By Colin Joyce, Michelle Hyun Kim, Leah Mandel, Jaelani Turner-Williams, and Brandon Ousley of Third Bridge Creative

In this week’s roundup of rising artists, we’re looking at a spirited Argentinian rapper, another take on a post-punk revival, a duo daring to make demon glam rock, an R&B singer with a voice made for the 90s, and Toronto’s next brooding vocalist.

Trueno

Chartmetric Artist Rank: 202
Genre: Latin Hip-Hop/Rap
Country: Argentina

For years, Argentina has played host to a robust scene of battle rappers and freestyles. Thanks in part to the spotlight shown on the scene by superstar producer Bizarrap, it’s begun to make its mark on the mainstream. Trueno, who was one of Bizarrap’s earliest guests, has long been one of the biggest stars of the scene, but rarely has he had a hit as big as his heartfelt new single “REAL GANGSTA LOVE.” The track, buoyed by a dance trend, has been big on TikTok where it’s been used in over 481.5k videos. It has also landed on major editorial playlists like Viva Latino and Today’s Top Hits, evidence that the Argentinian rapper’s slick sound is starting to make an impact across the globe. 

Been Stellar

Chartmetric Artist Rank: 23,350
Genre: Rock
Country: U.S.

As the British post-punk revival has reached full pitch in recent years, the movement is coming stateside — as exemplified by the New York City-based band Been Stellar. While the co-ed act nabbed a U.K. fanbase with their breakthrough 2022 debut EP and opened for IDLES and Fontaines DC, it seems like they’re finally getting domestic love with their new album, Scream from New York, NY. The project blends shoegaze, post-punk, and Strokes-like indie rock and has led to Stereogum dubbing them a “band to watch,” in addition to prominent placements on Spotify’s New Music Friday, All New Indie, and Lorem playlists. In the past month, the band has gained 51k new Spotify monthly listeners (an overall 37.4% increase).

Coco & Clair Clair

Chartmetric Artist Rank: 8,627
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Country: U.S.

Since forming as duo Coco & Clair Clair in 2013, Atlanta’s Taylor Nave and Claire Toothill have been making cheeky lo-fi pop or “demon glam rock” — though it’s closer to cloud rap than anything. On their first hit, 2017’s “Pretty,” the pair declared their vibe: “Actin' real rude, bad attitude, actin' real goofy.” The song now has nearly 115 million streams on Spotify. Coco & Clair Clair’s new single “Aggy” continues the endearing, irreverently scary-cute demeanor with its The Clique-reminiscent plaid cover art and flirty video. They’ve announced a new album, GIRL, out this August. With their sweet-sounding party sound and coolest besties at the function thing going on, Coco & Clair Clair are ones to watch.

Laila!

Chartmetric Artist Rank: 6,526
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Country: U.S.

Brooklyn-based R&B singer-rapper and producer Laila! creates cutecore, DIY bite-sized tunes that fans can’t help but sing along to. The 18-year-old made a strong introduction with the bedroom R&B and dream trap feels of her 2023 single “Like That!” (21 million Spotify streams) months before dropping her 4-song EP IN CTRL! earlier this year. Following her On the Radar Radio performance of the TikTok-friendly new single “Not My Problem,” the track has gotten 5.4 million Spotify streams since its June 14 release. “Not My Problem” and ‘90s R&B-influenced simultaneously released single, “Flyer Than U” (180k Spotify streams) continue to capture the pep of Gen-Z, along with having slots on editorial playlists Feelin' Myself, teen beats, and big on the internet.

OVI WOOD

Chartmetric Artist Rank: 17,656
Genre:  Hip-Hop/Rap
Country: Canada

OVI WOOD is among a crop of rising artists aiming to push Canada’s R&B and hip-hop sphere forward. Since the breakout success of his 2022 single, “Don’t Say You Don’t Love Me, Pt. 2,” the lithe-voiced, Toronto-based singer and rapper’s heartbreak tales and moody emo-minded R&B has generated tons of buzz, thanks to his TikTok popularity (720k followers). As a result, his introspective and lovelorn sound is steadily climbing this year, particularly on Spotify, with a run of heavily streamed singles. Among them is the pleading “ION Want Cash,” a euphoric ode to longing for love over money boasting WOOD’s dreamy vocals that’s gotten nearly 300k streams. At 94k Spotify monthly listeners and playlist support on This Is Frequency and Fresh Finds R&B, OVI WOOD is destined for an even bigger moment very soon.     

Portions of this piece are included in Sound Signal, a bi-weekly newsletter from Third Bridge Creative. Sign up here. 

Visualizations by Nicki Camberg and cover image by Crasianne Tirado; data as of July 3, 2024.