Four Underrated Tri-State Area Rappers You Should Check Out
With the immense amount of musical acts coming out of New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut, a lot of these rappers do not get the deserved recognition. Here are four undervalued tri-state area rappers that rap fans should listen to.
Curly Savv
Out of the four rappers spoken about in this piece, Brooklyn drill rapper Curly Savv has been making music the longest. Curly Savv initially gained traction six years ago with the song “Word To My Mother” that also features ZAY G and Rah Swish. Since then, Curly Savv has perfected his craft and has become one of Brooklyn’s shining rap stars.
The rapper has been on an insane singles run since the 2020 release of his project “Glocky SZN”. One of the standout singles is “Toast’d Up”. The drill song samples “Paulette” by Balla et es sesames Balladins. “Toast’d Up” has one of the best sample in a city where “sample drill” songs are constantly being made.
With “Glocky SZN 2” set to release this year, Curly Savv will hope to get the recognition he truly deserves.
Dallah
Brooklyn rapper Dallah has a lot to give to the music industry, but not enough people know it yet. The rapper’s talent radiates every single song he puts out and with every release it is hard to deny that he is under appreciated.
New York City is flooded with drill rappers who cannot rap on a variety of beats, but no one can say this about Dallah. The rapper has great vocals and uses it to its full extent on many of his melodic rap songs. On the track “My City” off his project “Robin”, Dallah melodically raps about the struggle of living in New York City and how it has affected him as person. He raps “Came from the bottom embrace it, just got to go through the struggle be patient.”
Though most of his tracks are melodic, Dallah has shown that he can rap on drill beats with songs like “One Spliff” and “Box” where his lyrics get more graphic and grimy. The Bedford-Stuyvesant native is bound to blow up so board the hype train now before it leaves the station.
Prophet the Artist
Prophet the Artist recently released his new single “Rock Wit Proph” which samples Michael Jackson’s classic “Rock With You”. When you sample the “king of pop” you have to come with your best material and Prophet the Artist does just that. This song and the rest of his discography feels like opening a treasure chest that no one has found yet.
The Newark native’s 2019 single “Irregular” brought eyes to his music and he has not looked down ever since. Prophet the Artist’s charisma always shine through his lyrics and keeps his listeners entertained with his clever references.
The New Jersey rapper also consistently gets out of his comfort zone by constantly changing his flow. One song where he does this and surprises many listeners is on “Flint Flow” which features Detroit rapper YN Jay. On the track, Prophet the Artist mimics YN Jay’s flow and spits an excellent verse. Any listener who only heard this song from Prophet the Artist would probably believe that he is from the Motor City.
The rapper has yet to release a full-length project, but when he does it will only propel him to bigger heights.
Shawney Binladen
Queens rapper Shawney Binladen is that grocery item that you go through every isle to find and when you finally find it you realize you passed it multiple times. The rapper has not gotten the same recognition as his contemporaries even though he is arguably the most consistent rapper in New York City.
Shawney Binladen dropped a jaw-dropping six projects in 2021 and has already dropped a new project in 2022 with “Merry Wickmas 2”. The rapper is easily recognizable due to his raspy voice and fast-paced flow. He backs up this unique delivery with his violent and wicked lyrics.
Now you might ask yourself, how is Shawney Bin Laden able to release this much music?
The answer is short songs and exceptional beat selection. The rapper has proclaimed himself as the “king of samples” and it is hard not to give him this title. The rapper has sampled mega-hits like “Stan” by Eminem and “Can I Live” by Jay-Z. Nevertheless, none of these samples are as idiosyncratic as the use of Rosemary Fairweather’s “Heavenly” on his song “Whole Lotta Wickery”. The song features fellow New York rapper Bizzy Banks and is Shawney Binladen’s most popular song to date.
With his insane work ethic, Shawny Binladen is destined to blow up soon. If you want to see for yourself if Shawney Binladen is bound for success, check out his new project ‘Merry Wickmas 2″ which is available on all streaming platforms.