It may sound weird, but I love the artists that aren’t mainstream. Often at times, when artists become mainstream, they create music that tailors towards the radio. Producers, songwriters, writers, etc know how to create a song strictly tailored towards the radio. You do have some artists that are so hot, that when they drop a single that isn’t a radio song, it doesn’t matter because they have such a huge following, that no matter what they produce and drop as a single, people are going to gravitate towards it, such as Meg Thee Stallion’s B.I.T.CH record. CLEARLY, that song isn’t meant to be on the radio but since it got so much attention on social media, Meg and her team edited it down to be radio-friendly.
BUT, there are artists who make poppin music, who’s poppin on Apple Music, YouTube, Instagram, etc but their music doesn’t get much play on the radio; those are the artists to cherish and watch out for. These artists are the ones who make that unique music, that different shit, that “I wanna clean the house, write in my journal, and reflect” music. Here’s a list of those dope artists:
Xavier Omar
He’s been making some dope music for a while now. His biggest hits on Apple Music are “Afraid”, “Runnin’ Round”, and “Blind Man”. I love his sound and he’s one of the artists that you want to keep near and dear to you without them being mainstreamed and their sounding changing for radio standards.
Snoh Aalegra
Ms. Aalegra is getting noticed out here. She does have one song on an r&b station but she’s not 100% mainstream. Snoh is Swedish and she crossed over to American music. Her popular songs are “Woah” and “I Want You Around” which is on the radio. She’s becoming more noticed and more than likely will become full mainstream by the end of the year.
Kiana Lede
This lady has been singing covers on YouTube for years now; (that’s how she got my attention.) Some of her most viewed covers was “Come and See Me” mixed with “Location”, “Hotline Bling” and “White Iverson.” She just made her way into mainstream with her single “Ex”. Her latest song is “Forfeit” but it’s not on the radio. Kiana should be recognized because she’s been working her ass off, making herself noticeable for years now. GO KIANA!
Alina Baraz
Alina Alina. She’s a Ukrainian artist born in the US and she makes that sensual sexy music. She’s been lowkey on the scene since 2015. Some of her best hits are “Electric” featuring Khalid, “Fantasy”, and “Floating” featuring Khalid again. She has an album coming out this year in which she’s released music from it. Her music hasn’t made its way to a radio in my city (St. Louis) but she’s an artist who’s going to go far even if her music doesn’t make it to the radio.
Nao
Nao is another great artist who’s sound is just as melodic as the above artists. Her popular songs include “Another Lifetime”, “Bad Blood”, and “Orbit”. She hasn’t released any new music since her last album Saturn. 🗣WHERE YOU AT NAO??
Victoria Monet
Victoria has been recognizably making music for 5 years but her music has been generating in Apple Music playlists and more streaming sites for some time now. Her single “Ass Like That” is personally one of my favs. Another one of her reason singles is “Moment”.
Sometimes when you hear the same artists on the radio, you get over them real quick and you want to listen to something different. Try listening to these artists and if you’re already to listening to them, keep it up and support them.
Comment your favorite song by these artists if you’re already fans.
H.E.R, has had an hidden identity for the longest until recently, it came out that her real name is Gabi Wilson. In 2010, she performed at the BET Awards, a Capella of “Fallin” for Alicia Keys. H.E.R. stands for Having Everything Revealed, which is ironic because she;s been keeping her identity hidden. Regardless of her identity, she makes great music. She falls in the category of alternative R&B with other artists such as Jhene Aiko, Erykah Badu, Kehlani, DVSN, Miguel, SZA, The Weeknd and plenty other artists. Her music has a soft soft with a bit of funk to it.
Lastly, I’m sure some have heard of him but by now BUT if you haven’t, check out Daniel Caesar. His music definitely is slow, “in my feelings” neo-soul type of jamming. Daniel released his first alum Freudian, in August of this year and it has been a hit. His first single “Get You” accumulated on 12 million stream on iTunes music. One of my favorite songs by him is “Best Part” featuring H.E.R.. At this point, his songs may be playing on the radio, along with H.E.R., but he is definitely a nice new neo-soul artist to listen.
Danii Gold 