Best New Artists

Every month, we round up some of our favorite new music discoveries. 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.

Being next up from pgLang, the multi-disciplinary creative company co-founded by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free, comes with built-in expectations—a co-sign from one of the best rappers alive can do that—but the company seems genuinely dedicated to artist development and longevity. Tanna Leone, who is on tour with Baby Keem right now, announced himself in March with a short introductory video and a two-pack of songs, followed by another single and the announcement of an album in April. 

“I re-recorded this project over the last year and it touches on everything from mistakes, love, wins, highs and lows in different forms,” he says of his album SLEEPY SOLIDER, out April 28. “Everything I’m talking about is a reflection of recent life moments and a small amount of past experiences but I’m ultimately expressing my human experience. When it’s all said and done, we experience the same emotions, and similar experiences that make us one, and that’s the mold I wanted to create on this project. This is human music.” 

It’s still early days, but so far Tanna has shown himself to be a versatile rapper with all the pieces in place to flourish in 2022.—Alex Gardner

Step into the gossamer, mystical orbit of Saya Gray and you may never want to leave. Previously the bass player for Daniel Caesar, Saya is a 24-year-old-Canadian-Japanese-producer-artist-designer-director-songwriter all wrapped in one and deserves every hyphen added to her growing skillset.  

This is the most gratifying listening experience I’ve had in a minute. It’s effortlessly beautiful and begs no more of the audience than to really just enjoy and wonder. Set to release at the end of May, her newest project is a 19-track EP solely composed and produced by herself (despite her brother on some guitar and her dad on trumpet). Her music comfortably sits in no-man’s land somewhere between Fiona Apple, Frank Ocean, Danny Elfman, and countless other inspirations.

Her most recent single “SAVING GRACE” is eerie in an Alice in Wonderland kind of way and feels like uncharted territory down the rabbit hole. The static delivery of the first line is chilling and entrancing at the same time: “We looked up at the night  and realized that we held up the sky with our minds holding us.” 

Saya sees the world a little topsy-turvy and we’re here for it. “I like floor to ceiling moments,” Saya shares with us. “Sometimes you think you hit your ceiling and the ceiling turns into the floor!”—Sabine Adorney

For many new artists, the first few releases are spent searching for clarity. 19-year-old Detroit artist Chase Plato has only released two singles, but his vision is crystal clear. “I know exactly what I want to make and how it’s supposed to sound,” he explains. “If you think my sound is distinct now just wait, I have some new ideas on my album. ‘RIP KOBE’ and ‘ICE CREAM MAN’ are just the start of a long journey that sounds like cottage core and surf rock meets hyperpop.”

Working with Detroit label Assemble Sound, Plato has made music and creation his life’s work. “I put a bed in a recording studio and I haven’t left in months,” he tells us. He produces all his own music, directs his music videos with creative partner Victor Grisson, and he’s been designing clothes during breaks from working on songs. “Making stuff is literally the only thing I do and I am dedicated to being the best.”

With influences ranging from Tyler, The Creator to 100 gecs to Slowdive, it’s hard to pinpoint any single common thread at this point, beyond the fact that his debut singles are disruptive, thrashing through sounds and style with in-your-face confidence. “Coming from Detroit fucking traumatized me,” he says of how his hometown impacted the sound of his music. “Your environment definitely has an effect on your art even if we are all chronically online. I’m confident that this will show in my new stuff. Life is horrifying and beautiful. You are listening to a traumatized black kid with an inappropriate obsession with culture.”

Based on everything we’ve heard and seen from Chase Plato so far, he’s going to be a force, and mostly likely a divisive one. But at the end of the day, he doesn’t seem too focused on anything beyond making what he wants to make. “I make the songs I wish existed. It just so happens that everyone else wishes my music existed too. One more thing before I go. Hiiiiii Mom!!!! LOOK! I’M IN PIGEONS AND PLANES! I would also like to thank Kanye West.”—Jacob Moore

Following the release of Caroline Loveglow’s debut LP Strawberry earlier this year, it became clear that her label 100% Electronica had tapped into one of Los Angeles’s most captivating upcoming acts. Like her label’s infamous co-founder George Clanton, Caroline Loveglow’s music is a delicately tuned mix of vaporwave-flavored dream pop with raw and captivating streaks of emotion. Though she may only have a handful of songs under her belt, Caroline Loveglow consistently dazzles with elegant candor and a wisdom that is just as otherworldly as it is understated.

Strawberry sits at only eight tracks long, but Caroline Loveglow’s emotional register stretches from elegies about lost romance to unparalleled tenderness in the wake of existential panic. She’s a near-prodigal triple-threat—effortlessly writing, producing, and performing tracks that can meander from abrasive indie rock bliss to cinematic pop in a fraction of a second. Her debut single “Patience Etc…” is a perfect testament to this, as hard-hitting percussion and intoxicating guitar melodies flow in unlikely harmony on the track’s explosive chorus.

