Over the course of many years the West Coast has been the birthing center of some of Hip Hop’s greatest artists. The West has brought the culture of music new and fresh sounds from The Bay to LA for over 30 years. With many success stories over the years such as Dr. Dre, Tupac, Nipsey Hussle, and Ice Cube to name a few; the West Coast music scene has opened doors for a new generation of artists. Below are 10 upcoming West Coast artists to be on the lookout for.
LaRussell (Bay Area)
Stemming from the “Bay Area” Vallejo, CA to be exact we have indie rap artist LaRussell. With over 600,000 social media followers and 320,108 listeners on Spotify, LaRussell’s electrifying sound has helped the artist create a major buzz for himself. With the success of his many projects LaRussell has been able to open a nonprofit “Good Compenny” which helps local creatives showcase their art while also learning the ends and outs of entrepreneurship.
Zoe Osama ( Los Angeles, CA)
An LA native, Zoe Osama has quickly surpassed the top of the West Coast music scene. In late 2022 Osama released his now hit single “Underrated” which has since gone viral and has passed over 4 million just on YouTube alone. Since becoming a thriving success Zoe has released a 13 track project under the same name. With leading single “Excited” now at viral status.
Jayson Cash (Carson, California)
Hailing from Carson, California Cash brings a positive and melodic take to the West Coast rap scene. Since signing to Atlantic Records in 2021 Cash has released an array of projects and astounding features that has solidified his talents. Jayson’s most notable body of work to date would be his song “Priority”, which features fellow West Coast artist Blsxt. Which has currently received over 1 million hits. Closing out 2022 his second biggest release “Been in My Bag” featuring 1TakeJay and Major Myah. While working on his newest full body project Jayson keeps fans sustained by consistently posting freestyles every Friday.
Airplane James( East Side)
Coming in from the East Side of Los Angeles Airplane James along with many other artists has helped bring versatility back into LA rap. Since 2018 James has been consistently releasing music creating a strong fan base. Most recently James released his latest project “Still Hurt”, and continues to create a new lane of West Coast artistry.
Westside Boogie(Compton)
The Compton native has been creating timeless music since 2014. This has led him to create a well rounded catalog of timeless songs. In 2017 Boogie was featured in the BET Hip Hop Awards Detroit cypher, which featured an appearance from Eminem. Due to his impactful lyricism, Westside has gained praises from industry professionals such as Kendrick Lamar. In more recent times Boogie has opened for 6lack along with Tierra Whack for 6lacks world tour. On January 25t Westside Boogie released his debut album Everything’s for Sale with guest appearances from Eminem, 6lack, JID and many more.
Ray Vaughn (Long Beach)
The TDE artist first sent shockwaves through the industry with a viral freestyle he did on “Power 106”, using Snoop Dogg’s “Lay Low”. Since then Ray Vaughn has put out a multitude of singles, in more recent times he has released a record titled “Sand Castles” which features fellow label mate Ab-Soul.
Kxng Dope (Inglewood)
From The City of Champs, Inglewood native Kxng Dope is definitely living up to the city’s reputation. With being on the scene for a short period of time the rapper has already gained attention of some of the West’s heavy hitters such as Snoop Dogg. With the success of his current single “Big Dawg” Kxng Dope has been featured on the “Gina Verse Cypher” on Sway’s Universe.
AJ The One (Inglewood)
Since her days at UC Berkeley, AJ The One has been creating a new lane for female rap especially in The West Coast. With her sultry voice and melodic lyricism AJ is definitely adding a new feel to rap. In 2022 she released her full length project Bussin out the Box which features her breakout single “Nervous” tagging fellow LA native Wray.
Day Sulan
Since her Instagram freestyle days Day Sulan has created a steady stream of supporters, which has led her to become the First Lady of “4Hunnid” which is a Record label founded by fellow West Coast native YG. Since being signed Day Sulan has released a number of singles including her hit single “Big” featuring Rubi Rose which has surpassed over 7 million views.
Cam & China
Inglewood natives Cam and China are no surprise to stardom as they played a major part in LA’s jerkin era as they were apart of girl group “Pink Dollaz”. Since the disbanding of the group the power duo has rebranded themselves into upcoming household names. Since posting freestyles Cam and China have been co-signed by some of Hollywood’s most loved such as Missy Elliot, Taraji P. Henson , D Smoke and more.
