18 rappers we can’t wait to see at Rolling Loud

When Rolling Loud announced they were consolidating their three annual U.S. festivals into one giant weekend, I knew the lineup would be stacked. What I didn’t expect was how underground the lineup would feel: none of these names are small by any means, but the festival’s embrace of emerging artists feels like a conscious decision to court the next generation of rap fans. That means Rolling Loud has never been a better place to catch all of rap’s next big stars. Here are the 18 rappers we're most excited to see.

Nino Paid
“I done been through a lot so I gotta be somethin’ / one of the greats, man I gotta be one,” D.C. wunderkind Nino Paid rapped on 2024 single “Money Problems.” The 24-year-old rapper has been on a tear ever since, signing a deal with Signal Records and racking up millions of streams across songs like “Old Me” and “Tomorrow Will Be Better.” Revisit The FADER’s Gen F profile of Nino Paid last winter.

YT
British jerk rapper YT has so much swag you might soak some up via osmosis. When The FADER profiled him last year, he explained that late 2000s and early 2010s hip-hop have, “this carefreeness and sense of fun” that he wants to revitalize for the modern era with his friends Fimiguerrero, kwes e, and Jim Legxacy. I will be losing my mind when he performs “#PURRR” and “Serena.”

Tezzus & diamond*
Young Thug’s most promising proteges make for a seriously dynamic duo. When the pair stopped by The FADER offices last month, the ØWay figureheads were bouncing off each other’s energy, dishing on celebrity crushes and roadtripping with skaiwater. With chemistry this good offstage, I imagine they’ll likely show up at each others’ sets to perform at least a couple tracks off UY SCUTI BØYZ. Fingers crossed they bring out Sk8star to do “NSD.”

k3
She might not be a lyricist in the traditional sense, but make no mistake: k3 loves rapping her ass off. Whether on projects like last year’s MeloManiac or freestyled loosies on her SoundCloud, the Kansas City rapper is always diabolically dialed in, barking and snarling through hardknocking instrumentals (typically courtesy of YoEliWTF!). Yes I’m a grown man, yes the hook for “Sassy Classy Bossy” stays stuck in my head – we exist!

Xaviersobased
The FADER’s January cover star has been white-hot since the release of his debut album Riverside at the top of the year. “Party At My Place” with Skrillex has already reached cult status among underground rap fans: hearing it live will probably change lives.

Babychiefdoit
I recently saw Babychiefdoit perform in Newport, KY, where a theater filled with children riotously screamed every word of his songs from the front row to the backrow to the mob of approximately 50 kids onstage behind him, who frequently had to be asked to clear space on the stage for safety reasons. Basically, it was lit as fuck. When he did “Went West” (twice), it felt like Gen Alpha’s version of “Dreams & Nightmares (Intro).” Sleep on the Chicago rapper at your own peril.

Molly Santana
I am praying to God that Molly Santana performs this insane new song sampling Kanye West and Jay-Z’s “Gottta Have It.” Produced by longtime collaborator Showjoe (who’s also been dropping crazy heat lately), the “#BLACKPUNK” snippet is the hardest beat Molly has ever gotten on; I’m guessing North West being a big fan of her music might have helped to get the sample cleared. It’s Molly Santana’s first release since the deluxe edition of Molly & Her Week of Wonders. Revisit our profile of Molly Santana from last spring.

Chuckyy
Of the myriad rappers out of Chicago, I’m hard pressed to think of another hip-hop artist more clearly poised for national stardom than Chuckky. Though Chuckyy’s bread and butter is drill rap, his adoption of a looser, frequently drumless ambient style, keeps things feeling fresh, closer to the drill coming out of Philadelphia than the well-trodden soundkits of his hometown. And Chuckyy is a freakishly good lyricist besides, his flows carving out inimitable cadences. It’s no wonder he counts everyone from Veeze to Che among his fans.

untiljapan
Art-obsessed Atlanta rapper untiljapan built an ornate world on last summer’s trompe l’oeil, rapping about his fashion and feelings alike with an unusually intense verve. Plenty of rappers aspire to the prestige album heights of Travis Scott and Kanye West, but it’s rare to find an artist trying to match not only the stylistic polish, but the thematic depth of those artists’ best work. We ALL will be getting our life to “KISS N TELL” and “PYRAMIDZ.”

