To kick off our 2017 year-end coverage, we're reintroducing a feature we skipped last year, the regional ranking. In 2015, we compiled a ranked list of the most popping scenes located in cities, regions, or states, taking into consideration established artists dropping albums as well as up-and-coming talent bubbling below the surface. That year, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Toronto finished first through third.
In the two years that have followed, rap (and music in general) has become even less tied to physical location, with cross-country collaborations or even partnerships (think Playboi Carti and Key! with A$AP Mob or Isaiah Rashad with TDE) becoming more common, relocation in pursuit of stardom (think Metro Boomin moving from St. Louis to Atlanta) becoming more common, and SoundCloud continuing to rise as a platform that can propel artists from small towns in the middle of nowhere to stardom. In 2017, we've seen an unprecedented number of kids like Trippie Redd and Tay-K emerge from cities with little to no previous rep (Canton, Ohio and Dallas, Texas) and score viral hits and/or powerful co-signs. That reveals not only a more decentralized music industry, but also one that increasingly understands how to gauge and capitalize upon youth trends that happen away from more tried-and-true channels. If we were still relying on dusty A&Rs more so than YouTube view counts, then Diggy Simmons would be topping the charts while Cardi B still danced in New York clubs.
Because of all of these factors, we're narrowing down our list from ten to five regions that dominated the conversations this past year. What region you got? What city should have made the list? Let us know in the comments.
Toronto
(2015 ranking: 3)
If you think Toronto had an off year, look at the charts. Despite being released late last year, The Weeknd's Starboy remained in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 200 for most of 2017 (it's currently at #37, and just received a Grammy nomination), being certified double platinum in June, and all six of its singles did time in the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 throughout the year. Drake released his "playlist" More Life, which broke streaming records on Spotify and Apple Music, and produced three top ten singles. Toronto's two most powerful stars only increased their grip on the top this year.
The city's middle class, on the other hand, faltered a bit. Much of that is due to guys like Tory Lanez, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Jazz Cartier not releasing albums-- although Tory has picked up steam lately with a string of sophomore album singles, and Jazz Cartier has just started on his end as well-- while Toronto's known R&B duos Majid Jordan and dvsn failed to drum up much hype with their respective sophomore efforts. After signing artists that quickly turned around fairly successful commercial projects in the past couple of years, namely, Roy Woods in 2015 and dvsn in 2016, OVO's only signees this year (Plaza and Baka Not Nice) have yet to prove their worth.
Perhaps the only up-and-comers making much noise outside of the city in 2017 were Nav, the XO signee who's proven a bit divisive to listeners, and Daniel Caesar, the R&B traditionalist who scored a great debut album with Freudian. It's cool to see such a diverse city continue to produce stars of all races and genres.
Toronto is also constantly the home of plenty of fresh up and comers, those not quite leveling up to Nav's fame just yet, but tracking their successes slowly and surely and adding to the thriving rap scene that's there -- such as the new duo 88Glam, Killy, and the CMDWN Collective.
Toronto Soundbites:
New York
(2015 ranking: 5)
People continue to clown NYC for being dusty (shout out to Jadakiss and Fabolous' new tape) but 2017 was its best year in a long time. Cardi B emerged as a bonafide star on the back of "Bodak Yellow," A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie dropped his debut and notched a few hit singles, Dave East found a way to make his traditional boom bap more relevant, and up-and-comers like Don Q, SquidNice, and Jay Critch have made for the most promising class of young talent in the city since most of GS9 went behind bars.
Lest we forget, the city's old guard did well for themselves too. Jay-Z dropped his best album in YEARS in 4:44, Remy Ma made headlines with her Nicki Minaj beef, French Montana somehow grabbed another hit with "Unforgettable," and even Mase and Cam'ron got a recent publicity boost with their recent beef. Reigning queen Nicki Minaj did little to bolster her position, turning in quite a few lackluster guest verses, but a new album appears to be nigh. Ditto for A$AP Mob, whose sophomore group album faltered, but scored a definite W with Twelvyy's debut album, and hope to see an uptick with Rocky's upcoming "experimental" album.
