Pigeons & Planes' 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.

Queens native Deem Spencer has something special about him. He isn't a flashy or in-your-face MC, but "soap" is utterly mesmerizing, with dexterous rapping, a mournful beat, and a clever video all hinting at just how much potential this young man has.

Speaking on "Soap," Deem told us, "As a kid some of the shit you get into changes your path and may stay with you your whole life. There's a lot of dumb ass things I did to impress people or to fit in and in the video I'm beating myself up over it. The title comes from the metaphor at the end: "The greatest soap does nothing for a popped bubble."

Snny is a 26-year-old Ivory Coast native who is now based in New York. His debut song "Young Boy" is the first single from an upcoming EP called Learning to Swim. It's a short and sweet, genre-defying song that feels vaguely like the '80s and '90s with a fresh twist that mostly comes across in Snny's charismatic vocals. It's catchy, immediate, and at just a little over two minutes long, it's one of those songs that's easy to play back to back to back.

"When we sat down to start working on the project, 'Young Boy' was the first song I made," Snny explains. "Up until that point I was waiting for inspiration but it took on a life of its own. Thats what LTS [Learning To Swim] is about—finding yourself by letting go and trusting the current."​

Chuck II (pronounced Chuck Deuce) has been making music for a few years now, but in 2017 he plans to introduce himself to a wider audience with the release of his forthcoming project westernRealistik. The DMV born, Bay Area raised rapper showcases his sharp wordplay over production that features the subtle groove that has become synonymous with the West Coast's vibe.

On his latest single "Wass Hannin'" Chuck paints a picture of an average day in the Bay over a bouncy rhythm that feels instantly infectious. There's a nostalgic vibe to Chuck II's sound, but it's modern enough to not feel dated. Instead, he delivers a refreshing point of view of the west side perspective that makes us eager to hear more. 

St. Louis-based artist Bloom's "Raindrops" is incredible. The song's surprising changes of pace introduce soaring vocals and booming production, and the self-directed video is memorable too. Dylan Brady produced "Raindrops," and his partnership with Bloom extends across her [SIN]SES EP, an aching haunting, inventive debut project from a real talent.

Listen to the whole EP and read an interview with Bloom here.

We got familiar with North Carolina artist Jalen Santoy at the end of 2016 through the smooth and funky, Bobby Herb sampling "Foreplay," but dude is versatile. He drops different style and flows across the Charlie Eastern EP and his latest move is the release of the video for "Off The Glass," a totally different experience to "Foreplay."

Listen to the Charlie Eastern EP here and watch the new video below.

British rapper Stefflon Don has a DJ Khaled cosign and a Jeremih collaboration under her belt, but her recent Real Ting mixtape proves that she doesn't need anyone else's help to reach a much wider audience in 2017. She can rap, she can sing and the title track sounds like it could be the next New York club rap hit. 

"Real Ting" also just got remixed by Giggs—check that out here and listen to the original below.

Blvc Svnd has been providing hard-hitting production for some of SoundCloud's brightest stars for a while now, but he's really committed to his own artistry in 2017. After toying with rapping on a number of projects, the 18-year-old Blvc Svnd finally delivered his first project to feature him rapping on every track with DIVO. Featuring his signature overblown drums and hypnotic melodies, DIVO shows that Blvc Svnd is just as capable when it comes to rapping as he is producing.

Los Angeles-based artist MarcLo is part of the writing/production team The Monsters and Strangerz, who have worked with A-list talent like Rihanna and Big Sean. On his solo song "SWNGN," he writes, sings, and produces everything himself, weaving in instantly recognizable '90s influences (Montell Jordan especially) with a modern twist. "SWNGN" is a colorful, catchy introduction to MarcLo's new solo work, a sunny party song with a beat that bumps.

MarcLo's debut EP Nostalgia is coming soon.

Manila's No Rome displays a kind of tenderness that the world could do with more of right now. With his latest track, "Flowers On my Neck," No Rome makes it known that he's committed to improving his talents. Coming a long way from his lo-fi "shoegaze R&B" roots, the Lontalius-sampling track is absolutely gorgeous, leaving us excited for whatever it is he has coming next. Considering the quality of what he's released so far, there's every chance his upcoming album could be one of 2017's best debuts.

Months ago, New York-based Atlanta native Cellus Hamilton impressed the crowd at our very own Open Mic Night, and now he’s ready to properly introduce himself to a larger audience.​ "Mojo," with its bouncy beat and Cellus' sharp rapping, is a great first step, and the video proves that you don't need a huge budget to make a memorable piece of art.

"I feel like anybody can get in front of a camera and rap, but I want to try and give people concepts," Cellus told us. "The concept that I went with, I really wanted to show people that there’s a constant war between the creative who makes music from a pure place—which is when you see me laying on the white sheets and the lights are really pure at that point. It represents the artist’s safe creative space, but then you see [the other characters]. They were artistic expressions, not of the industry per se, but representing the pressure [of being] pulled in different directions.