Power Ranking All the Crews in Hip-Hop Right Now

Image via Complex Original

Mike WiLL Made-It is one of the hottest producers in hip-hop, and Interscope imprint Ear Drummers has had its name splashed across the pop charts, thanks to its flagship group Rae Sremmurd. Ear Drummers hasn’t released much music aside from Mike WiLL’s compilations and Rae Sremmurd’s two albums, but continues to snap up more artists, like the group Two-9 and a lengthy roster of in-house producers. 

When Malia Obama was photographed wearing a Pro Era T-shirt last year, it gave an unexpected publicity boost to the underground New York rap collective founded by the late Capital STEEZ. Pro Era’s biggest star Joey Bada$$ scored his first radio hit this year with “Devastated,” while other members of the collective like CJ Fly and Nyck Caution continue to raise the profile of the crew. 

The Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour currently hitting arenas across the country is a testament to the remarkable two-decade history of the label founded by Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. But it’s also something of an acknowledgment that Bad Boy’s best days are in the rearview. Still, the label can’t stop, won’t stop pumping out albums, including a top five chart debut for Machine Gun Kelly last year and Puff Daddy’s upcoming blockbuster sequel No Way Out 2. 

T.I.’s Grand Hustle Records was never quite a powerhouse label befitting the King of the South. Even the rappers who were signed to the label at one point—like Meek Mill, Iggy Azalea, and Killer Mike—reached their greatest successes after leaving Grand Hustle. But Travis Scott has brought new life to Grand Hustle as the label’s biggest rising star in years, while longtime artists like Trae The Truth and Young Dro continue to hold it down. 

Although Future’s record label Freebandz has had mainstays like Young Scooter and Casino for years, the crew didn’t gain much attention during Future’s recent rise to superstardom. But this year, the Freebandz Gang has been more active, with renowned producer Metro Boomin prepping an album of his own and Future signing Florida rapper Steelo Steezy and New York rapper Tru Life fresh off an 8-year prison bid. If rappers like Zoey Dollaz and Test can create some buzz, Freebandz could be set for takeoff.

YSL, which once stood for Young Slime Life and is now identified as Young Stoner Life, is the name of Young Thug’s apparel line. It also refers to a loose affiliation of Atlanta MCs that include Thugger, Duke, and Peewee Longway. It’s not clear whether Jeffery will build the YSL brand into a more proper label as his stardom rises, but he certainly has the opportunity to lead Atlanta’s next generation of hip-hop. 

One of Wiz Khalifa’s first and most important decisions when forming Taylor Gang Entertainment in 2008 was to sign Three 6 Mafia legend Juicy J as an artist and label A&R. The label has stayed pretty much intact since, with rapper Berner, longtime Wiz sidekick Chevy Woods, and Juicy J’s brother Project Pat. But it’s the string of hits from Wiz and R&B star Ty Dolla $ign that have kept Taylor Gang relevant. 

Roc Nation may be J. Cole’s business backer, but the North Carolina native’s heart belongs to Dreamville Records—the label that has gradually built up a solid roster of MCs that includes Bas, Cozz, Omen, Lute, and singer-songwriter Ari Lennox. At the moment, it seems unlikely that any of Dreamville’s artists will find the kind of platinum (with no features) success that its founder has reached, but with Interscope distributing Bas’s Too High To Riot and the label compilation Revenge of the Dreamers II, Cole is clearly invested in growing the business and nurturing careers. 

The Untouchable Maybach Empire, for all its bravado, has shown signs of strife lately. Rick Ross’s top lieutenants, Wale and Meek Mill, both scored No. 1 albums in 2015, but had a public falling out that put a dent in the label’s once united front. All of MMG’s top stars have new releases in the works, including another Self Made compilation and Meek Mill's DC4, but Meek's poorly handled beefs cast a long shadow. What’s more, people are beginning to doubt if signees like Rockie Fresh and Fat Trel will ever become major stars. 

For over a decade, Lil Wayne was the primary engine behind Cash Money’s phenomenal success, releasing multi-platinum albums and launching the careers of Drake and Nicki Minaj. But Wayne and Birdman have been feuding for nearly two years now, and it remains to be seen whether Drake and Nicki could follow him if he exits his deal with the label. Because without those three artists (Wayne, Drizzy, and Nicki), Cash Money wouldn’t have any legitimate stars left. 

SaveMoney is not a label or group so much as a loose collective of young Chicago MCs and musicians who have injected the city’s hip-hop scene with a fresh, exciting energy. Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Joey Purp, Towkio, Donnie Trumpet, and others round out the crew. 2016’s “SaveMoney Summer” brought a flood of new music from members of the collective over the past few months, and it feels like they’re just getting started. 

A$AP Mob will never be the same after the death of crew founder and creative linchpin Steven “A$AP Yams” Rodriguez in 2015. But A$AP Rocky is still a chart-topping, marquee name, and A$AP Ferg has also performed respectably with his two major label albums. After the crew album L.O.R.D. was scrapped in 2014, A$AP Mob has rallied to work on a new group project, The Cozy Tapes, paying tribute to their fallen leader on the single “Yamborghini High.” 

While Drake breaks sales records left and right with his solo albums under Cash Money/Republic, his OVO Sound label, distributed by Warner Bros. Records, operates more like a low-key incubator for talent from his native Toronto, Canada. OVO’s most prominent non-Canadian signing, iLoveMakonnen, jumped ship this year, leaving PartyNextDoor as the label’s biggest asset (other than Drizzy), whose P3 entered Billboard at No. 3 in August. Roy Woods and OB O’Brien will almost certainly never be household names, but with PND, dvsn, and Majid Jordan, October’s Very Own may be the most influential label in alt-R&B. 

With last year’s appointment of Pusha T as the President of G.O.O.D. Music, Kanye West’s label has entered its second decade with a highly respected artist helping pilot the ship for the first time. In addition to prepping his own album (King Push — Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude), Push has led an aggressive charge in bringing more artists to the label, including Migos, Tyga, and Desiigner. As we know, the 19-year-old Desiigner brought G.O.O.D. Music one of its biggest songs ever with “Panda.” But even with label veterans Big Sean and John Legend poised to follow the huge success of their most recent albums, it’s still Yeezus who makes G.O.O.D. Music a label to follow. 

The top dog of the TDE roster, Kendrick Lamar, is still riding high on the triumph of To Pimp A Butterfly, and his outtakes collection untitled unmastered. is as potent (if not more so) as many of his contemporaries’ latest albums. The world eagerly awaits his next project. Meanwhile, the success of ScHoolboy Q’s sophomore major label album Blank Face LP has cemented him as a star in his own right. Isaiah Rashad’s acclaimed The Sun’s Tirade has justified TDE’s faith in the once obscure Tennessee MC, while Luke Skiiiwalker is looking forward to his debut album. There’s also Ab-Soul and Jay Rock who are both hungry to see their careers blossom. SZA has expressed some possible discontent lately, but if Isaiah Rashad's recent anecdotes about the label banding together to help him overcome addiction is any indicator, the label is a tight-knit incubator concerned only with greatness—and that's what's kept its artists going through rough patches, and ensures the music that comes out of the crew is consistently on point.

The California label has a reputation for excellence and the strongest collection of rappers in the world, making every TDE release an event.