The year 2020 was unfortunate for many, but there are also those who turned the situation to their advantage and used their free time well. If you are interested in the underground scene, you will definitely want to hear about these artists. Let's take a look at the five most underrated artists of 2020.
Zodi
The Moravian rapper Zodi released his debut project "POLE18" in 2020. On this project he revealed his original work with vocals along with his other distinctive features- adlibs and a catchy hook. He has found a gap in our music scene that he is successfully trying to fill. His music could be compared to the work of foreign artists such as BEXEY or Gab3, some may even hear elements of Carti in his work, whose sound has had a huge impact in recent years. He also showed his progress on the latest single, "INSKRU", which has everything a trap track should have. Of course, Zodi also owes for this to his producer "Mewt" and Rainer, who takes care of the mix and master.
Blako
He has everything he needs to succeed. His "baby voice" with heavy autotune is unmistakable, as is his accent, influenced by Russian origin. The first time he got recognised more was on the tracks "DVAKRÁT TOLIK" and "TŘIKRÁT TOLIK", which were released under Smack's label Archetyp 51. On these songs we hear grime, but on the new album "Roaming" Blako already shows a different style and appeals to a wider audience. We will hear about him in 2021, there is no doubt about that. He collaborated with names like Dokkeytino or Hugo Toxxx. Even Yzomandias and Viktor Sheen noticed Blako, so maybe we will see them work together in the future.
LZEE
Originally from London and with high ambitions. That is LZEE, a young rapper who got streamed on BBC 1 Xtra and Radio 1, for example. With one hundred and fourteen thousand monthly listeners, he is not doing badly at all for his age. For the first time, people started noticing him thanks to his catchy singles like "Gavin & Stacey" or "Elementary" (currently his most popular track). In 2020 (at the age of sixteen) he released an album called "L4zy Town" and this year he has already released the "No Limbo EP". He did not disappoint on any of these projects. He named Skepta, Jay Z, Stormzy and Travis Scott as his favorite artists, but the influence of none of them can be heard in his work. Will LZEE bring us more surprises?
Ekkstacy
As a teenager, Vancouver artist Ekkstacy encountered problems which he began to deal with by using light drugs. But as he himself says in an interview, it didn't pay off. Marijuana triggered psychosis in him, in his own words he also had states when he wanted to kill himself. He was then diagnosed with PTSD and panic disorder. These circumstances led him to make music, which he fortunately still makes. There aren't many artists who's songs would be so full of emotions. In terms of genre, Stacy can't be completely classified, he simply makes music that is, in his own words, "sad". A great example of his work is the song "Uncomparable", which reached almost six hundred thousand streams on Spotify. If you like this type of music, try listening to other members of contracult, the music group where Ekkstacy currently belongs to.
Brakence
At the age of nineteen, Brakence has already proven that he is a genius. In his debut album "punk2", released last year, we will notice elements of hyper pop, punk, emo rap and other genres. His voice is unique, the structure of the songs builds on the so-called build-up to a heavy bass chorus, while the whole track is always enriched with unexpected twists, such as real drums, etc. His instrumentals and overall sound can only be compared to 100 gecs or JPEGMAFIA. In the underground scene, he is considered the future of pop and already has a relatively large fan base. The collaboration with blackbear, whom he invited to the remix of the song "Dropout", certainly helped him get more recognition. In 2021 we can perhaps look forward to more hits from Ohio.
Samuel Jacob Keeler