If you factor in what's happening in the underground scene that surrounds the city and state, including guys like Westside Gunn, Conway, and Mach-Hommy, the region only looks stronger.
New York Soundbites:
Los Angeles
(2015 ranking: 2)
In 2015, L.A.'s high ranking was mostly due to the caliber of albums released by artists like Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, and Ty Dolla $ign; this year, the same holds true (right down to those three artists, in fact). In addition to DAMN., Big Fish Theory, and Beach House 3, we got Tyler The Creator's Flower Boy, SZA's CTRL, G Perico's All Blue, and two stellar albums from recently-relocated boy band Brockhampton (with a third to come before the year's end). We've also got new Miguel and Anderson .Paak projects on the horizon.
What is it about L.A. that continues to produce the most critically acclaimed albums in rap? Part of it's definitely TDE, the label that churns out at least a couple of top ten albums per year, like clockwork (last year's were Schoolboy Q's Blank Face and Isaiah Rashad's The Sun's Tirade). We've also got to give Odd Future credit, as artists under that umbrella (notably Tyler, Frank Ocean, Syd, and Earl Sweatshirt) continue to be reliable in their full-length output.
You never seem to hear about many up-and-coming L.A. rapers who aren't tied to a collective or a label, which means that the class inequality is pretty steep between the city's upper and lower tiers, but also that the city has a consistently high bar for success.
L.A. Soundbites:
Atlanta
(2015 ranking: 1)
Atlanta has remained a dominant force in rap music since its widespread national success in the mid-2000s, and in 2017, like all other years in the past decade, it's shown no signs of slowing down. Its elder statesmen, like Big Boi, Gucci Mane, and 2 Chainz, continue to age gracefully— Boomiverse, Mr. Davis, DropTopWop, and Pretty Girls Like Trap Music are all good-to-great albums in their own right. Its heavy class of established stars, including Future, Young Thug, and Migos, all scored their highest charting songs to date this year ("Mask Off," "Havana," and "Bad N Boujee," respectively). Its hotbed of producers continues to reinvent itself, with Metro Boomin in particular seeming stronger than ever.
Most importantly, it continues to produce new stars. 21 Savage and Offset, both guys who have been around for a few years, have come into their own recently, especially on the recent Without Warning tape. Playboi Carti finally released a solo project and scored a big hit in "Magnolia." Hoodrich Pablo Juan had a career-making year with tapes like HoodWolf and Designer Drugz 3. Artists like Young Nudy, Kodie Shane, UnoTheActivist and Lil Wop, all of whom are affiliated with more established talent, are waiting on the wings and seemed poised for breakouts next years. It's going to take a severe seismic shift for ATL's power to wane.
Atlanta Soundbites:
South Florida
(2015 ranking: 7)
The fact that Atlanta dropped from #1 to #2 in the past two years does not mean that it's gotten any weaker. All it means is that South Florida has become the definitive breeding ground for the stars of tomorrow. Two years ago, we were talking about Kodak Black, Denzel Curry, Wifisfuneral, and Yung Simmie; today, there's a whole host of names that weren't even on our radars then. You've got the controversial XXXTentacion, whose inclusion on this year's XXL Freshman list seemed like a better-late-than-never coronation of the region, and whose debut EP is still performing well on the charts. Lil Pump might be the current SoundCloud scene's biggest commercial success yet; he's already signed and put out a debut, and just today, his track "Gucci Gang" rose to a new peak (#3) on the Hot 100. My guess as to who will soon lead the scene though? Ski Mask The Slump God. He's got the charisma and intrigue of all of his peers with an unparalleled flow, a keen ear for beats, and enough ties to rap's old guard (namely Timbaland and Busta Rhymes) to become a crossover success.
The fact that the Miami/Dade County area had a somewhat established rap scene (see: Rick Ross, Gunplay, DJ Khaled, Flo Rida, Ace Hood) had nothing to do with these kids' come-up. Their success is unlike any of the other up-and-comers mentioned in this list in that it seemed wholly organic and not bolstered by any kind of outside support. As much as I've mentioned commercial success and critical acclaim, that's what truly makes a scene flourish.
South Florida Soundbites: