Every year, new names bubble up, but only a few feel like the future. That’s what our Next-Up Class of 2025 is about—the artists we believe won’t just make noise, but make impact. Not because the industry said so, but because you can feel it in the songs, the stats, the moments, and the way their names keep popping up on your timeline.
From AzChike’s “peekaboo” moment on GNX to Skrilla’s inescapable “67” and Hurricane Wisdom’s “Giannis”—arguably the best flip of the NBA star’s name yet—this class has way more to offer than a single viral moment. They’re the artists their old classmates brag about knowing before the world caught on.
So tap in and get to know the Next-Up Class of 2025.
Nino Paid
Nino Paid’s sound is all over the place—and we mean that as a compliment. One minute, he’s rapping over the knocking 808s and synths from today. The next? He’s spilling his life out to something Paramore would’ve cooked up in 2005. Just go spin “Joey Story” and “Play This At My Funeral,” and you’ll see that Nino is a star student in different subjects.
Being from the DMV, his flow feels like a conversation, and his storytelling keeps you hooked. Each verse captures a real moment and paints the picture for you, all while the variety of instruments keeps it interesting.
2025 was already a breakout year, but his Lyrical Lemonade Lunch Break Freestyle pushed things into a new tier. “Tree On The Hill” racked up 30M+ Spotify streams and got the full Cole Bennett treatment—a Lyrical music video.
With a solo tour on the way and a tape featuring Lil Yachty, Trippie Redd, and BabyTron, Nino Paid isn’t just next up—he’s loading a real moment.
Hurricane Wisdom
Hurricane Wisdom’s sound comes straight out of Little Havana, Florida. Raised with 11 siblings in a Christian household, he grew up on gospel his grandma played, then found Chance the Rapper, Fetty Wap, and Rod Wave in high school. That blend—church soul, Florida bounce, and pain-rap melody—is exactly where his music lives now.
His breakout moment came in late 2024 with “Giannis.” Plenty of rappers have flipped the NBA star’s name, but none made it this sticky. The track fused tropical warmth with a raspy, melancholic delivery that feels uplifting and addictive. A year later, it went gold and remains his biggest hit, sitting at 25M+ Spotify streams.
Hurricane has a skill that sets him apart: taking the familiar and making it feel brand new. “Drugs Callin’” channels Future’s “Perkys Calling,” “Rich Dropout” flips Lil Uzi Vert’s “The Way Life Goes,” and “Need Me” taps into the early-2010s archive with Chris Brown & Tyga’s “Ayo.”
He’s the kid in class putting everyone onto the classics—while earning respect from the grades above him because he knows how to repackage nostalgia in a way that hits every generation.
Lelo
“New Detroit” isn’t just a slogan for Lelo—it’s a movement. Big Sean and Eminem already hung championship banners for their era, but Lelo’s part of a younger class shaped by different influences and building its own curriculum instead of following the city’s old playbook.
The atmospheric, moody DNA of classic Detroit is still in the background, but Lelo bends it into something fresher—a sound built for a new wave of listeners and a city in the middle of its own renaissance.
He’s compared making music to designing clothes, and it tracks. A song like “Main Event”—a breezy, Sade-sampling joint—could easily win “Best Dressed.”
2025 put him in motion: he crossed 1M monthly listeners, dropped his New Detroit project, and earned a co-sign from Earl Sweatshirt—an artist who’s mastered living between underground and mainstream the same way Lelo does.
He hasn’t said what’s next, but if there’s one guarantee with Lelo, it’s this: he won’t repeat himself.
AZ Chike
If a guest verse could set you up to win the “most likely to succeed” award, AZ Chike’s verse on Kendrick Lamar’s “peakaboo” (from 2024) did just that. After having one of the standout features on Kendrick’s GNX album, AZ Chike capitalized on his new popularity in a major way.
An LA native, he has the classic flow and sound the area is known for, but his focus on lyrics and the aggression in his bars sets him apart. Chike spent 2025 widening the gap between him and the other members of his class—and playfully threatening Tyler, The Creator for a verse on his next project.
