Like much of the Midwest sub-genre, Kansas City, Missouri’s hip-hop artists embrace a wide range of styles. From underground jazz to old school hip-hop and R&B, new age and cloud rap to trap, club, trip hop and beyond. Some Kansas City hip-hop artists are even creating brand new styles of their own.
Kansas City’s hip-hop scene tends to fall between the cracks on a national level. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some fantastic underground artists making waves on the local scene. Some of KC’s best have been putting out chart-topping tracks for decades and still haven’t received the recognition they deserve.
Sometimes, the best scenes are underground. 2021 is bound to be an incredible year and these revolutionary artists are bringing music every bit as good as the mainstream’s.
10 Kansas City Hip-Hop Artists You Should Be Following
Amira Wang
In Kansas City, Amira Wang is truly one of a kind. Wang’s not just here for the party – she brings it. Not one for tender ballads, Wang rules the dance floor with a pumped up fist and raunchy verses. Kansas City’s big bawdy babe ricochets from post-Cardi B ass-shaking club bop to New Orleans bounce and a bunch of other beats in between, but one thing’s for sure. When quarantine is over, this is what KC’s gonna party to.
Poor Rich Pesos
Poor Rich Pesos‘ uncle and BMF Co-Owner J-Bo exposed him to KC’s hip-hop elites at a young age. Pesos started rapping at 14, quickly gaining enough respect to open for artists like Rick Ross, Boosie, and Crime Mob. Now, Pesos swings into 2021 with a versatile swagger and new age hip-hop style worth keeping on your radar.
Unique Sixteen
Unique Sixteen possesses the uncanny ability to ignore what’s trendy and focus on stoking listeners’ imaginations. His poetic skills transform ryhmes from everyday rap into fine art using styles ranging from jazzy to pop to cloud rap and beyond. “Evening Primroses” exemplifies Sixteen’s deep subject matter and accomplishes his goal of reaching out to people in all walks of life. The times are changing, and Sixteen’s art will change with the times.
Marley Young
Marley Young grew up in the Kansas City neighborhood known as “The 50’s.” That experience provided plenty of content for his six mixtapes and two albums. Performance and co-writing collaborations with mainstream and underground artists like Gucci Mane, Young Bloodz, Keak da Sneak, Yukmouth, Rich The Factor, and more helped him hone his chops. And with his recent HITM Music Group launch, Marley Young is charging 2021.
Daduworld
Daduworld broke into Kansas City’s underground hip-hop scene with his debut track “Zion,” titled after Duke University’s star basketballer. The single’s pounding piano, booming bass, and steel drum beats snagged a platform for the fledgling rapper’s catchy, smooth flows. Dadu shares his take on the rap game in the track, “Rude,” – “I’m humble, but I’m better than these weirdos.”
Kye Colors
If you ever heard Kansas City creative Kye Colors rap, you’d never know how young he is. Barely out of his teenage years, Kye sounds like a seasoned veteran of the game. But he’s just getting started. Colors mixes rapping skills and lyrical abilities with hard-bumping tracks and killer moves. And he produces all of his own instrumentals. This year, Kye Colors is a rose busting out of Kansas City concrete.
Rich the Factor
Rich the Factor has been serving up chart-topping tunes from out of KC for over two dесаdеѕ. With over 120 аlbumѕ аnd mіх tареѕ, artist collaborations with J-Diggs, Big Boy, Rush, and more, plus a record label, homeboy is prolific as hell. His brand new 10-track album, Mobbligated, dropped January 15, proving thіѕ Dime Block rарреr’s still totally relevant and nоt ѕtорping anytime ѕооn.
Brandoshis
Jefferson City’s Brandoshis rides a sound that’s purely his own. His brand of hip-hop transcends genre in a style he describes as “turnt up R&B Rap.” Brandoshis’ lyrical style and hustle mentality has earned respect from legends like Tech N9ne, Machine Gun Kelly, Twista, and many more. This dude is basically the king of Missouri’s underground rap scene right now. And with projects featuring big name artists in the works, Brandoshis is fresh cream rising to the top in 2021.
KC Young Boss
Jazzy instrumentals and R&B harmonies roll in and out of reflective rap bars atop old school hip-hop beats on KC Young Boss’s latest album, Kansas City 3. The strangely relaxing, yet somehow exhilarating, tracks that KC Young Boss dishes are unlike anything else out there in hip hop right now, proving there’s more to Kansas City’s hip-hop talent than you might know.
2 Times
One of Kansas City, Missouri’s hottest young talents, 2 Times was influenced by his cousin King Keys from an early age. After fine tuning his skills and honing his style, 2 Times is 2 Steppin into 2021 with a brand spanking new 12-track album. Give it a listen, ’cause this year, 2Times is bound to be one of Kansas City’s most talked about hip hop artists.
