The Come Up

“Cities like L.A. and New York, even down south in cities like New Orleans, the wild cities where a lot of murder, drug trafficking go on, that's basically what Detroit has been all my life," says Boldy James. "It's been a place where if you don't adapt to your surroundings the hood will take you under." The...

Photography By: Stephanie Koch It’s been a banner year for coming up Chicago rappers as young acts like Tree, Alex Wiley, and of course Chance The Rapper have gotten national attention. Vic Mensa’s year has been a little bumpier: His band Kids These Days broke up after releasing one album (the Jeff Tweedy-produced Traphouse Rock) and he’s had to deal with endless comparisons after Acid Rap blew u

Young Dolph isn’t quite a household name yet, but he’s on a mission to change that. The Memphis native is gaining momentum in his city, coming off the heels of rappers such as Three 6 Mafia and Yo Gotti. Dating back to 2011, Dolph has been relentless with his mixtape releases, dropping underground sensations Blue Magic, his High Class Street Music series, and East Atlanta South Memphis with Gucci

In May, there were murmurs of TDE signing their next artist. Tennessee rapper Isaiah Rashad was already a buzzword in the industry before he even dropped a full project to back it up. Peter Rosenberg, who is always on point when it comes to inside information, tweeted that he met the newest signee, but couldn’t say much about it. A mo...

This June, just as Chance The Rapper's star was beginning to become blinding off the strength of his off-the-wall Acid Rap mixtape, another young kid from Chicago released his own project that existed outside of what had become the new normal of Chicago drill music. Ale...

Growing up in East New York, rapper A.G. Da Coroner has had plenty experience with death, he says. That may be why he’s so comfortable around dead bodies, whether they’re the MCs he kills figuratively on the rap battle circuit – or the actual ones lying stiff in the hospital morgue, where he worked for eight years. “The science ...

Kidd Kidd has been in the game for a while, but is just now starting to get the attention he deserves. The New Orleans native was once affiliated with Young Money and appeared on Lil Wayne’s platinum-selling single “Mrs. Officer.” His grind ...

Scotty ATL is a young up-and-coming rapper from Atlanta who's apart of the new wave of talent that's sweeping the hip-hop scene. With friends like XXL 2013 Freshmen Trinidad Jame$, super-clique Two-9, Young Scooter, and Rome Fortune, New Atlanta is stocked full of fresh raw names...

The Come Up: The Boy Illinois

The Come Up: Detail

Deniro Farrar is a different type of rapper. With a multitude of MCs rapping about money, cash, drugs, clothes and hoes, to hear someone revert back to storytelling-conveying one's life as vividly as they can through their words-is truly refreshing...

It’s been a little under a year since Katie Got Bandz released her first mixtape Bandz And Hittaz. In that span of time, the South Side Chicago-bred 19-year-old has made a name for herself nationwide through the streets and on the web via a handful of viral videos. One ...