🎉 CONGRATULATIONS to our newest BeatsToRapOn Podcast features! 🎉

We’re shining a spotlight on creators pushing culture forward—tap in, show love, and drop your questions for the episode in the comments. ⬇️

• lsk (Rapper • Producer • Songwriter • Artist) — Houston energy, freestyle heavy.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/lsk

• dj-kingdon9ine (Artist • DJ • Producer) — Hip-hop x EDM x Pop alchemist.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/dj-kingdon9ine

• youngdreamzz116 (Artist • Songwriter • Playlist Owner) — Afrobeats heart, big dreams.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/youngdreamzz116

• chiefspaz (Rapper • Artist • Live Performer) — East coast grit, all gas.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/chiefspaz

• crystal789 (Vocalist • Artist • DJ) — Trap soul textures, 100+ songs deep.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/crystal789

• an3kt (Artist • Rapper • Vocalist) — Lo-fi moods, new-school bounce.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/an3kt

• tmaudio707 (Producer • Artist) — Lo-fi & guitar-driven instrumentals for every vibe.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/tmaudio707

• brentindavis (Artist • Producer) — Contemporary hip-hop with R&B/techno flair.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/brentindavis

• dino (Producer • Rapper • Artist) — Melodic trap with a story to tell.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/dino

• 13467899 (Artist • Songwriter • Vocalist) — Emo rap from a rising voice.
Profile: https://beatstorapon.com/artist/13467899

