’s reputation as the leading hip-hop hotspot in the upcoming decade.
Lil Keed
Without a doubt the most popular rapper on this list, Young Thug protege Lil Keed had his first breakout single with 2018’s Nameless. Keed grew up in the same neighbourhood as Young Thug and signed to Thug’s YSL label in 2018. With an off-the-wall delivery that features bouncy flows and crooning melodies it’s easy to see Young Thug’s influence on Keed, but with more ethereal production and whinier vocal inflections Keed has been able to carve out his own lane. While his 2019 album, Long Live Mexico, failed to generate any hits as large as Nameless, Keed was able to find recent success on Tik Tok with his loosie It’s Up Freestyle.
Also Check Out: Proud of Me feat. Young Thug
Lil Gotit
It would be wrong to place Lil Keed on this list and not follow him up with his younger brother, Lil Gotit. Like Keed, Gotit is another rapper molded by Young Thug’s influence, however unlike Keed, Gotit is not signed to Young Thug’s YSL label. Compared to Keed, Gotit’s delivery and production is more grounded, but that’s not to say Gotit doesn’t get weird when he wants too. Gotit’s biggest hit to date, Da Real Hoodbabies, has the rapper spitting with a robotic delivery over a beat that sounds like it could have been from when snap music dominated hip-hop.
Also Check Out: Drop The Top feat. Lil Keed
Madmarcc
Speaking of beats that sound straight out of the snap era, Madmarcc’s Campbeltton has been blowing up in Atlanta since its release in late 2019 and should be on its way to becoming nationwide hit. The music video for the Zone 1 rapper’s single has racked up nearly 100k views in a little over three months and it’s easy to see why. Madmarcc comes through with a catchy flow, funny braggadocious lyrics, and an animated personality; a combination that allowed for DaBaby to blow up not too long ago.
Also Check Out: Booster
Jah Jah
Another Atlanta rapper who just recently had their break out hit, Jah Jah’s Get With It has become a certified strip club anthem. Raunchy female rappers have come back in a major way these past few years and Jah Jah has the energy and charisma to stack up against the likes of other recent breakout artists like Saweetie and Megan Thee Stallion. While overbearingly long, her debut project Super Woman showed that Jah Jah has the talent and diverse sound set necessary to be a star.
Also Check Out: In Da Benz
Mak Sauce
The fact that Mak Sauce hasn’t blown up at the time of writing this is honestly shocking. While you may not hear his music at clubs or on the radio, in an era where memes and Tik Tok trends seem to be responsible for jump-starting the careers of half the rappers buzzing right now, you would think Mak Sauce’s outlandish and quotable bars would have made him a certified star already. His biggest hit to date, Good Morning, blew up after trending on Tik Tok and it’s easy to tell why with its quirky ad-libs and jokey chorus. That’s not to say Mak Sauce is a meme rapper by any means. He’s much more aligned with the likes of Blueface or Lil Yachty rather than Yung Gravy or Ugly God, meaning that while he incorporates a lot of humor into his music, it’s evident that the music still comes first.
Also Check Out: Fairytales of Pain
Honorable Mentions
Rubi Rose
Another contender to be Atlanta’s first breakout female rapper of the decade, Rubi Rose has some hype surrounding her but it’s difficult to determine if the hype she’s getting right now is from her music or from her status as an ex-model and Playboi Carti’s ex-girlfriend.
Yung Mal and Lil Quill
A few years ago Mal and Quill seemed posed to be two of Atlanta’s biggest upcoming stars but the buzz surrounding this duo has since died down. It seems like most artists that sign to Gucci’s 1017 Records are destined to exist in a weird hip-hop semi-stardom limbo where their name remains known but they never properly blow up.
Kenny Mason
Kenny seems to be getting a lot of buzz from online publications, whether it be Complex, NPR, Pitchfork, etc. His aptly titled hit, HIT, has racked up quite an impressive amount of streams in recent months but it has yet to be seen if his online hype can translate to real life main-stream attention.
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