2024 was a very busy year in the underground rap scene with many new artists showing up. This, along with the success of established artists and their departure from the underground into the mainstream.
With 2024 having been widely regarded as one of the best years for the underground since 2021, there is a lot to go over.
Underground album of the year:
Many amazing albums came out this year but one was like no other. My underground album of the year is BAFK by Nettspend. This was his first-ever studio album and was executively produced by Wegonbeok. In its first week, this album sold over nine thousand copies. On top of this upon releasing the album Nettspend went over one million monthly listeners for the first time.
This has to be my album of the year as it takes Nettspends unique sound and amplifies it as well as what the album is doing for his career. One example of this success is HBO paying almost three million dollars for the rights to make a documentary about Nettspend and the creation of his debut album.
Some honorable mentions in this category are With 2 and Keep it Going Xav by Xaviersobased, Flexmusik (FLXTRA) by Osamason, Sayso Says by Che, Da Real Oso by Glokk40spaz, The Cure by Ohsxnta, Sahheem by Sahbabii, One Life and One Death by 1oneam.
Underground producer of the year:
Many new producers broke out into the underground this year. All of these people show immense levels of talent however one stands above the rest.
Wegonbeok executively produced BAFK by Nettspend as well as having produced eleven songs for Osamason’s upcoming album JumpOut on top of many other hits throughout the year. Examples include Withdrawals (feat. Nettspend) by Osamason Nothing Like Uuu by Nettspend, Ik What You Did Last Summer by osamason, and Bbysit by Protect.
This producer has been noticed by many mainstream artists as well and in early 2025 Wegonbeok would go live showing collaborations with mainstream producer DP Beats.
Honorable mentions in this category include TDF, boolymon, perc 40, Gyro, 19thou, Xaviersobased, and Prettifun
Breakout artist of the year:
The breakout artist of the year is someone who got a start to their career in the underground and this year one artist has kept popping up. Rapper/producer Pretti Fun released two mixtapes this year taking inspiration from artists like Che going for a more hyper-pop sound.
Pretti was his debut mixtape and it helped him gain traction. As the year went on, the hype built around this artist until the release of Fun House, his second mixtape of the year. Both mixtapes were well received, and this producer has also found his voice as a rapper.
Honorable mentions for this category include Biz, Laker, YT, Sahbabii, RRoxket, and, Xtsy*.
Most likely to blow up in 2025:
One artist to keep your eye on in 2025 is Maxon or Maxon Margelia. While this rapper has recently been gaining traction from his song Austin Powers, it has taken him nowhere near the top. However before this In mid 2024 Maxon dropped an eight-song mixtape that was very well-received by fans titled #healthy.
With his recent run, if Maxon can continue the momentum from Austin Powers, I believe he can continue to make hits, especially considering the rest of his discography. Along with how active he is on social media in attempts to build a fan base Maxon shows a lot of promise for 2025.
Honorable mentions for this category include 2facedlon, Toofolk, Laker, Kadin, Adamm Killa, and Ohsxnta.
The best underground news account:
In the underground rap scene, keeping track of all the artists and conflicts can be hard. Thankfully, many people have taken the time to create accounts covering underground rap and related topics. In 2024, one account was quicker and more reliable but, more importantly, had more personality than the others.
42 CEO managed to inform and entertain the masses going from a nobody to one of the most talked about people in the scene in just a few short months. While he covered the same things as many other accounts he included his personality in a way that puts him above the competition.
Honorable mentions for this category are Tubmanunderground, Cash Cow Music, Our Generation Music, and Nettbucks.
Most disappointing artist of 2024:
Many artists managed to stay consistent this year, but one artist who has underperformed this year is Ian. Early in 2024, Ian released his debut album, Valedictorian, and many songs off the album, such as Magic Johnson, blew up on social media apps like TikTok, taking Ian from a no-name to famous almost overnight.
Unfortunately, when Ian tried to keep his momentum going with his second album this year, Goodbye Horses, he massively underperformed. Goodbye Horses sold around thirteen thousand copies during its first week of sales; however, Valedictoriansold seventeen thousand copies in its first week. Overall, Goodbye Horses was a worse album than Valedictorian, and its only redeeming quality was the chief keef feature.
