With wide-ranging tastes and talent to match, $NOT occupies a sonic universe that is entirely his own. The 14 tracks on his 2022 album Ethereal paint a portrait of an artist growing into his potential, making experimentation feel as natural as breathing. Aided by creative direction from A$AP Rocky’s AWGE, $NOT indulges in his most adventurous artistic ideas on this album, trying his hand at every style under the sun. He recruits Joey Bada$$ for “How U Feel,” a traditionalist boom-bap workout, just minutes after teaming with Trippie Redd for the synth-heavy rager “ALONE” and trading verses with Juicy J in the lounge-accented Tennessee trap of “Halle Berry.” The follow-up to 2020’s Beautiful Havoc, the otherworldly Ethereal is $NOT’s most successful project to date, with hundreds of millions of streams across platforms and a #66 peak on the Billboard 200.
Though his life was tragically short, King Von left a towering legacy, establishing himself as one of rap music’s most vital and talented storytellers. A labor of love that compiles unheard music from the artist’s oeuvre, What It Means To Be King is packed with the ferocious bars and gripping narratives that earned him a huge fanbase, but also hints at some of the directions he might have taken if he had more time. The album features contributions from many of the people who knew Von best, including regular producer and collaborator Chopsquad DJ, his “twin” Lil Durk, and fellow O’Block natives like Boss Top and DqFrmDaO, along with street rap heroes like like 21 Savage, Moneybagg Yo, G Herbo, and more, making plain the level of respect Von commanded in the rap game at large. Putting an exclamation point on Von’s legacy and establishing him as a generational talent, What It Means To Be King debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 with over 64k sold in its first week.
Streaking through the UK rap scene like a comet through the night sky, Central Cee is the UK’s most promising rap star. His February mixtape 23 was the latest indication that the lad from Shepherd’s Bush has worldwide mass appeal. Home to hit singles like the slinky “Retail Therapy,” the inspirational “Khabib,” and head-nodding “Straight Back To It,” all of which charted in the UK Top 25, and the worldwide smash “Obsessed With You” (#4 in the UK), 23 is a steely, confident, and fun-loving salvo from a young artist who knows this is just the beginning. Among the tape highlights: “Eurovision,” a border-crossing posse cut which brought together 8 rappers from four countries and fiery verses in French, English, Spanish, and Italian. 23 debuted at #1 on the UK Official Charts, fending off stalwarts like Tears For Fears, and kept selling, landing on the Official Charts’ list of Biggest Albums of 2022 So Far in the UK.
A shrewd slick-talker and an accomplished businessman, Icewear Vezzo is one of the key figures in the red hot Detroit rap scene. Filled with sinister, piano-led production, his mixtape Rich Off Pints 3 acts as a hustler’s handbook, bursting at the seams with handy street lessons for aspiring executives, sneering missives that take aim at fakes, and heartfelt reflections on the hard work it takes to achieve a better life. Continuing the story started by 2021’s Rich Off Pints and Rich Off Pints 2, ROP3 highlights Vezzo’s strength as a songwriter, bringing rock-solid concepts and crisp turns-of-phrase that leave a lasting impression. Welcoming guests like Key Glock, G Herbo, and fellow Detroiter Baby Money, plus 2021 hits “Up The Scoe” ft. Lil Durk and “Know The Difference” ft. Lil Baby, the strength of Rich Off Pints 3 helped Vezzo earn a new record deal with Quality Control Music.
Pi’erre Bourne has established himself as one of the best producers in the game, but he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s just formidable on the mic as behind the boards. His 2022 album Good Movie is an expansive showcase for his skills with melody, mixing his immersive beats with languid auto-tune and insistently infectious hooks.
