Who's Got Next? 10 Up-and-Coming Rappers We Want to Hear More From

March 16, 2012 - 9:20 pm by VIBE

Is it just us—or are there a lot of young, up-and-coming rappers making noise right now? While many of the usual suspects (Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne included) continue to make headlines, it seems like every time we turn around, there's another newbie trying to earn a rep for him or herself by dropping a dope new song or mixtape. There's definitely a wave of talent that hit the music industry during 2011 and the beginning of 2012 that's been impossible to ignore. Some of the names have been around for awhile but are just emerging as possible big-name artists, and others are just now breaking onto the scene and looking to make a name for themselves. But, whatever the case, this much is true: These artists have tons of potential and could be the next Jay-Zs, Kanye Wests, and Drakes.

The problem, of course, is keeping up with all of them. Because just about anyone can be a rapper now, it can take a lot of effort to sift through all the MCs that are out there and separate the treasures from the trash. So with that in mind, we decided to put together a list of the 10 up-and-coming rappers we're looking forward to hearing more from in 2012. Check out the list and then let us know which up-and-coming rappers you are checking for this year.

WHO'S GOT NEXT?

NEXT RAPPER 1

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Schoolboy Q His Twitter Handle: @ScHoolBoyQ Why We Want To Hear More: If we had to pick one artist on this list who is going to be big at this same time next year, we'd have to pick Schoolboy. He just inked a deal with Interscope recently and, in the past, he's explained that rapping is something that he was "born to do." And everything we've heard from him so far, including his independent albums Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions, leads us to believe that he's telling the truth.

NEXT RAPPER 2

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Stalley His Twitter Handle: @Stalley Why We Want To Hear More: Off the strength of Maybach Music Group. About a year ago, we weren't particularly sure how Meek Mill would fit into MMG. And look at how that turned out. Stalley sounds poised to have that same kind of impact and Rick Ross is clearly positioning him to be mainstream figure. So we're looking forward to hearing the Savage Journey To The American Dream mixtape that Stalley just previewed in New York City earlier this week.

NEXT RAPPER 3

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Mr. Mutha****** eXquire His Twitter Handle: @exqomaniaRules Why We Want To Hear More: Is this guy the next Notorious B.I.G. as Danny Brown (Spoiler alert: He's another guy you're gonna see on this shortly) suggested recently? Um, no. News flash: No one can rightfully lay claim to the title "the next B.I.G." But, that doesn't mean there isn't something inherently interesting about Mr. Mutha****** eXquire. We put his Lost In Translation mixtape on our list of the best mixtapes of 2011 and we fully expect him to build off of its success in 2012.

NEXT RAPPER 4

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Action Bronson His Twitter Handle: @ActionBronson Why We Want To Hear More: More, more, more! This guy used to be a gourmet chef in New York City so he should like hearing those words. Especially since we're saying them after hearing all the material he dropped last year. His Dr. Lecter album was a solid debut and his Statik Selktah-assisted Well-Done was, well, well-done. And if you haven't copped it yet, we highly recommend the Action Bronson & Party Supplies mixtape, Blue Chips, that just dropped. We're still digesting it, but so far, it's quite a treat.

NEXT RAPPER 5

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: MGK His Twitter Handle: @machinegunkelly Why We Want To Hear More: We've been messing with MGK's music for awhile now on VIBE.com. Ever since we featured him in our "Pardon The Interruption" section back in January 2011, we knew he'd eventually develop into something. We just didn't know it'd all come together so quickly. He's about to drop his Half Naked & Almost Naked EP. And after that, he's going to embark on a tour that'll see him do 90 shows in 99 days. If nothing else, this kid is putting in work.

NEXT RAPPER 6

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Danny Brown His Twitter Handle: @XDannyXBrownX Why We Want To Hear More: We heard XXX last year and that alone made us want to hear more. Born in Detroit, Danny has an open and honest approach to rapping that is refreshing. Will his hair and his clothes unfortunately be a little off-putting for some of you out there? Probably. But we couldn't care less what the guy looks like. He can rap his ass off and we can't wait to see what he's got lined up for us next.

NEXT RAPPER 7

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Iggy Azalea Her Twitter Handle: @IGGYAZALEA Why We Want To Hear More: So, this girl's a little bit controversial, eh? In the last week alone, she's apologized for dropping a racially-insensitive line, talked publicly about her beef with fellow female MC Azealia Banks, and done interviews with her new boss T.I. Now, we want to see if the Australian rapper can use all of that to her advantage when she drops her debut, The New Classic, later this year. Any chance that title actually lives up to its name?

NEXT RAPPER 8

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Jon Connor His Twitter Handle: @JonConnorMusic Why We Want To Hear More: Nas cosigned the Flint, MI native more than a year ago and he didn't disappoint in 2011. He dropped a slew of new songs and freestyles, filmed a bunch of videos, and even hopped on a record with Busta Rhymes and Nas himself. And, most recently, he hit us with The Blue Album, a collection of freestyles over classic Jay-Z beats. That's more than enough to keep us interested in what he's got next.

NEXT RAPPER 9

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Casey Veggies His Twitter Handle: @CaseyVeggies Why We Want To Hear More: If Casey is good enough for Odd Future, he's good enough for us! No, but really: Casey—who was originally a member of OF—sort of played the background for the last couple of years and built up his buzz steadily on the West Coast. Just a few days ago, he made his headlining debut at The Roxy Theater in Hollywood. But that buzz is starting to spread to other parts of the country, too. And by the end of the year, we could see it spreading everywhere. Hey, it happened for his homeboy Tyler, right?

NEXT RAPPER 10

The Up-and-Coming Rapper: Dom Kennedy His Twitter Handle: @DOPEITSDOM Why We Want To Hear More: We know, we know. There's nothing particularly "new" about Dom Kennedy. Dude has been around for a minute now and has put out a handful of solid mixtapes that have established him as one of the West Coast's best young MCs. But we're looking forward to (hopefully) seeing him take it to the next level in 2012. He's got the gift of gab on the microphone and he deserves a major label deal. Who's gonna give it to him?

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