Whether you find yourself more partial to the esoteric and futuristic “Happy Happy” or the full-bodied melancholy of “Foxy,” Caroline Loveglow easily deserves a spot in your weekly rotation as spring turns to summer. Though it might be a minute until fans are treated to a new release, you can catch Caroline on tour with Hatchie this May. Channeling vaporwave’s past, present, and future with every release, it’s hard not to be excited about Caroline Loveglow’s next offering.—Carter Fife

We’re late, we’re late! Or maybe we’re just on time. Either way, if you’re already familiar with sqip (pronounced “skip”) and his 2020 project battery, you’re amongst a lucky group who have already been listening to a rare gem of an album. Over 17 fragile, engaging tracks, Portland-based Cole Mitchell Johnson bares his soul through fragile vocals and varied, atmospheric production. Subtle pop and R&B floats over laid-back guitars and synths one moment, before vocals are cut off mid-phrase. Other tracks introduce ambient passages or club-ready breakbeats, but a homespun, honest quality can be felt throughout. 

Of the album, Johnson says, “My process is wide open and cathartic. Over time I’ve realized that battery was a way for me to process some feelings and ideas that were difficult for me to express for whatever reason be it individually or culturally. I really wanted to give something to other people at the time and these songs are what I had.”

Johnson also works as a graphic designer at Portland’s FISK Projects, and part of the charm of battery is that it feels as if it was made to scratch a creative itch rather than to fulfil an album obligation or reach a certain audience. sqip’s battery was put out into the world nearly two years ago, but its lifetime is limitless—no expiration date on discovering great art.—Alex Gardner

“The man with two first names” aka Chris Patrick delivers passionate, raw emotion through his lyricism and rap. The New Jersey rapper dropped his debut album From The Heart, Vol. 2 in 2020 and not even a year later he released the single “Gang Activity’’ followed by “Insane.” When it comes to Patrick, we’re using the term “new” very lightly—Chris has been around for a minute, but his latest drops indicate an artist who has sharpened his skills and is consistently leveling up.

“Up Now,” his most recent single, whimsically melds with Chris’s tale of his come-up. Chris croons it clearly, “I can’t go back to what I was”—he’s ready for what’s next and won’t be turning back. The talent extends past thoughtful lyrics—Chis delivers a skillful flow range. He’s been honing his craft from a young age and remembers his mom giving random things to rap about in 6th grade to challenge him. Clearly, it paid off. 

There’s real-world authenticity in his lyrics. Chris draws from the experiences around him and isn’t looking to put up any false pretenses. This vulnerability makes it easy to connect. “Insane” takes a deep dive into mental health in an unabashedly honest voice, “I feel like I blame myself, I feel like I drained myself, I don’t even feel like I’m me when I’m speaking.”

Chris wants to immerse his fans in not only his experiences, but their own.“I want the fans to feel like they’re falling into a movie with every song/project that they hear from me” he shared “Music is meant to be an experience. My goal is to make sure that each experience is unique and enjoyable.” 

Chris Patrick’s next album X-Files is on the way, so if you haven’t caught up with the double-named rapper, now’s the time.—Sabine Adorney

The term hyperpop may be a bit played out at this point, but there’s no denying that the genre caused a mass proliferation of young and talented artists deadset on modifying the landscape of modern music. Among them is North Carolina’s very own funeral, and armed with a special affinity for abrasion and an irreplicable sound, he’s doing just that. Best known for his eclectic vocal performances and mixes that synthesize the best elements of hip-hop, digicore, and hyperpop, funeral is not afraid to push the envelope.

Influenced by artists like Skrillex, XXYYXX, Night Lovell, and Xavier Wulf, funeral’s discography flows between sinister aggression and dreamlike hypnotism with a deep reverence for his electronic, trap, and hip-hop predecessors. From humble beginnings making trap beats at 17, funeral’s work has led him to become one of the most well-known names in the hyperpop scene, amass millions of streams, and become affiliated with music collectives like NOVAGANG, graveem1nd, and noheart. His latest LP superplastic is a testament to his ten thousand hours in training, with tracks like “wash away” and “gridlock” featuring funeral’s signature high-octane energy and carefully-crafted production.

Funeral’s sound is notoriously difficult to pinpoint, but with equal footing in the hyperpop scene and SoundCloud’s unlikely hip-hop renaissance, he’s gained incredible momentum despite staying independent. From his deep cuts like “regress” to his hits like “trying//cry4help”—a track that he admits was partially made on accident—funeral’s devotion to making something refreshing and unique in an oversaturated genre is what makes him an artist worth watching. Nobody in music is experimenting with sounds quite like funeral, and with more music likely planned for the near future, you’d be wise to keep a watchful eye on him. —Carter Fife