Karrahbooo
After a year and change in limbo under a deal with Lil Yachty, Karrahbooo is back to regularly releasing music under her own steam. She stayed busy during that time, collaborating with skaiwater, Bb trickz, and of course, close friend Anycia; but since dropping her October single “FREE BOOO!,” Karrah has been on a crazy tear, as if to make up for every moment spent in label purgatory.

Prettifun
Prettifun notched The FADER’s #5 album of the year with 2025’s Funhouse Deluxe, an abundantly earnest spin on the nu-digicore wave spearheaded by pretti and friends/collaborators like Slayr, ezcodylee, Egobreak, and Lucy Bedroque. When I caught prettifun at Summer Smash last June, I was blown away by how preternaturally poised the North Carolina producer-rapper was on stage. Lately, pretti’s been on a wild streak of loosies and features produced by the usual suspects – Misogi, Jay Trench, Outtatown, Ginseng, Hitec – plus teasing a new project, Pretti Luvs U 2. Revisit The FADER’s profile of prettifun from last summer.

Sexyy Red
Let’s address the elephant in the room – Sexyy Red haters are sick of seeing her music. Unfortunately for those buzzkills, her fans absolutely are not: singles “Hang With A Bad Bitch” and “If You Want It” have been putting up numbers as the rapper promotes her DJ Holiday-hosted latest, Yo Favorite Trappa Favorite Rappa. Of course, that isn’t to forget the classics – it’ll be incredible to hear a crowd that big scream, “My coochie pink, my bootyhole brown.”

OsamaSon
Is there a harder working rapper out than OsamaSon? Last year he dropped two cult classics (Jumpout and psykotic and toured the country behind both (feeding his spotted bengals can’t be cheap). He’s been vaguely teasing a followup, potentially called Nocturnal, but whether he drops new music or just plays the hits, it’s sure to be a highlight of the weekend. Revisit The FADER’s profile of OsamaSon two days after Jumpout leaked.

Loe Shimmy
Last summer, Loe Shimmy told me he’d recorded his latest album Rockstar Junkie just about everywhere in between touring with Lil Baby and Sexyy Red: private jets, Black trucks, an unfinished bathroom in a half-constructed studio suite. Shimmy was already a Florida star, but that album took him to new heights, complete with cosigns from Don Toliver, Quavo, and NoCap.Considering Florida is Shimmy's hometurf, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some crossover guests stop by during his slot. (“4AM at Coffeezone” would be an insane linkup).

Che
Like OsamaSon, Che has been on a serious run over the last year, releasing REST IN BASS plus a deluxe and a few EPs in between tours. Last year, I saw him perform in LA and Chicago while profiling the Atlanta rapper, then another couple times in NYC and Columbus, OH, on tour. Every time has been better than the last.

Skrilla
The man behind the meme, Skrilla saw his rising star go totally meteoric in the wake of “Doot Doot (6 7).” The Philly rapper was already well on his way to rap success – Lil Baby hopping on his 2024 tape Zombie Love Kensington Paradise was less of a torchpass than an acknowledgement of the next great thing – but the virality of six sevennn kicked things well into overdrive. Hot off the heels of his major label debut Z, Skrilla’s set will be a victory lap to watch.

Skaiwater
The FADER’s latest cover star told me last month that February’s wonderful was recorded with the explicit purpose of hearing the songs live. Over two nights in Chicago, watching them churn the crowd into a frenzy and dance across the literal bar, I was struck by their growth as a performer, even compared to their Rolling Loud set last spring. I’m hoping against hope they’ll perform “MY ZOMBIE,” but fans can rest assured they’ll play their new bangers (“IPHONE 5,” “TOOL”) and at least a few of their #gigi era classics (“rain,” “real feel”).