Earlier this year, Lil Yachty launched his record label, Concrete Rekordz, and signed his first act: The raucous, Atlanta-based crew Concrete Boys, which includes a collection of proteges Yachty believes can get hip-hop out of the “terrible state” he fretted over last year. To that end, he’s been releasing a slew of off-the-wall, free verse-style singles, including “A Cold Sunday,” “Something Ether,” and now, “Let’s Get On Dey Ass,” an electrifying track in the vein of fellow ATLien Playboi Carti’s amorphous, video gamey sound.
In the colorful video for the song, Yachty and the Boys (and Karrahbooo — I guess it’s like a “Storm from the X-Men” situation) vibe out and parade through a series of sparse tableaux sporting matching gear to show off their team spirit. They also demonstrate an astonishing array of complex high-fives, careen through the Georgia woods in a luxury SUV, and peruse racks of vacuum sealed fashion pieces. The vibe just screams good times and camaraderie, and suggests more boisterous and defiant hits to come.
Yachty isn’t just trying to save hip-hop, though; last month, he also teamed up with UK producer James Blake for an experimental collaborative album called Bad Cameo.
Watch Lil Yachty’s “Let’s Get On Dey Ass” video above.
XXL announced its 2024 Freshman class today including standouts like Hunxho, Lay Bankz, Maiya The Don, That Mexican OT, and more. They’re all future stars in the making, but here are 10 more rappers who shouldn’t be overlooked.
The Southern California rapper’s breakout single “Soak City” continues to gain momentum, but besides that, he just received the biggest co-sign someone from his city can get: Performing at Kendrick Lamar’s Juneteenth Pop Out concert as a special guest of Mustard.
Thanks to Latto teaming up with her on “Back Outside” and the release of her mixtape Princess Pop That, Anycia’s star is on the rise. We’ve also got a collab with JID to look forward to.
Connie Diiamond
While the Bronx native is far from a “Freshman” in the sense of “just starting out” as she kicked off her career at just 14 years old, she’s started to gain more traction in recent years, particularly with her song “Ghetto & Ratchet.”
You either love them or hate them (and if it’s the latter, keep it to yourself, please, for your own good), but you know them and you’ve definitely seen them sprinting through just about every notable building in LA. 2023 was a standout year for the Dallas/Detroit duo, and with their debut album still in the works, they certainly have another one coming down the pike.
Gloss Up
Her buddy GloRilla was already featured in the coveted roundup, so why not join her and collaborator Sexyy Red in glowing up via the XXL Freshman list? With underground hits like “Come Here” and “Ride Home” she’s more than qualified.
Karrahbooo
Another Atlanta standout with a big-name co-sign, Karrahbooo is the clear star of Lil Yachty’s Concrete Boys clique, but was already building a steady buzz even before she was officially signed to his label.
Kenny Mason
Kenny got plenty of attention in 2022 when he and J. Cole teamed up on Dreamville‘s compilation cut “Stick” and JID’s “Dance Now,” and since then, his string of solid EPs, 3, 6, and Highway 9 have firmly established him as a talent to watch.
Ray Vaughn
I been performing this all summer like it’s my shit. I was ready for this moment wit dot. WORD 4 WORD BAR 4 BAR pic.twitter.com/gANQwWmifW
The future of Top Dawg Entertainment might have seemed precarious with the departure of Kendrick Lamar and Reason, but Long Beach native Ray Vaughn’s nonstop stream of hard-hitting singles have shown he’s got the talent and the motivation to put the West Coast label on his back.
If it seems like there might be a bit of a Los Angeles bias here… Duh. You think a Compton native wouldn’t try to counterbalance the Northeast bias exhibited by the music journalism business for the past six decades? Anyway, Remble has the most unique and charismatic flow to crop up in years, he’s had the big-name co-signs to boost his momentum, and he was also featured in Kendrick’s Ken & Friends show, exposing him to a national audience.
Teezo Touchdown
Yes, he’s a little beyond the strictest definition of a “Freshman,” but that’s never stopped XXL from including an artist on their storied annual feature, so hey, I’m putting him in mine. If he’s not still in the “making” phase of stardom, there’s still plenty of room between him and his ceiling.
Over the years, more and more artists have jumped into the music festival game. This week, Aminé joins the likes of Chance The Rapper, Tyler The Creator and J. Cole with The Best Day Ever Festival, coming to his hometown, Portland, Oregon’s Edgefield Lawn on August 10 and 11. Aminé made the announcement in his usual, quirky way, employing a helicopter to announce the lineup in a colorful trailer, which you can watch below.
Naturally, Aminé himself will headline alongside his Kaytraminé collaborator Kaytranada, with a lineup rounded out by avant-garde jazz band BADBADNOTGOOD, breakout Atlanta rap star Karrahbooo, Aminé’s tour DJ MadisonLST, R&B singer Ravyn Lenae, chillwave pioneer Toro y Moi, and Portland rapper 3WayHeff.
Tickets for the festival go on sale beginning on Friday, May 17, at 10 AM PT, at thebestdayeverfest.com.
Aminé
Although Aminé hasn’t put out a new album since 2020’s Limbo, Aminé fans haven’t gone too long without something exciting from the “Caroline” rapper. In 2021, he dropped TwoPointFive, the follow-up to his 2018 mixtape OnePointFive, holding fans over until last year, when he teamed up with Kaytranada to release Kaytraminé. Although Aminé hasn’t announced a new album for 2024, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him do so before his performance at The Best Day Ever Festival.
Lil Yachty has been everywhere lately, collaborating with both major stars like Drake and J. Cole and rising stars like JID and Nemzzz. Now, he’s taking yet another step in furthering his rap dominance, announcing the launch of his new label, Concrete Rekordz. The label is named after his crew, Concrete Boys, who also comprise the roster, and is backed by the label that originally signed Yachty, Quality Control Music.
An additional wrinkle is that Quality Control is now owned by HYBE America, the stateside arm of the Korean entertainment company responsible for the success of K-pop groups like BTS, New Jeans, Seventeen, and Tomorrow X Together. In other words, there’s some serious muscle behind Concrete Rekordz, which accompanied the launch with the release of their new video for “Family Business.”
In a press release, Quality Control COO “Coach K” Lee said, “Yachty has always had profound vision since the day we met and to see him take his curatorial magic and expand it to discover and enhance other artists is exciting to me.” Meanwhile, his co-founder, QC CEO Pierre “P” Thomas, said, “I’m excited to see Yachty step into the role of executive alongside being one of the most formidable creatives in the world with such an eye for talent. Karrahbooo is a star and they are all going to be the new wave of cool that can bring something different to the culture that is so badly needed.”
You can check out the video for “Family Business” above.
WORD 4 WORD BAR 4 BAR 
