Emily Ferris March 23rd, 2015 - 3:31 PM
Sometimes it feels like South by Southwest is overtaken by the hip hop industry. This year we kept tabs on who the best upcoming hip hop artists of the festival were. Here’s what we discovered…
1. Rae Sremmurd
If you were at the festival then you probably saw these guys at least one. They were pretty much impossible to avoid. These two Mississippi rappers brought you “No Type,” “No Flex Zone” and “Throw Sum Mo.” The overly energetic duo is backed by dancers who jump around on stage holding oversized cutout photos of their faces. They probably played nearly 15 times during the festival. Even if it wasn’t official, they were the surprise guest of somebody somewhere.
2. Two-9
Two-9 is an Atlanta-based hip hop group that puts on an intense show. They were also popping up in multiple corners of the festival making their appearance in the scene known. They’ve recently been making beats with Mike Will Made It, so these boys are on their way to something big.
3. Kehlani
Kehlani is a 19 year old female rapper/singer. She is also a part of the HBK gang which consist of IAMSU, Skipper, CJ, Rossi, Dave Steezy, Jay Ant, Kool John, and Sage the Gemini. She works closely with other Bay Area artists and recently toured across the United States to play sold out shows in support of G-Eazy. She has extremely impressive vocals and is definitely on her way to fame.
4. DeJ Loaf
DeJ Loaf is a Detroit rapper who recently exploded on the scene after her hit “Try Me” went viral. She quickly became noticed and is now on her way up the ladder. She even appeared on “Detroit vs. Everybody” with the world famous rapper Eminem.
5. Allan Kingdom
Allan Kingdom is a Canadian rapper who has gone seemingly unnoticed until he was recently featured on Kanye West’s new single “All Day” that also features Theophilus London and Paul McCartney. His first major release was “Talk to Strangers” in the summer of 2013, that he wrote, produced and recorded independently. By working with Kanye, Kingdom is inevitably going to become something. Keep your eyes peeled for this kid.
