Best New Artists of the Month (February)

Some of our favorite rising acts in music, featuring Jenevieve, BBY KODIE, Kris Yute, María Isabel, ShooterGang Kony, and more.

Best New Artists February 2020
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Best New Artists February 2020

Given that it's the shortest month of the year, February has dragged on forever. We've snapped out of that "oh shit it's 2020" mindset of January and it feels as if there's already been enough tragedy and drama to fill a whole year. The music landscape is more unpredictable than ever, and there's no longer any kind of routine or hub for artist discovery. Instead of taking out an hour to dig through SoundCloud or catch up on blogs, music discovery happens everywhere, usually when you're least expecting it.

We hope this Best New Artists feature can bring at least a little bit of consistency into the picture, and that you'll know at the end of each month you can come here to find at least one new thing you like. This month we've got one of the most eclectic lineups of Best New Artists in recent memory, a something-for-everyone round-up of singers and rappers with different sounds, approaches, and trajectories. Enjoy.

Look back at all of our Best New Artists here and keep up with them all on the Best New Artists playlists on Spotify and Apple.

Jenevieve

jenevieve medallion


Jenevieve made the perfect introduction with her first ever release as a musician, the hypnotic and soulful "Medallion," which was released with a beautiful black and white video accompaniment. Jenevieve is a 22-year-old singer and songwriter with a history in dance who is based in L.A. and was raised in Miami. She namechecks legends like Michael Jackson, Aaliyah, Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones, Prince, and The Beatles as influences, looking to the past for inspiration without falling into the trap of simply imitating what has come before. 

"Me and Jean Benz, the main artist I work with in LA, wrote 'Medallion' about a family we know who had to move away from the city after their house got shot up," Jenevieve explains. "For me, 'Medallion' represents that thing you hold closest to you and would do anything to protect."

With only one song out, it might seem hasty to include her in a list like this, but Jenevieve's debut was undeniable. Plus, we've heard some of the unreleased tracks, and they're sounding great.

BBY KODIE

bby kodie


Amongst BBY Kodie’s most popular releases is the “Im Throwed Freestyle,” a self-assured take on Paul Wall’s Houston classic, rooted in Kodie’s mission statement-chorus, “the South gon’ hold it down.” Spreading this allegiance across his prolific catalog thus far, including four projects from 2019 alone, the Texas representative has built a dedicated following, selling out rooms across the state and gaining acclaim for his eccentric, intense sound, designed in large by Houston producers NoFriends and White Forest.

The energy at BBY Kodie's shows lies somewhere between punk rock and hip-hop, and he blends this energy with a Houston-informed, high fashion aesthetic. Kodie has also turned heads in the past with rejuvenated takes on classic songs from Kelis’ “Milkshake” to Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction,” but at his best, the budding talent operates on a high-octane field of his own, confident as hell and raring to bring the world to Houston.

Be on the lookout for more from Kodie throughout 2020, and check out his most recent release, NoFriends & Kodie 2 in February's edition of our The Rotation feature.

Ernest Rareberrg

ernest rareberrg

Ernest Rareberrg is a young artist from New York with a DIY attitude and scrappy, eclectic, and totally electrifying songs. "Tearing Me Apart" and "Show Me Your Body" are standouts, with the kind of energy that would translate perfectly to a live show and memorable melodies and lyrics packed into concise run times. Whether it's a slower ballad or a more uptempo rock track, Ernest Rareberrg's gruff but malleable voice ties his music together, with a delivery that seems to nod to punk and new wave but lives in a world of its own.

It's been over six months since Rareberrg has released new music, but a SoundCloud packed with gems should be enough to hold us over until new music is relased this year.

Kris Yute

kris yute

Jamaica-born, Brooklyn-based artist/producer Kris Yute's song "I Did It" is taking off. In September of 2019, actor Penn Badgley (from You and Gossip Girl) posted a short video of himself and Yute dancing to the song on Instagram, and the homemade moment was all it took to get the song's contagious chorus and uplifting message to spread. That clip has been reposted and shared across every social media platform, and "I Did It" now has over three million streams on Spotify alone.

We—probably like many of you—are skeptical of most viral songs and celebrity-driven career launches, but it's hard to hate on "I Did It." There's a magical simplicity to it, an effortless charm that oozes through Yute's soft-spoken delivery, plus the unorthodox production keeps things interesting. Yute is mostly inspired by dancehall and reggae artists, but also counts Young Thug and Kanye West as influences. He wrote and produced "I Did It" himself and released it independently, and the Penn Badgley connection sounds like it came naturally—the two have apparently been friends for years.

Based off this anomaly of a song, it's hard to predict what's next for Kris Yute, and he's not giving away too much. "'I Did It' is a pretty good representation of where I'm at right now," he says. "I'm currently working on a debut project that's definitely gonna expand on that sound in surprising ways."

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María Isabel

maria isabel


María Isabel has been writing music for three years and hesitating to present herself as an artist, but "The 1" is the first time she decided to let go and give it a shot. "It was literally the song where I said, 'You know what, I’m just gonna throw this one out there.' I think the biggest change in my process has been an openness to fail, to put something out there that people may not connect with, but I’m proud of."

