![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/artists2watch_lead_1_uvw3op/2018-artists-to-watch.jpg)
1. 03 Greedo
![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/image1_ocgkb6/03-greedo.jpg)
Watts native 03 Greedo has a tendency to pack his projects full of material — in 2017, he released three albums, totaling 73 tracks — maybe as a way of demonstrating just how expansive his melodic approach to rapping can be. But songs like “Never Bend” and “Run For Yo Life” distill what he’s best at: making somber West Coast slaps about past Ls and future Ws. Greedo recently signed to Alamo Records/UMG (and recorded 10 songs in 24 hours…) so expect to hear a lot more from him in 2018. —BEN DANDRIDGE-LEMCO
3. Virtual Self
![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/DP0R36iVAAAgwlb.jpg-large_ehrpmh/2018-artists-to-watch.jpg)
My favorite electronic music producer — and the only person that could ever make me go to Las Vegas — Porter Robinson unveiled a new project late last year called Virtual Self. What it actually is is a bit puzzle-like so far, but he appears to be producing tender-yet-hard neotrance for vocalists of his own creation, with names like Pathselector and technic-Angel. What that hopefully means, in concrete terms, is even more opportunities for a great sonic innovator to experiment with the "human" voice. —DUNCAN COOPER
6. Palberta
![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/Palberta_-_Press_Photo_-_Standing_in_a_Line_vbkntn/palberta.jpg)
The songs that Palberta’s Lily Konigsberg, Nina Ryser, and Ani Ivry-Block make are sometimes twitchy and noisy, sometimes drawn out and hinged on funky sing-talk vocals, and sometimes it’s all weirdo sounds I don’t know what to make of. And sometimes they make a Bee Gees classic sound kooky crazy. They are not an easy band to listen to by any means, but they are really fucking good — they’ve got the existential, experimental, un-fuck-withable ethos of CAN and Yoko Ono. Already darlings of the N.Y.C. noise scene and gaining growing critical attention, Palberta’s poised to have a great 2018, a year in which we’ll surely be needing some chaotic escape. —LEAH MANDEL
7. Lido Pimienta
![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/Screen_Shot_2018-01-03_at_4.56.34_PM_ja8rup/lido-pimienta.jpg)
Colombian-Canadian singer and producer Lido Pimienta won the Polaris Prize in 2017 for La Papessa, her record of rich, hip-shaking political songs. She also stirred up some right-wing drama by requesting her audiences make space in the front for women of color, and continued to be a champion for Indigenous rights. Lido’s got a raging fire inside her, a demand to be heard, and a giant sense of humor to boot. She's beyond a force to be reckoned with. In 2018, she’ll release her third album, Miss Colombia, which will confront racism in her home country. Look out world, seriously. —LEAH MANDEL
10. Eartheater
![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/eartheater_press_zevrector_vloqus/eartheater.jpg)
New York experimental artist Eartheater never not rips. Since dropping her first two records of left-field pop in 2015, she's been touring hard, but still found time to lend screamo vocals to Show Me The Body's mixtape, and wield a chainsaw for a special Wolf Eyes show. Having signed to PAN, this year promises to bring new sounds and shapes from the acrobatic performer. —RUTH SAXELBY
11. Mahalia
![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/Mahalia_Press_Shot_1_-_Shot_by_Alice_Fisher_-_Colour__MID_RES_tavz9v/mahalia.jpg)
If you're already a fan of soulful U.K. artists like NAO and Jorja Smith, then Mahalia will be your next obsession. The Leicester-based singer has a gentle rasp to her voice, color blocks her outfits like a pro, and sings each of her slice-of-life lyrics with warm, unhurried pleasure.— OWEN MYERS
13. UN BLONDE
![13 artists you need to know about in 2018](https://thefader-res.cloudinary.com/private_images/w_760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best/Un-Blonde-credit-Unfolding-Creative-Photo-17_lzwykx/2018-artists-to-watch.jpg)
Jean-Sebastian Audet, a.k.a. Un Blonde, makes intimate lo-fi recordings that carry the weight of secrets held for a lifetime, now escaping through his songs. But part of the magic in 2017's Good Will Come To You, Audet's best album, is that the Montreal-based artist sings about the mundane and overlooked with the same hushed passion. 2018 will almost certainly be another year of overstimulation. but with a new album on the way, Un Blonde could deliver the remedy. —JORDAN DARVILLE