When "Hot Nigga" (or more accurately, "Hot Boy") peaked at number six on the Hot 100 last month, Bobby Shmurda was a total anomaly. Expect Audio Push to handily top their 2014 run next year. I left that show blown away by their abilities, and looking forward to hearing the studio versions of many of the unreleased songs they played. Along with that, Audio Push killed a CMJ showcase at S.O.B.'s earlier this year (which will be referenced in other artists' sections too), showcasing lyricism onstage chemistry the likes of which I had no idea they were capable of. They may not have had the big hits that many others on this list scored in 2014, but the aforementioned "Quick Fast" is promising enough to nab them a spot. Signing to Hit-Boy's HS87 label last year, Oktane and Pricetag were key players on the label's 2014 album We The Plug, and plan to release their debut album in 2015.
DEJ LOAF TRY ME CHART HISTORY HOW TO
If you told me in 2011 that the dudes who made "Teach Me How To Jerk" would be signed by the guy who produced "Niggas In Paris" and quickly become the most promising prospects on his label, I probably would've responded sarcastically with something along the lines of "Oh yeah, and I heard Cali Swag District are gonna produce half of Kanye's new album." Lo and behold, it's three years later and Audio Push just released a track with Wale that makes their former selves seem like the World Class Wreckin' Cru to their current N.W.A. Click ahead to view an alphabetized list of the 15 breakout stars of the year. The sheer, undeniable breadth between them all speaks to the crazy year that was 2014. On this list, you'll find oddballs, precocious teens, critical darlings, commercial success stories, major label signees and leaders of grassroots movements. Some of these artists dropped unexpectedly from the sky like Bobby Shmurda's gravity-defying hat, some have been toiling for years, but one common thread runs among them: they've done more with their careers in the past 12 months than they did in the combined years that preceded 2014. Now that you're able to blow up as soon as a 10 second loop of your song soundtracks a few thousand Vines, Twista's concept of the "Overnight Celebrity" is more real than ever. Thug is one of many rappers who've seen their prospects change drastically for the better in the past twelve months. Now, he's been on top ten singles, performed on The Tonight Show, rejected numerous six-figure offers, lit blunts with hundred-dollar bills and weathered more hate than most rappers receive in their lifetimes. With a few tapes to his name, the rapper was without a deal or a substantial fanbase - another faceless entity trying to make it in Atlanta's increasingly saturated hip-hop scene. Last September, Young Thug was still struggling to get by, just as he had done all of his life.