"The song started off as a poem I wrote about a long-distance relationship between New York and L.A. that I had to learn how to navigate within the past few years that later became this song," she told Complex. "The video is meant to feel like you've stepped into the memory of our time together with me, taking you through the scenes as I reminisce. As I'm sure many people know, long distance isn't easy, but the biggest takeaway I've had is that you just make the hard parts work for people who are worth it."

The 23-year-old artist grew up in Queens, drawing a sense of curiosity from the diversity around her and an urge to explore and share. As she explains, the one thing she hasn't been willing to share yet is the most personal to her: the music she makes. One song in, the reaction has been positive. "Some like it, some don't comment, but I haven't gotten a lot of hate mail."

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ShooterGang Kony

shootergang kony

Sacramento artist ShooterGang Kony has built a devoted fan base over the last few years with a steady string of releases including the polished Second Hand Smoke and Ginobili mixtapes, but his first of 2020 is what proves he’s a star in the making. Red Paint Reverend is an anti-hero origin story, beginning with the mournful, cinematic “Kony” and  “A Sinner’s Story,” where Kony introduces himself atop grim, cloudy instrumentation.

An acolyte of fellow Sacramento street rapper Mozzy, Kony shines with a steely delivery that sounds hardened from an adolescence spent grinding and surviving in California. But what sets Kony apart from his battle-worn peers is his attention to detail. In every verse, he puts us right there in the danger until we too are looking over our shoulders and sitting with our backs to the wall. Add to that a penchant for unexpected, internal rhymes and an ear for beats with serious bounce and you have an MC who can be something for everyone without compromising his identity.

contradash

contradash


With only two singles released to date, contradash has already established a clear sound and style. Slurring together melodies with earworm songwriting to match, he takes from genuine emotion when it comes to crafting songs, and does so in a way that has turned his second release, “blocked,” into a must-listen, logging hundredes of thousands of streams in the past month.

Growing up in Southern California, contradash was once a high-school kid obsessed with graphic design. Learning through YouTube how-to videos and social media, he honed his craft thanks to the internet and eventually applied this resourcefulness to another growing passion of his—music. After spending a year in Naples, Florida post-high school, he came back home and continued to record demos, finally releasing his mesmeric debut single “yo-yo” in the final months of 2019. Just a few months later, at the start of 2020, “blocked” came out, and we're excited to see the next steps in the contradash journey.  

Spencer.

spencer


In 2019, Rochester, NY native Spencer. told us about his genre-blending approach. "My influences come from all over the place," he said. "I try to listen to everything. I think there’s value in learning from artists in different genres. You come to realize there’s really no right approach to making your own music, and it makes the writing process that much more exciting!"

Since then, Spencer. has released two impressive singles (both paired with videos), showcasing his richly textured vocals and shot through with an intriguing sense of nostalgia. The latest release, "2much," was written in Los Angeles last summer during a busy stretch of recording sessions. “This specific day I had the studio to myself," Spencer. explains. "It was on a day when it was unusually hard to deal with the distance between me and my personal life in New York. It started with the guitar, and the rest wrote itself. It’s kind of about the battle between wanting a person to stay because of comfortability and knowing that you’d be better off without them."

Spencer. recently came off a North American tour with Gus Dapperton and has European dates with Baby Rose, as well as a new EP, set for March. We've been following the 20-year-old for a few years now, but 2020 seems set to be the year he takes things to the next level.

Ben Chandler

ben chandler


Ben Chandler’s sound is a product of countless hours spent in a Pittsburgh bedroom as a teenager, fooling around on the guitar with no intention of recording anything. It wasn’t until 2015 when he moved to Naples, Florida that Chandler decided to record his music. Having met fellow Naples artist Dominic Fike at a party, among others in the local scene, he began spending his time producing for his new group of friends, including Fike’s earlier demos and artists like Nate Traveller.

But even as he approaches the release of a new EP, the foundation of making music in a bedroom with friends hasn’t left Chandler. From the sun-soaked whistle of “With U” to the uptempo garage rock feel of “Out of My Head,” authenticity remains the centerpiece of everything he does. Ben Chandler is making sure not to waste opportunities as countless hours of jamming turn into a real career, and with new music on the way, 2020 is set to be an exciting year for the versatile artist.

For now, if you need him, you can probably find Ben Chandler in a bedroom in Naples, jamming on his guitar. Maybe he’ll even be recording it this time.

SuziWithAnUzi

suziwithanuzi


"Toronto is pretty dog-eat-dog when it comes to music," says SuziWithAnUzi. "It's hard to stand out for most people. Not me, though. I’m bringing a new sound, look, and attitude to the Toronto music scene. And it seems like people are ready for it.”

That confidence cuts through Suzi's music, but don't expect bright, happy-go-lucky bops. Her first two singles are dismal and toxic, and influences ranging from Lana Del Rey and Amy Winehouse to Lil Peep and Earl Sweatshirt make sense without being obvious. The 21-year-old Trinidadian/Jamaican/Chinese/Irish artist started with the more rap-forward "BRAG," but her latest single "CRYBABY :'(" brings melody into the picture for a compelling plot twist. "My sound is whatever sounds good and feels good to me,” she says. “When I started really expressing myself and not being shy in how I carry myself, people were a lot more warm and open with me."

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