The BEST 100 Entertainers & Innovators of the Year | Musicians

See who superseded our expectations.

Roddy Ricch - Few artists of any genre have enjoyed a rise as meteoric as Compton, Calif.-born, Atlanta-raised rapper Roddy Ricch. The 22-year-old hit the scene with his first mixtape, Feed Tha Streets, in 2017 and has been on a tear ever since. He’s been nominated for three Grammys (winning one for his appearance on the late Nipsey Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle”) and earned 11 nominations on the 2020 BET Hip-Hop Awards alone. Between his earworm “The Box” and his guest appearance on DaBaby’s “Rockstar” single and video, you’ve heard from Ricch even if you don’t know you have. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
D-Nice - While the pandemic ravaged our shores and we were stuck at home, confused, lonely and not sure what to do with our time, legendary rapper-producer D-Nice offered up the nation’s first hot COVID-19 gathering place with Club Quarantine. There he spun sets on Instagram Live for hours at a time from his home. In its purest beginning, hundreds of thousands of us congregated on our phones, “mingling” with celebrities and even a few politicians. Club Quarantine was an often-imitated, never-duplicated panacea for a locked-down, pre-George Floyd America, giving D-Nice, 50, arguably the best career renaissance hip-hop has ever seen. (Photo by John Parra/Getty Images)
City Girls - If you have a kid born after 2005 and who uses TikTok, chances are you’ve at least heard something from Miami-based hip-hop duo City Girls. Yung Miami, 26, and JT, 27, released their second album, City on Lock, in 2020. The single “Flewed Out” became a viral catchphrase to describe getting on a plane and going places (when that was still easy to do). Among their high profile fans is former First Daughter Sasha Obama who went viral for a video rapping along to the group’s remix of Moneybagg Yo’s “Said Sum.” (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
Drake - Aubrey Graham exists in a perpetual state of divisiveness within the hip-hop community, which makes sense when you consider the Toronto native, 34, is arguably the biggest, most successful music star of the last decade. Not a year goes by where he doesn’t make a chart-topping song or engage in some high-profile beef. In 2020, Drake set a Billboard record for the most Hot 100 entries ever with his 21st No. 1, beating out Aretha Frankin and Stevie Wonder. He also beat Madonna out for the most top 10 singles in Billboard’s history. Not bad for the erstwhile Wheelchair Jimmy. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)Big Sean - The Detroit native has arguably garnered more attention throughout his 13-year hip-hop career for things that have nothing to do with his actual music—former relationships with Ariana Grande and the late Naya Rivera, his current (sexually charged) relationship with Jhené Aiko, his candor about his own mental health challenges, or his weak contract with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music. But at day’s end, Sean, 32, is a rapper; in 2020, he released Detroit 2, his sixth and best album to date. It’s rare to see career progression after so many years in the game, but Sean has proven he’s perfectly capable. (Photo by 2020HHA/Getty Images via Getty Images)

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D-Nice - While the pandemic ravaged our shores and we were stuck at home, confused, lonely and not sure what to do with our time, legendary rapper-producer D-Nice offered up the nation’s first hot COVID-19 gathering place with Club Quarantine. There he spun sets on Instagram Live for hours at a time from his home. In its purest beginning, hundreds of thousands of us congregated on our phones, “mingling” with celebrities and even a few politicians. Club Quarantine was an often-imitated, never-duplicated panacea for a locked-down, pre-George Floyd America, giving D-Nice, 50, arguably the best career renaissance hip-hop has ever seen. (Photo by John Parra/Getty Images)

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