An honorable mention for this category includes Rich Amiri.
Most likely to go mainstream in 2025:
While blowing up in the underground means you have fans it still doesn’t take you to the top, that being the mainstream. In 2024 a few artists managed to go mainstream, prime examples being Nettspend and Osamason.
The artist I believe has the best chance of going mainstream in 2025 is Che.
This year, Che released an album titled Sayso Says, this album was so well received that at the end of the year, it was nominated for album of the year by many different Instagram accounts holding end-of-year awards and even won the album of the year award presented by Cash Cow Music as well as being an honorable mention in my album of the year competition.
Sayso Says brings a level of hyperpop to rap that hasn’t been done before and was a staple of 2024. Che’s influence has even already been seen in the underground with artists such as Pretti Fun using similar styles of beats.
After his performance on his last album, I believe whatever Che is working on has the potential to take him into the mainstream.
Honorable mentions for this category include Glokk40spaz, Protect, 1oneam, Yhapojj, and Xaviersobased.
Song of the year:
Out of all the songs that were released in 2024 one managed to stick with me, Marble Floors by Summrs. This track stands out because of its production. Specifically, the sample that was used to make the main melody was L’amore Dice Ciao by Armando Trovajoli. The piano on marble floors is unlike any sort of classical sample I have ever heard. Even without someone as well known as Summrs on this beat, it would still be amazing yet the performance from Summrs was undeniable in bringing out the beat while not being carried by it.
Honorable mentions for this category include Love Hate by Xaviersobased, Black and Tan by YT and Lancey Foux, Just Me by Ohsxnta, Nothing Like Uuu by Nettspend, Pizza Time by Che Mashallah by Ohsxnta, and Gucci by Fimiguerrero.
Artists to watch out for in 2025:
2024 has been a year filled with amazing music in the past, setting the bar high for 2025. Yet I believe there is enough talent to keep the ball rolling.
At the start of this year, Edward Skeletrix released his album Museum Music, this album is very experimental and the production is like nothing I have ever heard before. Due to this, I believe Edward Skeletrix will continue to grow and keep making amazing music.
Another promising artist is producer 19thou. This artist is mainly a producer, but they do have a few tracks of their own. At the start of this year, 19thou released his mixtape In 19 We Trust. While the people rapping on this mixtape are of debatable quality, the production is not. 19thou has also produced for big names in the underground like 1oneam and Osamason.
A third artist I will be keeping in mind this year is Joeyy. In 202, he released a mixtape titled Try showing off a different sound than what was usually seen in the underground in 2024. The shift from hyper-pop beats to the glo/jerk type of beats that Joeyy has been using may be a trend other artists start following.
Another reason I am excited to see where Joeyy goes in 2025 is because on December first, he released, as of the writing of this article, his most popular song titled Bored which has been going viral on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
After releasing his first mixtape in 2024 which was an honorable mention for mixtape of the year Ohsxanta was put on the map. Another contributing factor to his popularity was when in 2023, he and osamason released their collab tape which has since been removed from all streaming services. This was before Osamason had reached the height of his popularity but was still big enough to bring eyes to a smaller artist.
In my opinion, Ohsxanta’s The Cure is the perfect mixtape to encapsulate the underground as a whole in 2024 yet it still manages to sound original.
Toofolk is an artist I believe could blow up at any moment however the reason he hasn’t grown is because of the time between his releases. I have enjoyed every song he has dropped in the past few months. The problem was there were only 6 songs over five months. Many artists have been trying to seem “mysterious,” however, that only works for established artists with die-hard fan bases.
Yet, Toofolk makes amazing music and is shooting himself in the foot by barely releasing anything. If he manages to stay consistent with his releases then I believe he could blow up in 2025. There is also reason to believe that this will be the case because Toofolk said, “I want to make it out of the underground by April and I’m going to keep going harder so I can make that happen.”
