All but one of the artists that made the list have albums on my top 30 albums and he gets included because not only is he crazy talented (pun intended) but should have been here last year but just missed out. It's note-worthy that the bulk of the list is made up of solo male artists---a good sign that men are not being left behind in the race to discover new fresh and exciting talent:
Here goes:
TOP OF THE CLASS:
JPEGMafia:
It seems silly almost to only just now be "officially" having JPEGMafia on this list when in fact this is his third successive year on my year-end lists. But, I wasn't sure if his hybrid of pop and rap was just a sudden flake or here to stay. No more hedging the bet though: dude's the real thing.
The best of the rest in no particular order:
Denzel Curry:
from the crazy to the political, Curry rose to the occasion this year.
Moses Sumney:
another young black man reinvented how soul music can be delivered.
Rina Sawayama:
while The Weeknd gets hurt by Grammy snubs, the stunning Sawayama was the one most robbed but who needs outdated awards when universal acclaim enveloped your album?
Frazey Ford:
the new, better Adele? You heard it here first...
Marlowe:
taking conscious rapping into a great new direction.
Jay Wile:
if you shut your eyes, you'd swear it was Frank Ocean singing.
Yves Tumor:
another artist I held back on but this year his star shine became bright.
Slowthai:
a little Brit craziness mixedwith Caribbean punk. Can't wait for an album proper.
LoveLeo:
no idea what his references are and that makes it even better to getting a sneak peak into his upcoming career.
Jean Dawson:
remember when the Nobel Prize went to Obama just as he became President? This mention is on that level.
Sault:
good luck trying to find out much about this secret collective---just know the music is excellent.