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome back to the Deep Dive. We are doing something a little different today. We've pulled together this, well, custom stack of sources. It's a raw, kind of immediate look at the profiles and tracks of some really active emerging artists, you know, the ones shaping the digital music scene right now. It really is an incredible snapshot, yeah. These sources give us this unfiltered view of creation before any big industry intervention happens. We're seeing how creator roles are merging. So many artists are the rapper and the producer and the songwriter all in one. And how genre boundaries are just dissolving. And maybe most importantly, what their self-promotion looks like. It's high energy, super personalized, trying to get that first break. Yeah, that's exactly the mission here. Let's analyze these unique personas, the genre mashups, which are getting pretty wild. And, you know, the key tracks, these digital beat makers and vocalists are putting out. We're not talking about established names today. It's all about that raw energy of discovery. So let's jump straight into section one. We're calling it the Hip Hop Hustle. It's about aggressive, thematic rap, often with strong geographic ties. Okay, yeah. Let's start with Elsk. That's L-S-K, the Lazy Southern King. Lazy Southern King. Got it. Operating out of Houston, Texas. And right away, he flags four main roles. Rapper, producer, beat maker, songwriter, lyricist, and artist. That multi-role thing again. Exactly. This kind of self-sufficiency, it's almost less of a choice and more just required, you know, for early digital success. And his bio, it really sets a tone for that hustle, doesn't it? He claims he produces all his own music and then says aggressively that 90% of all my music is all freestyle. 90%. Yeah, big claim. He's also using platform verification smartly, points out he's a blue check certified artist on rap fame, and tags everything. Hashtag Royal Thai Radio. Feels like he's staking out territory. It really is. And the themes in his tracks, it looks very strategic, like he's trying to capture different listener groups. You've got a political rap track, Corruption, at a mid-tempo 130 BPM. Okay. But right next to it are two hard gangster rap tracks, Before I Die, which is faster, 140 BPM, and then the slower, heavier, All Eyes On Me at 88 BPM. Okay. I have to ask about mixing those though. Political rap and gangster rap, especially with all those tags like hashtag fire, hashtag viral, heavy emojis. Does that dilute the political message or is it just smart SEO, basically? It's almost certainly the second one. An emerging artist, they really can't afford to get stuck in one box. By covering multiple themes, even ones that seem contradictory, Ilsek is just maximizing his chances of showing up in searches, different moods, different people. Right. The 140 BPM track, that's energy for workout playlist. The 88 BPM one, maybe late night listening. Everything's a potential hook. Makes sense. Now let's pivot from that heavy Southern sound to Chief Spaz. He represents a different kind of regional energy maybe. His profile is way less wordy, just Chief Spaz, hashtag YouTube, like and share. Exactly. Super direct, pure call to action. Yeah. He lists his roles as rapper, artist, and live performer MC. That suggests maybe more focus on visibility, stage presence, kind of that East Coast vibe maybe. Could be. And his focus seems to be on tracks getting views like Big Pluto. That one has over 3,200 views, 96 BPM, and After Hours, which is 92 BPM. Right. And check out the collaboration on CountAgeH100, FeetFizo, CBFW. That shows that even early on, collaborating is still key to getting your name out there, especially in that gangster rap subgenre. So it's not purely DIY then. You still need that network. It's a hybrid, totally. DIY production meets that kind of old school feature strategy. What we see from both Ulsk and Chief Spaz is that even in this decentralized digital world, those regional sounds and aggressive self-defined themes, they're still really powerful marketing tools. Okay. Interesting. Let's move on then. Leaving geographic rap behind and exploring these global sounds and really experimental hybrids, this is where the bios seem to get, well, less promotional and more philosophical. Or maybe just wild. Oh, they absolutely cross over into the abstract sometimes. Take DJ Kingda9. Now, this creator combines traditional producer roles, DJ, music artist, producer. It says he mixes hip hop, EDM, and pop. Okay. Already a complex mix. Right. But then you read the bio. Yeah. The claim that he's the founder of his own nation state in the digital and cultural realm. Wow. That's either peak confidence or maybe just performance art for the algorithm. It's definitely memorable. But what's fascinating is the potential disconnect, right? He's projecting this huge almost geopolitical identity, yet his featured tracks fall under a pretty niche genre. Samples World Music Samples, we're looking at Dark Nights at 75 BPM and Happy Life, Techie Anonymous Music. So the grand identity versus the niche instrumental output. Is that a risk though, making a claim that big? Or is it just a way to make sure even a niche track has this unforgettable creator backstory attached? I think it's strategic noise. In a crowded feed, a bio like that makes you stop scrolling, right? Yeah, it does. You might click because of the whole nation state thing, but maybe you stay because the World Music Sample track is actually, you know, good. This kind of fluid, almost made up identity. It's only really possible on platforms where you control your whole persona. Right, right. Okay. Contrasting that huge self-declared empire, we have Young Dreams, 116. This artist seems much more focused on a specific global sound. Afro beats. Yes, exactly. His real name is Tmuking God's Will Ahamafula, and he's listed as artist and songwriter. And that focus comes through in the tracks. Totally. Say I've Been on the Road, thingy, nice use of emojis there. That's Afro Soul, 100 BPM. And then the faster Afro pop track, Say She Loved Me at 133 BPM. And the descriptions here are more narrative. The notes on Say She Loved Me talk specifically about like love versus money. So this creator seems to be prioritizing lyrical storytelling within a pretty defined popular global genre. Gotcha. And then for maybe the ultimate in-genre collision, there's Crystal789, lists vocalist, singer, artist, and DJ roles, and claims over 100 songs created in BandLab. That volume alone is impressive. That volume is key, yeah. And her track list, it's a perfect example of what we could call genre optimization. She covers mainstream stuff like trap and drill, but then you see these really specific hybrids you mentioned. She actually has a track tagged as Country Trap, it's called Dr. King Ferrari, and another one tagged Trap Soul, Find a Way to Your Heart. Yeah, wait, hang on. Country Trap, for real, that kind of hyper-specific blend, it really shows how digital creators aren't waiting for the industry to make categories anymore, are they? Not at all. They're just tagging their tracks with these niche searchable terms to grab a small, maybe, but very loyal audience right away. That's the beauty of it, exactly. If you basically invent the sub-genre, you're instantly the main player in