Spotify has kicked off its annual “Artist To Watch” campaign where they list the acts they think will do major damage in the new year.
The streaming service uses its various popular and influential playlists to highlight and amplify rising artists, revealing the predictions in regards to the artists they think will shine in 2023. The first genre to be highlighted is Hip-Hop through their Most Necessary playlist.
Some of the key artists featured in the campaign are ‘Munch (Feelin U)’ hitmaker Ice Spice, ‘FNF (Let’s Go)’ rapper GloRilla, UK emcee Central Cee, Mempis’ Finesse2tymes and more. Spotify doesn’t reveal how they come up with the names but our best guess is it’s a combination of numbers they see on the platform and their editorial team’s preferences.
Take a look at the full list below along with their key highlight as per Spotify.
- GloRilla, the rapper rose to prominence after releasing her Grammy-nominated 2022 song “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).” She’s also known for her chart-topping collaborations with Cardi B and Latto.
- Finesse2tymes, the Memphis rapper known for his thunderous voice and motivational lyrics recently collaborated with Gucci Mane, Lil Baby, and others on his debut mixtape 90 Days.
- SleazyWorld Go, went viral in 2022 with his track “Sleazy Go” and later collaborated on an official remix with Lil Baby. The rapper has also collaborated with Offset.
- Central Cee, the British rapper, and songwriter is known for his upbeat and melodic approach to the UK drill subgenre and topped the UK Album Charts with his first two mixtapes Wild West and 23.
- Destroy Lonely, the No Stylist rapper known for the dynamic and eclectic beats featured in his music
- Ice Spice, the Brooklyn drill artist behind the viral, Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop top-charting track “Munch (Feelin’ U)”
- Babyface Ray, a Detroit native, the rapper collaborated with Big Sean and Hit-Boy on his 2021 single “It Ain’t My Fault.” In 2022, he released his album Face featuring collaborations with Pusha T, Wiz Khalifa, and more.
- Saucy Santana, the makeup artist turned rapper rose to prominence when his tracks “Walk“, and “Here We Go” went viral in 2021. Notable collaborations include the remix of his song “Material Girl” with “Queen of Pop” Madonna, hip-hop duo City Girls, and Latto.
- 2Rare, known for his 2022 collaboration “Q-Pid” with Lil Durk and later appeared on NLE Choppa’s “Do It Again”.
- Real Boston Richey, the rapper known for his Michigan-style hip-hop production has recently collaborated with Future and Lil Durk.