Sound Signal: Rap from Florida and Lagos, and More

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Rahill

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Genre: Pop

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TBC Score: 84

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Rahill Jamalifard wears many hats: She runs a popular NTS radio show, is a visual artist, and is the lead singer of Habibi, a band that fuses psych rock, Motown-inspired harmonies, and Iranian musical influences. Some of Habibi’s lyrics are in Farsi—beautifully reflecting a diasporic experience—and Rahill has incorporated the language into her solo music as well. In 2022 she signed with Big Dada; she released her debut full-length album, Flowers At Your Feet, in May 2023. Rahill's Spotify traffic grew dramatically to nearly 300K monthly listeners in spring 2023. The record, produced by Arca producer Alex Epton (who has also produced FKA twigs), introduces Rahill’s work to new audiences via placement on major Spotify playlists, including Pollen, All New Indie, and Chill Vibes.

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iCandy

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Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

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TBC Score: 66

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Florida rapper iCandy has experienced a precipitous rise over the past few months thanks to her hit single “Keep Dat N***a” and a TikTok dance challenge that powered the launch to viral success. Driven by a sample of an old KC and the Sunshine Band hit, the track is a hard-partying celebration of leaving a worthless ex in the past, a relatable sentiment that’s led to over 500K creates on TikTok and helped her garner over 3.2M monthly listeners on Spotify as well as a spot on Rap Caviar. And though the rest of her tracks haven’t enjoyed the same kind of success, her confident bars on 2022 singles like “Da Roof” and “Lie to Me” prove that she’s got the technical skills to back up her viral rise.

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bar italia

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Genre: Rock

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TBC Score: 65

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In the ripple of recent British post-punk updates, bar italia are creating new wave-tinged lo-fi rock, à la Slowdive and The Cure. Think Heatmiser meet Yves Tumor with a drop of Dean Blunt, whose World Music label released the London trio's first three projects. Now signed with Matador, bar italia have gotten a little more indie-pop polish, while retaining some grittiness for their third album, Tracey Denim, released in May 2023. In March, they released “Nurse!,” taking their Spotify monthly listeners from 50K to 200K. Though they rarely give interviews and have little social media presence, bar italia’s success is independent of their visibility. YouTube views for their video for “punkt” saw a 6.1K increase in late May. They have strong playlist support from Spotify and are currently on 38 Pandora stations as well as a handful of international Apple Music playlists.

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ODUMODUBLVCK

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Genre: Global

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TBC Score: 80

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Lagos-born ODUMODUBLVCK has a unique spin on Nigeria's burgeoning drill scene. While other international versions of the hard-nosed rap subgenre favor heavy bass and gruff delivery, he and his compatriots in the Abuja scene merge the nimble rapping of the sound with the delicate arrangements of R&B and highlife, creating one of the genre’s breeziest mutations. Fans have caught on to the singer and rapper's charm; he’s recently signed to NATIVE Records, in a joint venture with Def Jam, and hit singles like the sunny “PICANTO” have earned him over 1.1M monthly listeners on Spotify. Recent singles like the rebellious “DECLAN RICE” and his guest appearance on Joeboy’s “Normally” (which hit No. 36 on YouTube’s Nigeria Top Songs chart) have earned him prominent playlist placements on New Music Friday and Most Necessary.