10 Emerging Artists To Watch in 2011

10 Emerging Artists To Watch in 2011

At the end of 2009, I made a list of artists who were on pace to greatly enhance their careers in 2010.  The list was based off of what the artists had already accomplished, anticipation for upcoming projects, and the strength of their buzz going into 2010.  Last year’s group of artists saw three of the five unsigned acts get major record deals and four of the five signed emcees release successful debut albums.

Now as we begin a new year, I’ve compiled a list of artists who should greatly enhance their careers in 2011.  Before we start, however, I’d like to point out that I purposely excluded J.Cole from this year’s list in an effort to free up space and avoid re-writing exactly what I said about the Fayetteville emcee last time around. After all, it’s pretty obvious that the Roc Nation artist’s debut album will be a major turning point in his budding career.

This list is split in half between independent and major label artists:

Five Major Label Artists To Watch In 2011:

1. Wiz Khalifa

In 2010, Wiz Khalifa proved the strength of his following with an impressive tour schedule that boasted sold out shows across the country, a feature in XXL’s Freshmen 10, and the release of his critically acclaimed Kush And Orange Juice project.

The Atlantic Records artist is currently enjoying the smash success of his latest single, “Black And Yellow.”  As a Pittsburgh anthem, the song increased Wiz Khalifa’s reach and helped new listeners associate a sound with the young emcee.  A few more monster tracks on the emerging artist’s debut album will spell out quite a successful 2011 for Wiz!

More information on Wiz Khalifa.

2. Travis Porter

Rap’s hottest independent group finally signed their major label deal at the end of 2010.  Now, Travis Porter is gearing up to take over nationwide radio stations.  This radio takeover shouldn’t be too hard, as the trio has already seen a great deal of success with their current single, “Make It Rain.”

A few major mixtape releases scheduled for early 2011, followed by a debut album will have these boys looking much more like vets than rookies in the game.  Here’s what we wrote about Traveeeeey last year.

More information on Travis Porter.

3. Yelawolf

Yelawolf exploded onto hip hop’s radar last year with his impressive Trunk Muzik release, which also fulfilled our 2009 prediction!  This year, we can expect the Alabama emcee to make an even larger impact with his debut album, Radioactive.  The major label release should greatly increase Yelawolf’s audience.  Also, don’t be surprised if Yela’s face shows up on this year’s issue of XXL’s Freshman 10.

More information on Yelawolf.

4. Big Sean

Big Sean released the highly anticipated, final chapter to his Finally Famous mixtape series this past August.  Now Sean is gearing up to release his debut album, also titled Finally Famous, in 2011.  The Detroit emcee’s impressive performance at the BET Cypher and his presence on a number of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Friday releases greatly helped to increase his fan base in 2010.

Last year also saw Big Sean receive a feature in XXL’s Freshmen Class of 2010, an honor that his G.O.O.D. Music label mate Cyhi Da Prynce should be experiencing this time around.  Despite leaving Cyhi out of my list of 10 emcees to watch in 2011, I believe that he too will greatly enhance his career over the next twelve months.

More information on Big Sean.

5. Big K.R.I.T.

Big K.R.I.T. released the critically acclaimed K.R.I.T. Wuz Here project on May 3rd, 2010, and has been one of the hottest new artists in the game ever since.  K.R.I.T. is planning on releasing another impressive street album, Return Of 4eva, in 2011, before giving fans his major label debut.

The emcee and producer should also find himself on the cover of XXL magazine’s Freshman Class of 2011 issue.

More information on Big K.R.I.T.

Five Independent Artists To Watch In 2011:

In a similar fashion to J.Cole being excluded from the major label list above, I’ve decided to take Chip Tha Ripper off of this year’s independent section.  The Cleveland emcee remained on the edge of enhancing his career last year, but we’re still waiting on the collaborative album with Kid Cudi that I mentioned in 2010’s post.  Chip’s new EP will be dropping on March 1st though.

6. Dom Kennedy

Dom Kennedy is undoubtedly one of the best unsigned artists on the West Coast and 2011 should prove to be the emerging emcee’s best year to date.  If the Leimert Park native graces the cover of XXL’s Freshman list, he’ll surely continue to expose new listeners to his additively smooth sound.

Also, Dom’s From the Westside, with Love II project should be one of the new year’s best releases.

More information on Dom Kennedy.

7.  Mac Miller

Mac Miller shares the same creative management team as Wiz Khalifa in Rostrum Records.  Also similar to Wiz, the recent high school graduate should experience a large increase in his fanbase during 2011.  Whether the Pittsburgh emcee signs a major label deal and releases a debut album or decides to drop another impressive mixtape, he’ll surely do something big in 2011 to increase his already growing buzz.

More information on Mac Miller.

8.  Tity Boi

Tity Boi aka 2 Chainz aka Mr. Hair Weave Killer set the streets on fire in 2010 with the release of Trap-A-Velli 2, hosted by Bigga Rankin.  The project is the latest of six solo Tity Boi mixtapes which the Atlanta emcee has been releasing to feed his growing fanbase.  A lot of people are watching for Tit’s next move.

More information on Tity Boi.

9. Kendrick Lamar

Over the last couple of years, Kendrick Lamar went from simply being on the same label as Jay Rock, to becoming TDE’s hottest artist.  It’ll be interesting to see what he releases in 2011, especially since the Compton emcee ended 2010 with positive reviews from a number of the major blog sites and hip hop tastemakers alike.  Kendrick may even be featured on Dr. Dre’s upcoming Detox album.

More information on Kendrick Lamar.

10. Future

Backed by DJ Greg Street, Rocko, and a number of tastemakers in the Atlanta area, Future is currently an artist worth watching.   The emerging emcee not only wrote Y.C.’s smash hit “Racks,” but also appears on one of the track’s verses and hook.

Future may be new but his buzz is growing fast.  In 2011, it’ll be interesting to see where Future’s Lil Mexico lingo takes him.

More information on Future.