Best New Artists of the Month

Darnell Williams has been going through some changes recently. After a full time job directing videos for Illroots fell apart due to "disagreements," the Detroit native came back to his West Hollywood apartment to find the locks changed. He started couch surfing in South Central L.A. and prioritizing rap.

"South Central" may be the only song on Darnell Williams' SoundCloud, but it's a head-turning effort. And he hasn't given up the camera, either—the song's video is wildly inventive, and funny—hand-drawn explainers flash onscreen between smart, sharp cuts and overlaid glass shards. It's chaotic and controlled, a tornado on the horizon.

In Williams' own words, "I’m not a rapper who kinda tells someone an idea and they put it together. I’m there from the treatment to the final edit. I’m the guy sitting at a computer dying to get this art out."

Two Another's "Shouldn't Have Done That" is a cleansing piece of pop perfection. Muffled keys and short, snappy percussion set the mood, but the vocals tie the ribbon.

It's the third song off their EP 1, and this London duo hasn't missed yet. This is heartbreak on the dance floor, and the pain is melting away.

If the F.Y.O. EP is the first time you've crossed paths with Avelino, consider going beyond his most recent, truly fantastic release. He may be 22, but Avelino has already authored some jaw-dropping moments.

But we're here for F.Y.O. Its production is stunning and surprising at every turn, and Avelino's delivery is a well-oiled machine, capable of spacy, psychdelelic melodies ("Welcome to the Future") and righteously dismissive indignation ("Rich Soul"). His lyrics, too, betray an old soul that "punches well above its weight," to quote the artist.

There's something supernatural about the hushed, futuristic R&B on BRÅVES' self-titled EP—it possesses an almost unsettling hypnosis that floats between the songs.

The L.A. trio leans heavily on vocal samples (often effected, echoed, or otherwise warped) in their music—the haunting "oohs" can take the place of guitars, bass, and percussion, and you end up listening to breaths, not melodies.

It works best on "Unwed Sailor," a curt and tender track that seeps into the skin, like only the highest quality whisper funk can.

First off: "Stylist" is a hit, possessing the sort of effortless cool that takes labels years to manufacture. The melodies come naturally—it sounds like 24hrs sat down and wrote this over lunch—which, in this case, is a compliment. Previous efforts like "Back For Me" have had a similarly eternal flow—you could listen to that beat rock for a long time, but 24hrs adds the sauce ("a lot of sauce") and takes things to a whole new level.

The Atlanta producer is keeping things anonymous for the time being. But if he/she keeps getting played on OVO Sound Radio, that could prove to be difficult.

BOYBOY is an anonymous artist raised in New Zealand and based in Los Angeles, and he only has two singles out. But when you're anonymous and faceless, the music and the aesthetic have to be on point, and BOYBOY has that covered. "Boy" and "None of Your Love" serve as a stellar introduction to BOYBOY's hazy pop style.

Read our short interview with BOYBOY here.

Mobsquad Nard is part of a class of Florida rappers currently attacking the rap game from all angles. There are all sorts of styles coming out of the state—Nard delivers street rap with smart lyrics and confidence, and he's in good company with rappers like Big K.R.I.T. and 21 Savage on his latest mixtape, Everything Clean But Da Ashtray.

He's ruthless on the mic, and has lofty goals worthy of his talents: "I’m about making this shit do what it do forever," he told us recently. "Not just making no wave, I don’t wanna just have a good run in this shit. When my run is over I want it to be after my great grandchildren die. That’s when my run’s over."

It's been a year since we were first introduced to Warhola via "Unravel," and the Belgian quintet has spent the time since perfecting their Aura EP.

The result is a pleasingly punchy bunch of electropop, five tracks of dramatic falsetto and buzzy synths that bounce off trombones. If you're in relatively close proximity to Warhola's hometown of Antwerp, you're in luck—they're touring.

Forest's music career started in bad circumstances. The Compton local had received a football scholarship, but was shot in the leg before his athletic career could take off.

So he turned to music, and has been on a tear ever since. First there was the propulsive confidence of "Movie," and his first full release, UNDRWATER, is proof that even life's darkest twists can be flipped into a positive.

Bo Rocha almost ended up in politics—she was due to start a job at the end of the summer, and decided to spend the interim months writing music. And then: "I just kind of never stopped."

The results lie in the throughly impressive Even Green EP, which Rocha followed up with "Hold My Gaze" this past month. The Londoner was raised on classical music, and it wasn't until the EP and "Hold My Gaze" that Rocha began thinking beyond the sonata. "I never really got on with the very set-way of doing things in the classical world," she told us. "It’s being free of those rules that makes me want to write music."

It's hard not to get excited by Femdot's music. He's only 20 years old, so we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves. But there's no denying this much: the fo(u)r EP is a stunner from start to finish, full of surprising moments, emerging potential, and storytelling that draws inspiration from unexpected places and oft-forgotten details. Femdot's full-length project Delacreme is coming next, and we'll be there to listen.