Shazam Fast Forward 2025 Unveils 10 Hip-Hop and R&B Artists To Watch This Year

With over 300 million monthly global users and more than 100 billion song recognitions since its launch, Shazam has established itself as a trailblazer in identifying the next big music stars. Its unparalleled ability to predict emerging talent has made it an invaluable resource for both artists and fans worldwide.

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Today, Shazam concludes the rollout of its revamped yearly predictions list, “Shazam Fast Forward 2025,” spotlighting 10 Hip-Hop and R&B artists poised for stardom. Music enthusiasts can dive deeper into these rising stars and explore more featured artists through a brand-new microsite dedicated to the initiative.

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This week-long unveiling showcased 10 artists daily across broader genres, including Dance, Latin, Alternative, Rock, and Country, Pop, and now Hip-Hop and R&B. Using Shazam’s cutting-edge predictive data and algorithms, alongside the expertise of Apple Music’s global editorial team, these selections highlight the most exciting trends in music today and what lies ahead.

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Each featured artist has demonstrated strong early indicators of future success, including consistent momentum in Shazam activity and discovery trends across multiple countries.

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Discover the future of music and see how Shazam’s blend of innovative technology and expert curation continues to shape the industry by amplifying the voices of tomorrow’s stars.

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Shazam 2025

Shazam Fast Forward 2025 — 10 Hip-Hop and R&B artists to watch

Shazam Fast Forward 2025 features 10 emerging Hip-Hop and R&B artists from 5 countries (USA, France, Mexico, Indonesia, and UK), across 6 sub-genres within the Hip-Hop/R&B space (Hip-Hop/Rap, R&B/Soul, French Hip-Hop, and UK Drill).

iDS

The French Hip-Hop/Rap artist first appeared on Shazam’s radar in November 2023 across Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their biggest track, “BOOM BOOM,” drove a spike in Shazam volume on the day of release, especially in France. Their first Shazam chart entry came in August 2024 with “BOOM BOOM” entering the Côte d’Ivoire top 200.

Stepz

Stepz hit upon global viral success in 2024 with “Rock”, but it was back in 2021 that he first popped up on Shazam’s emerging artist radar. His breakout viral song “Rock” took Stepz global in 2024, rising up Shazam’s worldwide top 200, and entering Shazam charts in 24 countries (including top 20 positions in the US, Canada and NZ). Shazam activity reached an all time high at the end of October 2024. Stepz saw his first major programming on Apple Music in October 2024, when “Rock” was programmed on The New London and New Fire . His music has since been programmed on #GYMFLOW, Future Hits, Today’s Hits and more.

Gabriel Jacoby

Gabriel Jacoby’s Shazam volume peaked at the end of October 2024, driven by the release of “forever.” The US R&B/Soul singer’s top countries for Shazam volume were the US, South Africa and France, he first popped on Shazam in November 2024 in New Zealand. Jacoby was first programmed across a number of Apple Music editorial playlists in September 2024, including New Music Daily, Smooth & Easy and Mood.. His songs have since been programmed on Breaking R&B, Brown Sugar, Soul Revival and more.

BabyChiefDoit

The US-based Hip-Hop/Rap artist first gained traction on Shazam in July 2024 in Canada. He first debuted on the U.S. Shazam chart in August 2023 with his song “6ix Times 2Day,” and quickly followed this up with three other songs appearing on the chart – “Rollin’,” “The Viper” and “Snooze You Lose.” “The Viper,” BabyChiefDoit’s top song on Shazam” has been his biggest chart success in the U.S. so far, peaking at No. 34 and spending two months on the chart.

CITIZEN

The Hip-Hop/Rap artist first popped on Shazam in August 2024 starting in India. Shortly after his first appearance on Shazam, CITIZEN debuted on the Indian Shazam chart with his top song “You Haunt Me” in September 2024. Driven by the song, CITIZEN experienced a peak in Shazam activity in September. Shazam activity has largely come out of India. CITIZEN will kick off a nearly 25 stop tour in March 2025.

La Potter

The Mexican Hip-Hop/Rap artist first appeared on Shazam’s radar in June 2023 in her home country. Following the release of the music video for her song “Venganza” in September 2024, she saw a peak in Shazam activity. Her top song on Shazam is “A Tu Salud” and her top countries for Shazam activity are her home country of Mexico, followed by the U.S. and Colombia.

FendiDa Rappa

The Hip-Hop/Rap artist first started to bubble on Shazam in May 2022 in her home country, the U.S. Her collaboration with Cardi B, “Point Me 2” marked her debut entry on Shazam’s global chart in July 2024. The song spent three months on the U.S. Shazam chart, breaking the top 20 and peaking at No.14 in July. Another collaboration, “Clock Dat (feat. Shamar Marco)” became FendiDa Rappa’s first song to chart outside of the U.S., breaking through on the Shazam charts in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ghana in October 2024.

Jordan Susanto

The Indonesian R&B/Soul artist first gained momentum on Shazam in March 2023 in his home country. In the last year, Jordan Susanto saw massive chart success with his song “Senopati in the Rain” reaching No.1 in the Philippines in August 2024, holding that spot for 12 days. The top song’s placement on the list marked Jordan Susanto’s first time on a Shazam chart. He followed this up with success across Asia with “Senopati in the Rain” entering the charts in his home country of Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The song also broke through on the New Zealand chart.

RnBoi

The French Hip-Hop/Rap artist first popped on Shazam in January 2022 in his home country. He made his Shazam chart debut this year alongside Tiakola and Monsieur Nov with their song “RESTE-LÀ” charting across Francophone Europe and Africa in his home country of France, Senegal, Belgium, Switzerland and Côte d’Ivoire. Since its release, the song has spent two months on the French and Senegalese charts, peaking at No. 32 in France and No. 24 in Senegal. In October 2024, “Instable” became RnBoi’s biggest solo track, charting in both France and Senegal.

Vontee the Singer

The U.S. based Hip-Hop/Rap artist first appeared on Shazam’s Radar in April 2024 in the UK. Vontee the Singer’s Shazam activity peaked that month as his top song on Shazam “For Us” began to gain traction on social media. His top country for Shazam activity are the U.S. followed by Great Britain and Canada.