The Best Rising Artists of Spring 2025

With Spring upon us once again, there's a swarm of new artists taking over the scene.

Hailing from different cities and spheres of influence, this season's roundup of New Gen artists neglects the traditional confines and constraints of the music industry, taking untraditional routes to promotion, collaboration, and creation, refusing to remain within the realm of one "genre." Ranging from rage-influenced rap and contemporary envisionings of pop-punk to synthy-shoegaze and Twitch-stream-trap, each talent in this Spring's lineup of emerging artists is carving out their own lane in the music industry – and unapologetically speeding down said lane.

FearDorian

For fans of: 454, POLO PERKS<3 <3 <3, RiTchie

One of the rapidly rising faces of the underground, FearDorian is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in the contemporary hip-hop sphere. Hailing from Atlanta, the 18-year-old rapper and producer is redefining the next generation of rap, meshing rage, trap, and traditional hip-hop influences in his diverse, digitally-driven discography. Most recently, FearDorian unveiled his latest studio album, Leaving Home, another scattered selection of straight-to-the-point songs, carried by the rapper's effortless staccato and grunchy, glitchy production. The multifaceted musician dropped off his self-titled debut solo album last March and his collab album A Dog's Chance with Polo Perks and AyooLii back in June. A mixture of Midwest-melddled sounds, synth-infused SoundCloud cuts and edgy instrumentals, the young talent has also made beats for Kenny Mason, Yhapojj, Babyxsosa, Myaap, and RiTchie. As his recently released LP continues to rack in streams and solid reviews, we anticipate an exciting rest of the year from the consistent rapper.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

The Paradox

For fans of: blink-182, NOFX, Green Day

The Paradox is riding the pop-punk renaissance wave with their loud, unpolished, unapologetically contemporary sound. The Atlanta-based quartet combines the angst we thought we’d left behind in the 2000s with a modernized, catchy twist, landing them at When We Were Young festival and leading them to open for Green Day at the specific request of Billie Joe Armstrong himself — all without even a single EP out. Channeling the spirit of punk’s DIY roots and the utmost respect for their sonic forefathers, The Paradox becomes living proof that pop-punk is definitely not dead.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

PlaqueBoyMax

For fans of: Lancey Foux, LAZER DIM 700, BNYX

Twitch is beginning to establish itself as a key platform in music promotion; Plaqueboymax is a prime example of a success story that skyrocketed from streaming on Twitch. The established daily Twitch streamer made his first foray into the music realm when he launched his series dubbed In The Booth, hosting guests including LAZER DIM 700, Dave Blunts, Ian and DDG and making music live on stream with them, oftentimes even hopping on the track for a verse himself. Born Maxwell Dent in West Orange, New Jersey, the internet personality would also rank unreleased music in a series entitled Song Wars, ultimately culminating in his first studio release in 2023 with the single “Man of Steel.” It wasn’t until the end of 2024 that the 22-year-old’s music made a splash, when he dropped “Pink Dreads” with DDG – a track the duo made live on the stream. Last month, Dent released his first EP, LONDON, which features Lancey Foux, Nemzzz and Skepta.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

John Glacier

For fans of: Little Simz, Noname, Earl Sweatshirt

There are no rules in rap for John Glacier. Her face-value, almost casual delivery is an effective counterpoint to the soul-baring rhymes she’s dispensing — one she can fire off over evocative, genre-bending production like lo-fi, grime, drum and bass and more. In Like A Ribbon, her debut studio album, she creates vivid imagery that translates her viewpoint of the natural world and life experiences that are almost universal. Step by step, Glacier is building her ecosystem as she becomes one of the UK’s most enigmatic voices.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

Hana Vu

For fans of: Soccer Mommy, Samia, Dora Jar

Getting her start on SoundCloud on Bandcamp, Hana Vu’s first on-streaming studio single was a collaboration with WILLOW. On the heels of the major co-sign, at just 17 years old, Vu then released her first EP, a fully self-produced indie-pop project with just the right amount of nostalgia and features from Satchy and Henry Morris. Vu tends to keep a pretty lowkey persona, though she finds herself fresh off supporting Soccer Mommy on her Spring 2025 tour. Her most recent studio LP was Romanticism back in May of 2024, which followed up 2021’s Public Storage and 2019’s two-part project named after two of Vu’s favorite actresses, Nicole Kidman / Anne Hathaway. She also just dropped off her five-track Movies EP.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

Lexa Gates

For fans of: KARRAHBOOO, Bktherula, Samara Cyn

Lexa Gates locked herself in a box for ten hours to promote her most recent album – if this doesn’t show how locked in on her craft the 24-year-old Queens native is, we’re not sure what does. Elite Vessel was the name of the aforementioned album, her first major label LP, and the release that put Gates on the radar of many and the mainstream of her local neighborhood. The album garnered critical acclaim from a handful of publications and came equipped with contributions from Zelooperz, Billy Lemos and Alé Araya. Gates has not only proved herself in a sonic sense with her lyrical capabilities and conversational, punctuating flow, but also as a creative multihyphenate. She has also delivered consistent, sharp visual components to her tracks and begun to dabble in the fashion space, starring in a recent Kith campaign alongside Jadakiss and Fabolous.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

Ela Minus

For fans of: Nicholas Jarr, Grimes, Kraftwerk

Ela Minus, the Bogota-born, Brooklyn-based electronica artist, is a wizard on the synths. Paving the way for the DIY scene, her relentless precision yields purposefully executed releases that will release nothing but intention. This method is on full display on her debut album, acts of rebellion, which reminds us to pay attention to our own small acts of resistance in life over her hypnotic sonic world.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

MOIO

For fans of: Daniel Caesar, Steve Lacy, Giveon

MOIO is paving the way for a new vision of alternative R&B. Starting off as a bedroom producer, the Irish artist’s catalog includes collaborations with his brother Monjola and fellow Dublin-based artist Aby Coulibaly. His solo work is infused with hints of jazz, soul and ambient — delivering emotionally rich and sonically experimental soundscapes, while his soft vocals are arranged with immaculate detail. With only a few singles under his belt so far, the possibilities are endless for MOIO as he carves out his space in the evolution of R&B.

Listen: Spotify | Apple Music

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