The 2023 BET Awards are going down on Sunday, June 25, and the list for Best New Artist is exclusively female artists. Last year, the award went to Atlanta hip-hop icon Latto. This year's category is just as stacked, from Top Dawg Entertainment's Doechii to iconic London trio FLO. During hip-hop's happy hour, the Best New Artist Award is one of the most anticipated of the night. Today, we're diving into the rise of this year's nominees for the prestigious award.
Ambre
It's been a long road for Ambre to be nominated for any sort of award. Even if she's now under the "new artist" label, Ambre has been hard at work in the industry for well over half a decade. After initially garnering a fanbase with 2015's Wanderlust, she finally got her big break in 2019, signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation record label.
However, it was 2022's 3000 that really caught the attention of the music industry at large. Armed with a slew of new connections, the Jvck James-aided "I'm Baby" is nearing 10 million streams on Spotify alone. Growing up in New Orleans, two of her biggest influences were naturally Lil Wayne and jazz icons such as Nat King Cole. Ambre's sound is an exhilarating blend of both of those worlds, one that has warranted the 26-year-old a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2023 BET Awards.
Coco Jones
It might be an audacious comparison, but Coco Jones' vocal presence and fearless personality parallel the early days of Beyonce. The double threat also has a burgeoning career as an actor, appearing on Peacock's Bel-Air as an enforcing Gen-Z icon. Soon after signing with Def Jam, she released her debut project What I Didn't Tell You. An intimate collection of heartbreaking ballads, Jones wisely doesn't overproduce the sound. Instead, her piercing vocals take the forefront throughout, a trait most apparent in the soothing "ICU."
Coco Jones' stardom has been in the works for a long time. She got her start as a child star for the Disney Channel, appearing in So Random!, Good Luck Charlie, and Let It Shine. Thrown into the pressures of the entertainment industry at a young age, the 25-year-old carries herself with a level-headed approach beyond her years. In essence, she'll certainly be essential in pushing forward R&B in the coming years.
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Doechii
Amidst Kendrick Lamar's departure and the aging of the L.A. area's most recent collective of talented MCs, Top Dawg Entertainment has been reinforcing its portfolio over the past few years. There's perhaps no addition more exciting than Doechii, the first female rapper signed to the label. In 2022, she released the she / her / black b**ch EP, armored with contributions from Rico Nasty and labelmate SZA.
At 24 years old, her musical output has already expressed a unique level of range in the hip-hop world. In addition, Doechii has standout singles to back it up. "Persuasive" has well over 20 million streams on Spotify, while flamboyant banger "What It Is (Block Boy)" ft. Kodak Black has quickly morphed into her most commercially successful track to date. A creative chameleon, Doechii has expressed an ability to dart from menacing rap verses to drawn-out vocal pallets on a dime.
FLO
The electric UK trio of FLO has long been overdue for a large-scale nomination. Comprised of Stella Quaresma, Jorja Douglas, and Renée Downer, the trio has displayed an innate ability to capture the imaginations of a wide variety of audiences. It's why hip-hop icon Missy Elliott appeared on 2023's "Fly Girl," as the potential to bridge the gap between the millennial and Gen-Z counterparts is clear. While their theatrical sound mirrors that of the late '90s to early '00s era of R&B, their soaring and polished vocals reflect modern-day production.
However, as evidenced by their recent releases, FLO can be both feisty and sobering. Riding off of the high of their first nationwide tour and the success of the 2022 EP The Lead, the trio is an obvious addition to this year's BET Awards. Long-term, it will be interesting to see how long the extroverted trio will stick together. Each delivers a unique element, which makes FLO's sonic boundaries essentially limitless.
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GloRilla
It's been a whirlwind past year for the newfound Queen of Memphis Crunk. After the wild success of "F.N.F. (Let's Go)," it would only be a few more months before she found herself in a studio with Cardi B. The duo's "Tomorrow 2" would morph into one of 2022's biggest hip-hop hits. From appearing in a Sprite commercial to a Grammy nomination, her appearance for Best New Artist at the 2023 BET Awards was just about a given.
GloRilla has been nominated for an astounding six BET Awards, with only Toronto icon Drake being up for more. Her 2022 EP Anyways, Life's Great, a record that's put steam behind Memphis's hip-hop revival, is up for Album Of The Year. The 23-year-old has already hinted at her debut studio album releasing before the end of the year, where she told PopSugar it's "trying to give different vibes. Stuff that ain't so harsh." Even if her success is still in its early stages, GloRilla clearly isn't going anywhere.
Ice Spice
This one was a given. Ice Spice has damn near run the Internet over the course of 2023. Back in 2021, the 21-year-old became a Tik Tok star before she had even finished recording her first song. However, 2022's “Munch (Feelin’ U)” was the track that immediately transcended Ice Spice as a pop culture icon. The Drake-cosigned New York drill anthem took over last summer, and she was officially a star.
This year has been ever bigger for Ice Spice. She kicked it off with the release of EP Like..?, which debuted in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Rap Albums and the top 40 of the Billboard 200. However, her biggest endeavor yet would be a feature on the reworked version of PinkPantheress' "Boy's A Liar, Pt. 2," a track that is astoundingly about to eclipse 500 million streams on Spotify. Ice Spice has also been nominated for three other BET Awards.
Lola Brooke
Lola Brooke has been waiting for her breakout for over the past decade, meticulously chipping away at her rapping skills. Over the past few years, it's finally begun to pay off for the 29-year-old. The Brooklyn outfit represents everything about her upbringing, from assertive bars to an undeniable '90s flair. "Don't Play With It" was her first big break, blowing up on TikTok and attracting the attention of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and LeBron James.
If there's anyone deserving of the BET's 2023 Best New Artist Award, it's Lola Brooke. Now, she's got an EP on the way, which is slated to release in the Fall. In addition, Brooke has begun diving into the acting world on East New York.