In mid-2024 Laker or Laker Brady released his debut mixtape titled Candyland. In this mixtape, laker has a similar sound to artists like Joeyy but with more jerk elements. One staple of laker songs is the trumpets which are not often heard in the rap scene but feel right at place with the rest of the instruments.
As of the production of this article (Jan 10, 2025) Joeyy posted on his Instagram looking for beats for him and Laker to use together. These two already have tracks collaborating which are some of Laker’s best songs. Laker shows a lot of potential to grow and evolve his sound in the coming months.
Biz is an artist who has taken inspiration from artists like certified trapper, using beats with heavy bass and loud claps. Yet recently his sound has been changing along with the rate of his releases.
On November 22, 2024, he released his EP titled B4 THA TAPE. One week after this he released his mixtape PLANET BIZ with a track featuring a very well-known underground artist named Beretta. In this project, Biz uses a lot more electronic instruments in his beats while keeping elements of his previous sound.
Then on December 27, 2024, he released a second mixtape titled Breakfast at Danny’s for a total of twenty-six songs in just over a month. Since the release of his last project biz has spoken on Instagram saying he has another tape on the way.
This consistency is something that has been helping Biz as since these releases his following both on social media and on streaming services has grown. I am very excited to see where this artist goes in 2025
2facedlon found success in 2024 with his single dolla signs having a similar sound to artists like Prettifun. To keep his momentum going he released two more singles along with a music video for Dolla Signs. However, earlier in the year before he had gained popularity he released a mixtape titled Zombie Boy which had some very good songs on it.
Unfortunately, this artist also follows the trend of not releasing music regularly and similar to Toofolk I believe if he dropped more consistently, he would blow up. Despite this, I am still very excited about what 2facedlon is going to release this year.
Adamn Killa is an artist who has been in the underground for a very long time. Initially gaining popularity in the underground in 2015. However through a series of very unfortunate events such as losing ties with Drain Gang a now very famous rap group. Or when he paid rapper Lil Uzi Vert twenty thousand dollars for a feature only for the label not to clear it and never refund him.
Another fun fact about Adamn is when he started rapping he and Lucki were in a rap group together although Lucki is much more famous than Adamn in the modern scene.
Adamn saw incredible growth in 2024 yet it wasn’t his music. Adamn promoted his music via Instagram and his personality attracted a lot of new fans.
At first, I was one of his followers who didn’t like his music but after the release of A.D.H.D rant 2, I became a big fan of his music. On Instagram, Adamn has been showing off at least one new song every day and says that he plans to for the entire year. Adamn said, “Ima drop them all soon.”
Adamn’s combination of personality and musical skill makes him someone with a lot of promise for 2025
I have spoken about how consistency can help an artist’s career; however, Duwap Kaine takes this to a whole new level. In 2024, He released 10 mixtapes, not including the release on New Year’s Day.
One thing about this artist that sets him apart is he doesn’t chase fame. Duwap Kaine has been releasing music since he was 13 and has been well-known since he was 15.
Throughout his career, he has never signed to a record label or hired a manager. Despite this, he manages to stay relevant and continue to drop good music consistently. With a project by this artist already having been released this year, there is only more to come.
Kadin is an artist who stays very active, streaming on the platform Kick while recording, consistently posting on Instagram, and dropping music. Multiple times this year, I checked my Instagram and saw Kadin release an entire mixtape out of the blue. Not a lot of artists have that kind of dedication, and it makes Kadin a very promising prospect for 2025.
However, Kadin said, “I’m trying to do better for myself and my mental because I feel like that’s the whole reason I haven’t made it yet and I don’t wanna go up until I’m ready for it and not lost in my head.” This shows his maturity as an artist and if he believes he isn’t ready for fame, I think he will remain in the underground and continue to put out amazing music. Once Kadin figures himself out I believe he will start to gain a lot of traction.
2024 was truly a monumental year for the underground seeing the rise of artists like Nettspend and Osamason, as well as the appearance of new sounds such as the hyper-pop wave that was started by Che.
Hopefully, 2025 can bring just as much energy and innovation as 2024 did.
