Best New Artists of the Month

Finding new artists is easier than ever, but this creates a problem: it's harder than ever to filter through it all and keep tabs on what's really good. With so many artists popping up every day, it's impossible not to miss out on some fresh faces and new sounds. With that in mind, we'll be highlighting our favorite new acts each month. Here are the best new artists of January. 

Suzi Wu only has a few songs out, but there's already a cult of personality coalescing around the young singer. One listen to "Taken Care Of" is enough to understand why: Wu is making uniquely raw music, and the unapologetic power of her delivery is contagious. Her Teenage Witch EP dropped back in September and it's the kind of release that creeps up on you, full of hooks that stick around long after the song thanks to Wu's raspy vocals.

There's a timeless vibe to the music that would sound at home in any decade. She's been called a new kind of punk, but there's something deeper going on in the Londoner's songwriting. "I just have too much energy and I’m far too hot-headed," she says. "I respect only the freakiest of freaks because they are the life and soul of the party and they love me for what I am."

The next artist to break out of Atlanta may well be Yung Bans—the rapper dropped the Yung Bans Vol. 3 last week, completing a trilogy that has seen Bans' fan base grow dramatically. His collab with Lil Skies ("Lonely") has become a breakout hit, a sparse, slurry track with an addictive warm vibe. And the deeper you go into Yung Bans' discography, the more consistent he becomes. "Dresser" and "Right Through You" have similarly huge potential. Bans has been at it for a while, but he's having a moment right now, and it feels like he's one crossover hit away from becoming one of hip-hop's next stars.

We also just learned that Yung Bans is Michael Jackson reincarnated, so keep up. 

No, his name's not really Bane. But the nickname stuck, and now Shane Blanchard's music career as Bane's World is picking up steam. The Long Beach native was surrounded by music as a child, and started getting serious about making his own after hearing King Krule's 6 Feet Beneath the Moon.

His sonic palette has continued to expand, and 2016's Drowsy is a potpourri of musical influences from a wide range of time periods. "I'm definitely drawn to older music a lot more," he told us. "I think it's just that the production quality is really, really nice from the old music... My dad is super into the blues and my mom always played oldies, too. That's always been in my life. That's my cup of tea.​"

It's working, and Bane's World is finding the right ears—he shared a stage with Tyler, the Creator and Brockhampton last month, and will play Coachella in the spring. 

Octavian is a special talent. "Party Here," released in December, wasn't his first song, but it's an immediate highlight, a rap song with a style that's hard to pin down. Octavian was born in France and grew up in London, but he sounds like the future. 

"Party Here" has it all—sharp observational rapping, memorable melodic moments, and an incredible beat that oscillates between tension and release. Octavian made the "Party Here" video on a small budget with his friends, and the vivid colors and collective energy provide the perfect accompaniment to the song, too. Online buzz and even Drake cosigns followed its release, and Octavian returned in 2018 with more music.

"100 Degrees" shows a darker side to his sound, and was released with another excellent video. There's a lot of exciting rap music coming out of England right now, and Octavian is one artist you shouldn't be sleeping on. 

Experimentation can take many forms. Sometimes it's a harp solo. Sometimes it's moving to another town. Sometimes it's facing down fear. 

And sometimes it's all three, as was the case for Lewis Grant's phenomenal Make Me Scared Again EP. It's a collaboration with P&P favorite Dylan Brady and a host of other talented producers, Grant included. The release came at a pivotal time for the young artist, who had been making music with Brady for a while before making some major decisions in the past year.

"You can notice in the songs themselves that they jump from being calm to violent quite quickly," Grant told us. "The events I was scared of created the fear that I used to make myself better. It’s important to be emotional, it’s important to be loud and most of all its important to stand up for what you believe in."

Kevin George has set the bar high for himself. He cites Prince and The Weeknd as major inspirations, and you can feel the effect of those legends from George's artwork to his EP's title: LOVELAND. The full release is preceded by "High Like This," a dreamy, slow-burning single that displays George's ear for patience. He's playing catch-and-release with his audience on the track, popping in for a couple of drawling verses before disappearing back behind the operatic production.

"I've failed so many times during the first four years at creating a sound that caters to me and how I move, think, and feel," George told us. "I think going into LOVELAND I just wanted to make huge sounding records that caters to just about everyone." The whole EP is dropping soon—keep your ears open. 

At 21, Saweetie posted a freestyle titled “icy girl” to Instagram, and it went viral. Soon, the Bay-area rapper would re-record it into an official song, and her career was off and running. Saweetie aspires to write motivational songs for women, showing her skills while making a point to rap on a “dope female records.”

That famous freestyle was recorded over a familiar beat, but by the end of 2017 Saweetie was turning out high-quality original product like "Focused" and "High Maintenance." She's confident, a technically impressive rapper, and successfully explores new styles with each passing release. Add a cousin like Zaytoven to the mix, and Saweetie's future in music is looking brighter every day. 

After a surge of popularity in the late '00s, the breezy, globalist rock and roll championed by bands like Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire had tapered off in recent years. But a new champion just entered the ring: Sure Sure is the real deal, an L.A.-based quartet with a practically flawless debut album.

Their inventive time signatures, potent musicality, and crisp songwriting make tracks like "New Biome" and "Friends" show that Sure Sure is no nostalgia act—they're bringing a fresh sound to the table, expanding upon—rather than emulating—the sounds of their predecessors. The group started playing together in 2009, when some of the band's members met on the first day of freshman year, but only started releasing music in 2014. So yes, we're using "new" loosely—but Sure Sure the album feels like a proper introduction. It's fresh, light-hearted songwriting that packs an emotional punch, creating a cozy world able to endure many a repeat listening.

As far as debut projects go, you can't do much better than Col3trane's Tsarina. The Londoner's 10-track release is a clean, ambitious exploration of R&B and the multi-genre energy that swirls around his hometown—from the expansive "Penelope" to the airy warmth of "Language," Col3trane is in the pocket throughout. He's following through on the visual side, too—the video for "Language" is ingenious. 

Col3trane is about to go on his first national tour, and BBC Radio 1 has multiple Tsarina cuts in rotation. It's only a matter of time before he breaks big, but the 19-year-old is keeping a level head: "The most important thing is to take that seed and grow it into a finished product, so you have something to show for it," he told High Snobiety.

You might not know the name, but Ramz probably had the best month of anyone on this list. Last year, the British rapper/singer made a song about meeting up with a girl in his friend's room at university. Last week, that song, "Barking," would have beat out Eminem and Ed Sheeran for No. 1 on the UK chart if Drake hadn't come out of nowhere with "God's Plan." Regardless, Ramz' come up has been crazy, and "Barking" is an addictive melodic hit with a catchy, carefree energy. His older tracks prove he can really rap too, and wherever Ramz goes next, 2018 is going to be a very exciting year for him.

Houston rapper Maxo Kream is making waves right now, and rightfully so. His newly released mixtape Punken takes us into a dark, often bleak world as Kream paints pictures of crime, corruption, and injustice. The tape also includes exciting features from new voices like like Trippie Redd and 03 Greedo.

Maxo reveals himself as a master storyteller throughout, detailing the balance between his home and family life and the dangers lurking outside. It looks like this is only the beginning for Maxo Kream—with his raw and refreshing bars turning heads and a knack for collaboration, he’s off to a great start.