On album standout “Psane,” Bourne and Don Toliver conjure up a frenetic banger with bright video game synths and layered vocals that set the stage for Bourne’s joyous verses. Highlights like “What I Gotta Do” and “Where You Going” incorporate elements of Jersey/Philly club music into his atmospheric world, while kinetic songs like “Moving Too Fast” ft. Young Nudy and “SossHouse Party” are natural next steps for his candy-coated signature sound. Simple and emphatic, words spill out of the rapper effortlessly: on “Kingdom Hall,” he stacks outlandish metaphor after outlandish metaphor, intoning “Shakes-pi’erre, Romeo & Juliet/She may die for the kid.”
With multiple albums in the books in 2022, including the Juicy J collab Space Age Pimpin’, Pi’erre Bourne is in the midst of a creative renaissance. Pi’erre’s hero’s journey reached a climax with Good Movie, proving that he could conquer all comers with peerless instrumentals and inventive vocals.
When Young Dolph tragically passed last year, he left a hole too big for one person to fill. Luckily, Dolph spent a decade fostering a creative community of folks determined to follow in his footsteps: Paper Route Empire, a thriving independent record label and video production company with a talented and hungry group of artists eager and equipped to fulfill their mentor’s vast vision.
Paper Route Empire Presents: Long Live Dolph is tribute to the man and a toast to the future, showcasing the talents of the label’s formidable roster. Spanning 8 tracks, the project features contributions from almost every artist on Paper Route Empire. Jay Fizzle, PRE’s longest-tenured signee, leads the tape with the Ricco Barrino-assisted, gospel-inflected “LLD,” a tribute to the man who he credits with helping his 16 year-old self escape the streets. Kenny Muney offers a plaintive remembrance of his mentor using one of Dolph’s signature phrases on “Role Model,” and Big Moochie Grape defiantly claims his intention to take Paper Route Empire to new heights on “In Dolph We Trust.” On album highlight “Proud,” Key Glock honors his mentor and declares his intentions to keep the mission going: “F*** that humble s***, let’s go, you know I’m spazzin’ out ‘bout mine.”
Long Live Dolph is reflective, but it is also triumphant; 2022 was a banner year for the PRE label, as artists like Key Glock, Kenny Muney, and Big Moochie Grape released accomplished albums of their own. Possessed with an undying fervor that can’t be quenched, PRE won’t stop til their empire stretches from coast to coast.
Dro Kenji uses his supernatural sense of melody and precocious pen game to craft emotionally charged bangers. The third and most ambitious of the full-lengths Kenji released in 2022, ANYWHERE BUT HERE is a showcase for the 20-year-old artist’s expressive singing, as he delivers arresting arias that are alternately heartfelt and flex-heavy. The album features appearances from Kenji’s fellow Gen Z rap stars, including Midwxst, NoCap, Ka$hdami, and Mike Dimes on the hard-hitting breakout hit “STEP BACK.” With some of the best pipes in the underground and Internet Money with his back, Kenji looks primed to reach even greater heights in the near future.
A charismatic riser with a million watt smile, Trapland Pat wins acclaim with his verbal dexterity and unique musicality. His first album for Alamo Records and Bang Biz Ent, the imprint founded by Fredo Bang, Trapnificent is a refined example of the South Florida sound, incorporating elements of Pat’s love for rappers like Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, and Kompa music that he absorbed through his Haitian heritage. Pat taps frequent collaborator PepperJack Zoe, who produced his breakout hit “Big Business,” to handle the bulk of the production, his creeping piano-led beats providing grounding for Pat’s larger-than-life bars and hummable melodies. The album features two featured verses from his label boss Fredo Bang, and rolls out the red carpet for a tasteful collection of guests including Mozzy, BIG30, and Eli Fross.
Trapnificent earned praise from Pitchfork, who called the project a “zippy distillation of his regional roots” and said that Pat’s music is “extremely regionally and culturally specific, like so much exciting and promising new rap music.” The Deerfield Beach native followed up the project by inviting the Boss himself, Rick Ross, to hop on the remix to his breakout hit “Big Business.”
© 2022, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