He kicked the year off with a bang, as his February single “Whatx2” did numbers, even resulting in its own dance and TikTok trend. He followed that up with “Game Time,” doubling down on the fact that he was fully locked in.
Now, AZ Chike wants nothing more than for fans to connect with his upcoming album, No Rest For The Wicked. He’s already secured a Pharrell beat and that Tyler, the Creator feature. He wants people to “play that shit 15 years later.” If he keeps cooking the way he has, he’ll be critically acclaimed in no time.
sosocamo
2025 is the year of new movements, and sosocamo is bringing Big Country to the forefront. A North Carolina native, his real name (Cameron) and his rural background made the “camo” moniker come to life. Living out in the sticks, he called his album No Service for a reason, and he feels like his disconnected lifestyle simultaneously plugs him into the emotions needed to make smooth, melodic rap.
On “don’t panic,” camo raps “My n****s Big Country, they real rangers,” grounding his music in dirt roads and the atmosphere you only get in the country. The contrast is what makes him stand out: rugged roots, smooth delivery.
Keeping his foot on the gas, drop after drop, he stacked up the accolades in 2025. Whether it was a co-sign from Philadelphia Sixers guard Jared McCain or a viral Batman meme that he unintentionally soundtracked, his music found new listeners.
2024’s “keep steady” got his foot in the door, and “soulless,” dropped earlier this year, kicked it wide open. His latest project, No Service, was released on June 27th, and he’s already gearing up for another album, Big Country, set to drop in 2026. So if you want to tap in, you know exactly where to go.
Jorjiana
At the rate Jorjiana’s career is moving, her place in the game is looking as solid as concrete. Her first track dropped in early 2024, and she’s already up to 1M monthly Spotify listeners, cracked Billboard’s Top 15 Hip-Hop and R&B Artists to Watch, linked up with GloRilla and more. There’s no question that in the class of 2025, she’d be prom queen.
Coming from Michigan, she carries the unique and off-the-wall flow the city is known for. On top of that, her beat selection is hard. as. hell. Go spin “Blues Clues” or “iCarly” and you’ll know it’s nothing childish about it.
While “ILBB2”—the aforementioned GloRilla collab—might have been her biggest moment so far, she’s still creating new ones. She tapped in with Michigan rap alumni Lil Yachty for “ILY XL” in November, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Her latest work, Project 219, is out now. And she has a lot more where that came from.
1300SAINT
One of the newest members of Young Thug’s YSL camp, 1300SAINT, is the sound of the future. His autotune-heavy delivery, paired with his larger-than-life beats, takes all of his inspirations and dials them up to 10. Forget banging on lunch tables to freestyle; it’s more likely that SAINT would be standing on them, ready to rage.
As an artist from Atlanta, you can hear the Playboi Carti and Thug influence, but there’s more to it. While his SAINT SEASON cover art channeled Thug’s Slime Season, ALL HAIL was a nod to Yeezus, showing that he’s a real student of the game.
He was born in Atlanta and grew up there for a bit, then moved to Maryland, so traveling isn’t anything new for him. But 2025 shifted his worldview even more when he did a show in Tokyo that completely changed his perspective on having fans.
He’s dropped 2 EPs and 2 albums this year alone, so there’s plenty to catch up on. 1300SAINT’s newest album, Savior, is out now.
Skrilla
If it feels like we wrote about Skrilla at least 6-7 times this year, it’s for good reason. Aside from having a viral moment so massive “67” became Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year, he’s been building one of the most unique sounds coming out of Philly.
Skrilla raps from the heart of Kensington—a neighborhood the internet calls “Zombieland”—and the music reflects it. His sound is dark, think Victorian choir loops, cathedral bells, and a grimy, deadpan flow that feels like a horror movie scored for the streets.
“Doot Doot (6 7)” may have turned him into a meme, but the artistry runs deeper. His Santería background and custom “soul snatcher” mask give him a visual identity as striking as his music. Just listen to “Rich Sinners” with Lil Yachty, and you’ll see the edge he brings to rap’s current rotation. There’s a reason he’s earned co-signs from Lil Baby, Rob49, and G Herbo.
Call it whatever you want—meme, movement, moment—but Skrilla’s graduating to the next level.
