5 Rappers Under 21 That Belong In Your Rotation

Hip-hop’s youngest stars are putting a new spin on rap’s oldest concepts.

Written by Thomas Galindo
Illustrated by Mark Yoder

Hip-hop’s newest wave, melodic rap, includes elements of crooning, energetic voices, and moody themes. The perfect voices to bring this new wave to the limelight in today’s age of rap are its youngest participants. This is the case not only because of their youthful, high-pitched voices, but because they are the most inspired, and have the most to say, putting new spins on the tired motifs of heartbreak and getting rich. They may come off as corny, or foolhardy, but they don’t care — their ignorance is bliss. They want money, love, and attention, and they are primed to get it with their talent. Here are five of these youngins who are leading the wave of melodic rap and why you should know their names.

Roddy Ricch

20-year-old Compton-based rapper Roddy Ricch is a shy, soft-spoken figure in rap. But his music speaks loudly. His album Feed Tha Streets II put Roddy on the map in 2018. He brings up-tempo lyricism, energetic melodies, and zero misses on this project. He also just released two singles, “Big Stepper” and “Start wit Me (feat. Gunna),” that fail to disappoint. It just seems that Roddy is incapable of making a bad song, because his lively style and beat selection are hard to make boring. But he is also just a very talented kid, and one that you need to keep an eye out for.

Lil Tjay

18-year-old Harlem-based rapper Lil Tjay made waves with his October debut album True 2 Myself, which contains melodic bangers such as “F.N” and “Brother,” somber pop ballads such as “Hold On” and “Post To Be,” and marquee features such as Lil Wayne and Lil Baby. You can hear the youth in his voice, with his high-pitched crooning and sing-song hooks. But, this adds to the enjoyable nature of the music, and his honest, rapid-fire lyricism on top of all of this makes him a unique talent.

Polo G

20-year-old Chicago-based rapper Polo G brings a sorrowful side to hip-hop, making him a fresh voice of the new age of rap. Songs like “Through da Storm” and “Deep Wounds” from his June 2019 album Die a Legend display Polo G’s excellent storytelling of his tough upbringing in Chicago, and how his love life has helped thicken his skin. These somber themes and melodic rapping make great motivational songs that are easy to sing along to.

Lil Tecca

17-year-old New York-based rapper Lil Tecca blew up earlier this year with his single “Ransom,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month. Using this hype, he compiled some of his best singles and some new work to put out his first album ever, We Love You Tecca, in August. While this project was no classic, there’s still a good amount of promising material on there such as “Did it Again” and “Left, Right” to make this young, fun-loving, melodic rapper a name to know.

Iann Dior

20-year-old Corpus Christi-based pop rapper Iann Dior is quickly making his name known in the emo rap landscape dominated by Juice WRLD and Trippie Redd. He’s done this with his April album Nothings Ever Good Enough that contains some mellow bangers along with his brand new November album Industry Plant. This album included two pre-released singles with features from Gunna and the emo rap icon himself, Trippie Redd. Both of these pop guitar-infused bops are some of Dior’s best work to date.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/67GTZuhXyYoeiSuIZn7ccJ?si=wcwHRbiaSEWAKtKGE0mkMw

Afterglow ATXNovember 25, 2019