it. The digital space rewards that specificity because it helps people find you. That leads us perfectly into our next section then. We've talked a lot about lyricists, vocalists, but that's only half the picture in digital music, right? The other half is that huge market for pure instrumentals. Let's shift focus to the producers, the beat makers, and the big aesthetic right now, lo-fi. Yeah, it's a huge shift, but totally essential. Look at Brennan Davis. Focuses on contemporary hip-hop, mixes rap, R&B, techno sounds. His whole profile seems geared towards subbing that demand for beats. And the engagement numbers on his instrumentals are, well, they're kind of staggering, aren't they? And really tell a story. His track for Ubeat, tagged Lo-Fi Beats, has over 5,400 views and 259 likes. That's serious traffic for a track with no vocals. It really signals a strong niche market for producers. Oh, absolutely. And that high view count on instrumental tracks. It's not just people passively listening. It often means active consumption by other emerging rappers or singers looking for beats to use. Ah, right. Like source material. Exactly. A lo-fi beat is easy to license or sample or just use as background music for a video. It has high utility. And lo-fi itself is huge because, well, it's relatively easy to make. And it's super popular as background music for studying, working, whatever. He also has tracks like Flint Type Beat, which is explicitly signaling utility, like you said, and Hip-Hop Rap Island. He's positioning himself as a source for different kinds of instrumentals. Yeah. Now, contrast that strategic description with Demadio 707, their bio is super simple but kind of perfect for an instrumentalist. Everybody needs something to listen to. Yeah. Simple and true. Listed purely as producer, beat maker, and artist. And their track list is just pure function. There's guitar instrumentals, including one just called Tetch. Intriguing. Right next to two clear examples of that dominant genre. Lo-fi beats tracks called VIP and Lost. It's music designed to fit into your life, not necessarily demand all your attention. Right. Background vibe. And finally, in this production category, we see this really interesting example of fluid digital identity with a 3KAT. The profile name is in 3KAT. But the creator specifically asks people to stream their work under a different name. Inbal Webster. That's an immediate sign they're adapting, maybe. Or shifting strategy. Maybe the first name was temporary, or they're prepping for a different platform or more formal branding. Could be any of those. But what stays constant is they're using lo-fi hip-hop as the main sub-genre for tracks like Friends and Flaws. So even when the name itself is kind of in flux, the genre identity needs to be stable. Interesting point. It really underlines that in this space, your sound is maybe your truest ID, even more than whatever handle you're using today. OK, good point. Let's wrap things up by looking at two more artists who seem to represent the youth movement and also really direct ways of communicating. Yeah, we definitely need to talk about 13467899, identified as Sean Murphy, born in 2007. Born in 2007. Wow. OK. British-Nigerian. And putting that birth year out there, that's a huge signal to their target audience. They focus heavily on emo rap. Emo rap is such a dominant genre right now, isn't it? It really taps into those hyper-specific feelings, anxieties, maybe, of a younger generation. Absolutely. And his tracks, like the Cash Freestyle Libre slowed version, that one's 78 BPM, pulled in over 3,200 views. And the original faster version, Cash Freestyle Libre, they speak right to that kind of melancholic, reflective mood. Yeah. And here again, we see that need for versatility. Even though the focus is vocal emo rap, this creator also includes an instrumental drill track, 7676. Oh, OK. So you have to show, you know, the whole landscape. Exactly. You need to demonstrate you get the current youth trends, from the emotional lyrics of emo rap to the, you know, aggressive production of drill. Got it. And finally, we have Dino. His profile seems maybe the most pragmatic, least thematic of all of them. This artist is a rapper and producer beatmaker and uses his bio mainly for, well, direct business. Yeah. It's the purest transactional approach we've seen. Forget the nation-state bio or the fancy genre tags. This profile just gives you an email address and a phone number. Right. Like, listen to the music, like it, here's how to reach me for collabs or beats. Pretty much. FWM for collabs, as some might say. Yeah. His tracks, like Dino the Pain Effect, official audio, which is Melodic Trap and Wave Inside My Cup by Dino, they provide the musical proof. That simplicity of just offering direct contact, it kind of cuts through all the digital noise, doesn't it? It's a creator saying, look, I'm ready for business right now. So when we try to pull all these diverse observations together, the common threads are pretty undeniable, I think. We're seeing a total collapse of those old, rigid genre boundaries, country trap, emo rap, political rap, all living side by side in one artist's profile sometimes. And the creators themselves are just overwhelmingly self-sufficient. Almost every single artist we looked at listed multiple roles. Rapper, producer, songwriter seems almost standard. What does that actually mean for the music industry when the producer, the writer, and the artist are all the same person? Well, it means potentially greater creative control, definitely faster output, and yeah, it removes some traditional gatekeepers. Right. But it also means probably higher expectations on the artist, maybe potential burnout. They're juggling like four jobs at once. The digital artist today is basically a solo entrepreneur in every sense. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. And the platform bios themselves, they've become these incredibly potent marketing tools. They're less like summaries and more like, I don't know, personal flyers, statements of identity, sometimes radical ones. Or like we saw with Dino, just direct calls for collaboration. Here's my number. Exactly. What really stands out is how these digital platforms let artists immediately stake a claim in these super specific sub-genres. They can bypass that traditional slow climb and go straight for a niche, probably hungry audience. And that leads right to the sort of core puzzle this material throws up, doesn't it? We noticed many of these tracks show zero recorded plays on the platform. Right, zero plays. Yet they boast thousands of views and hundreds of likes. So given that huge volume of views, how do we value exposure and likes on these platforms compared to old metrics like actual plays or sales? Is a view now more valuable than a play if your main goal is just getting discovered? That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Which number really signals success for an artist whose goal is just to get found, get recognized? Is it the exposure metric showing someone saw your name, your track title? Or is it the consumption metric suggesting someone actually listened all the way through? It really changes how we even define success in music now. Definitely something to think about. Okay, that's all the time we have for this deep dive. We'll mull that over until next time.