@Isaiah Scharff

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

Gloriously weird in his delivery, Atlanta singer/rapper Young Thug is well known for bending his voice in spontaneous fashion. Those vocal quirks were apparent from the start: just listen to the many swerves he makes during 2015’s “Check,” his first platinum-selling solo single, or his work with Travis Scott and Quavo on 2016’s oddball smash “pick up the phone.” Thankfully, mainstream audiences have embraced his scene-stealing stylistic flourishes, whether on 2019’s “The London” and “Hot”—both plucked from his studio debut <i>So Much Fun</i>—or his formative mixtapes. Yet Young Thug also knows when to dial back his eccentricities, as when he raps against a nostalgic loop from Elton John’s “Rocket Man” on 2018’s wistful “High” or croons about Coachella and family life on 2023’s spacey “From a Man.” For someone who commands the spotlight so easily, he has worked with prolifically with others, yielding memorable teamups with Drake, Future, and repeat collaborator Travis Scott over the years. From his ever-changing hair color and wardrobe to his vocal detours and surreal lyrical imagery, there’s never a dull moment in the Thugger camp.

Back in the early 2010s, Durk Banks was just another rapper making his way in Chicago drill, a bleak, diamond-hard variant on trap that channeled the city’s culture of violence into unlikely anthems. Durk would evolve beyond drill, becoming one of the rare rappers to make the leap from regional fame to the mainstream without diluting his street appeal. Painful, raw, but eerily pretty, Durk’s music can turn death threats into nursery rhymes (“Die Slow”) and coax shades of suffering from Auto-Tune that make even the slickest productions breathe with vulnerability (“How I Know”). Born in Chicago in 1992, Durk started rapping in his teens. He proved a versatile MC who could slip between dead-eyed rawness and Auto-Tuned melodicism, and handle a love song (“India”) without making it sound like it was a mandate from the label. He left Def Jam in 2018, and joined Geffen Records with 2020’s <i>Just Cause Y’all Waited 2</i>. In 2022, he released <i>7220</i>, which featured some of his catalog’s hardest tracks up to that point (“Burglars & Murderers,” “Computer Murderers”). Durk followed that with <i>Almost Healed</i>, a frank exploration of tragedy and loss that pointed in the direction of 2024’s introspective <i>Deep Thoughts</i>.

This is your destination for hip-hop and R&B to get the night—or day—started right. Good times come guaranteed with these club classics mixed with new tracks catching fire on both sides of the Atlantic. Our editors regularly update the playlist, so when you hear something you’re into, add it to your library.

Any workplace could use a little pick-me-up. And few people are better at elevating heart rates and boosting productivity than DJ Khaled, Apple Music’s first-ever artist in residence. He’s staging a corporate takeover with this exclusive, handpicked playlist, serving up new and old classics from hip-hop, R&B, reggae, and pop—Khaled’s areas of expertise—specifically designed to carry everyone from opening bell through end-of-day air horn.

Some rappers are born for the spotlight, but without beatmaking virtuosos like T-Minus those lights wouldn't be nearly as bright. Combining molasses-thick synths with bursts of bass, T-Minus's productions have helped stars like Kendrick Lamar and Drake find their way to the top of the charts.

Gucci Mane's flows, slanguage, and slurred rap style remade hip-hop in his image, inspiring legions of MCs and producers to follow. Young Scooter's "Columbia" is a brash extralegal tale delivered with Gucci's no-nonsense spirit. Migos' "Bando" borrows Gucci producer Zaytoven's understated organs to home in on the hustler's day-to-day details, while Chief Keef's brooding, unbothered "Sosa Chamberlin" nods to Gucci's cocky nonchalance.

Mike Dean has a resume that can compete with hip-hop's elite super producers. Hear how the Houston sound architect inspires the best from southern staples like Scarface, Z-Ro, and Juvenile, along with expansive musical moments from Kanye West and JAY Z.

While Matthew Jehu Samuels got his start making tracks for Toronto's favorite son, he's long since emerged from the shadows to prove that this boy is no one-hit 1da. With a sonically diverse palette, the Jamaican-born, Canadian-bred producer has crafted huge, synth-driven beats for Eminem, JAY Z, ScHoolboy Q, and The Game.