Artists like Kembe X

Herbert Anthony Stevens IV, better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed with the indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he formed the West Coast hip-hop group Black Hippy alongside fellow California-based rappers Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. His third album, These Days... (2014), peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200. He is Black Hippy's sole member to remain an independent artist.

Jayson Andrew "Mick" Jenkins is an American rapper based in Chicago and signed to Cinematic Music Group. His mixtape, The Waters, was released in 2014, followed by the Waves EP in 2015.

Donald Howard Pullen, known professionally as Rockie Fresh, is an American rapper. He was signed to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group and Atlantic Records. Pullen is known for his alternative-influenced style of hip-hop, and his associations with recording artists Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, and Joel & Benji Madden of Good Charlotte.

Abbas Hamad, known professionally as Bas, is a French-born Sudanese-American rapper. He signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, Last Winter (2014). It was met with positive critical reception and entered the Billboard 200, along with his second and third albums, Too High to Riot (2016) and Milky Way (2018). His fourth album, We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up (2023) was met with continued praise.

Quincy Matthew Hanley, better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q, is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ScHoolboy Turned Hustla (2008) and Gangsta & Soul (2009) to local success. After signing with the Carson-based record label Top Dawg Entertainment, Hanley's debut studio album, Setbacks (2011) and its follow-up, Habits & Contradictions (2012) were both released to positive critical response; both also performed moderately on the US Billboard 200 chart as digital exclusives.

EarthGang is an American hip-hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu and WowGr8. They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, 6lack, Mereba, and Benji.

Pro Era is an American hip-hop collective from Brooklyn, New York. The group is a collective of rappers and record producers that currently includes East Coast rappers Joey Badass, CJ Fly, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, Dessy Hinds and Aaron Rose, along with producers Chuck Strangers and Powers Pleasant. The collective was formed in 2011 by the late Capital STEEZ and Powers Pleasant, with Joey Badass and CJ Fly among its founding members.

Hippie Sabotage is an electronic and hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, consisting of brothers Kevin and Jeff Saurer. Often classified as chillwave, their music features elements from a variety of genres including trap, psych rock, and indie rock. They are well known for their remix of "Habits " by Tove Lo, which has accumulated over 1 billion views on YouTube and 1.6 billion streams on Spotify since release, as well as "Devil Eyes" with over 700 million Spotify streams. Hippie Sabotage have toured frequently since 2015, including a number of headline tours with two shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, festival performances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Firefly, and Hangout among others, and sets supporting Zedd, Gramatik, and Big Gigantic.

Joseph Davis, better known by his stage name Joey Purp, is an American rapper. He is one half of Leather Corduroys. He is one of the founding members of Savemoney.

Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain is an American rapper and singer. He first gained recognition following his performances on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour alongside rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based hip-hop collective TheHouse, which he formed with rappers YGTUT, Michael Da Vinci (MikeyD), Chris P, and Brian Brown.

Cody Rashad Osagie, better known by his stage name Cozz, is an American rapper. He is signed to J. Cole's label Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. His debut studio album Cozz & Effect, was released in October 2014. He has since released other projects, such as his 2016 project Nothin' Personal and in 2018 he released Effected his second Studio Album. He also released his Fortunate EP in 2021.

Akeem Ali Douglas Hayes, professionally known as Guap aka Guapdad4000, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is also a member of the hip hop supergroup Zoink Gang, with JID, Smino, and Buddy. He released his first mixtape Scamboy Color on December 6, 2017. His debut studio album Dior Deposits was released on October 25, 2019.

Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah, known professionally as Jay Electronica, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he first saw recognition with his single "Exhibit C" (2009), which led fellow American rapper Jay-Z to sign Electronica to his Roc Nation label following a multi-label bidding war in 2010.

Anna Saba Lykke Oehlenschlæger, known simply by her birth name Saba, is an Ethiopian-Danish singer, musical theatre actress and model. She represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Sand".

The Underachievers are an American hip hop duo from Flatbush, New York. Formed in 2011, the duo is composed of rappers AK the Savior and Issa Gold. American record producer Flying Lotus signed the duo to his Brainfeeder record label in 2012. Following that signing they independently released two mixtapes, Indigoism and Lords of Flatbush in 2013. Their debut studio album Cellar Door: Terminus ut Exordium was released on August 12, 2014. The Underachievers released their second official album Evermore: The Art of Duality on September 25, 2015. Their third album, Renaissance was released on May 19, 2017. They released After the Rain on November 9, 2018, and Lords Of Flatbush 3 on June 21, 2019.

Edwin Kenneth Green Jr., professionally known as Kenny Mason, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer, known for his distinctive sound which consists of a fusion between grunge, hip-hop, and elements of shoegaze.

La'Reonte Wright, known professionally as Dizzy Wright, is an American rapper and record producer.

Dreamville Records is an American independent record label founded by rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label ended its distribution deal with Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group in July 2025. The roster includes Bas, Cozz, Omen, Lute, JID, EarthGang, and Cole himself. Dreamville also houses American record producers Elite, Ron Gilmore, and Cedric Brown.

Justin Lewis Scott, known professionally as Big K.R.I.T., is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he began his musical career in 2005. He was signed to Def Jam Recordings by Sha Money XL in 2010, and first gained recognition following the release of his single "Country Shit" in September of that year. The following year, he guest appeared on T.I.'s promotional single "I'm Flexin'", which became Scott's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

Flatbush Zombies are an American hip hop group from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 2010. The group is composed of rappers Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick Arc Elliott, with Elliott also serving as their regular record producer. The trio are part of the East Coast hip hop supergroup Beast Coast, with fellow Brooklyn-based rap groups The Underachievers and Pro Era.