Music News

Speaking at Harvard in 1943, Winston Churchill uttered one of his most memorable quotes: “The price of greatness is responsibility.” Of course, the British politician wasn’t speaking about rap, but most MCs who’ve reached the top know that what he said over 80 years ago is true. 

Cardi B, for one, absolutely knows that. After finding unprecedented success with her debut album Invasion of Privacy, the Bronx-bred star has worked hard to prove those feats weren’t flukes. And, so far, she’s done pretty well: She’s had four No. 1 singles since “Bodak Yellow” and a slew of other songs peppered across the charts. She’s helped younger artists break through, notched a bounty of brand deals and dropped music videos that made the culture stop and stare. Whether it was election commentary to defend vice president Harris or fending off rival MCs like Bia, she stayed in the public consciousness. By all accounts, Cardi B has become the superstar her debut album foretold. 

Even without releasing her long-awaited sophomore album, Cardi has kept her momentum moving with songs like “Like What,” which broke into the Hot 100’s top 40 and racked up 30 million YouTube views. Sure, she could have completely held off until her album was ready to go and then flooded the streets, but that’s not what greats do, is it? — DAMIEN SCOTT

When the first iteration of this list debuted in June, Rapsody’s absence sparked fan pushback.  Rightfully so: With Please Don’t Cry, her first album since 2019’s empowering, critically acclaimed Eve, Rapsody laid to rest any notion that her lyrical prowess, rhapsodizing flow and cultural impact had lost their potency. Her authenticity — inspired by influences like Queen Latifah and Jay-Z — shines as she navigates life just like the rest of us. “The real message is please do cry,” Rapsody told Billboard in May. “Allow yourself to be human, allow yourself to feel, to sit in your emotions, to grow from it.”  The album has since garnered Grammy nods for best rap song (“Asteroids” with Hit-Boy) and best melodic rap performance (“3:AM” with Erykah Badu). — GAIL MITCHELL

JT landed at No. 9 on this list in June – before she dropped her debut solo mixtape. Led by the RIAA Gold-certified Hot 100 hit “Okay” (No. 73), JT completed her solo coronation with City Cinderella, a 16-track set that found her reflecting on childhood traumas and popping her s—t over production that pulled from ’00s New York hip-hop and Miami bass. The tape opened at No. 27 on the Billboard 200, moving 26,000 units in its first week and outcharting any City Girls release.  

With album cuts like “JT Coming” and “Intro (Hope)” sparking TikTok microtrends and previous singles like “Sideways” continuing to bring new listeners into the fold, City Cinderella found JT flaunting her limitless potential. She also promoted City Cinderella with a 21-date tour that graduated her from clubs to theaters. Although she’s primarily been preoccupied with promoting City Cinderella, JT did pop out for a feature on 070 Shake’s stormy “Into Your Garden.” What’s more, Kaytranada’s remix of her and Doechii’s “Alter Ego” earned a best remixed recording Grammy nod, moving the Miami rap star one step closer to Grammy gold. – KYLE DENIS

After dropping her acclaimed Scarlet album in late 2023 and that set’s Scarlet 2 Claude deluxe reissue in April, Doja has mostly been quiet on the release front for the back half of 2024. She’s stayed busy on her successful Scarlet Tour and in September headlined New York’s Global Citizen fest — one of several high-profile recent festival appearances for Doja, also including a headlining slot at London’s Wireless Festival and a top spot at Las Vegas’ iHeatRadio Festival. 

But even during a relatively inactive period, she’s remained impactful in the headlines — for her inspiring comments at Global Citizen, for her apparent relationship (and rumored-but-denied engagement) with Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn, and particularly for any crumbs about her Scarlet follow-up, generating excitement across the internet with a one-word post on X: “album.” – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Doechii is a star, and she’s been bubbling to the top for a couple of years now. For those who have been up on her since 2019’s Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, her rise hasn’t been a surprise. The artist out of Florida further solidified her greatness with the release of her impressive mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, where all her talents are on full display. Songs like “Nissan Altima” and “Boom Bap” showcase her lyrical prowess and elasticity as an MC, which has gained praise from her TDE counterpart, Kendrick Lamar. Now nominated for four Grammys, she’s tasked with following up her best work to date with an official debut album. Pressure busts pipes, but it also creates diamonds – and we’re looking forward to seeing her shine for years to come. (For proof, check out her set at this year’s Camp Flog Gnaw.) – ANGEL DIAZ

From “Big Energy” to “Big Mama,” Latto is having an even bigger year than her 2023, when she scored both her first Hot 100 No. 1 (from her feature on Jung Kook’s “Seven”) and her first pair of Grammy nominations (including for best new artist). She started 2024 strong by pairing up with pop icons Usher and Jennifer Lopez on their respective albums. And following her Hot 100 No. 13 hit “Put It On Da Floor Again” collab with Cardi B last year, she continued teaming up with the rap girls, from Anycia on “BACK OUTSIDE” to Megan Thee Stallion and Flo Milli on the “Sunday Service” remix.

But what makes Latto’s growth as an artist admirable is the way she stayed true to her roots. She became the first female headliner of Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash, where she brought out fellow A-listers like Usher and Summer Walker. T.I. and his Trap Music Museum crowned her the Trapper of the Year. And she paid homage to Southern rap and cemented herself in the genre’s legacy on her third album Sugar Honey Iced Tea, which bagged her first No. 1 on Top Rap Albums. 

More recently, her “Big Mama” single scored Latto a second nomination in the best melodic rap performance category at the 2025 Grammys. And she’ll be a judge alongside Ludacris and DJ Khaled on the second season of Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow, a full-circle moment for Latto after she won the first season of Jermaine Dupri’s The Rap Game in 2016.  – HERAN MAMO

The St. Louis rapper has had one hell of a year. She answered her monster 2023 with the club hit and viral sensation “Get It Sexyy,” followed it up with a Drake feature, “U My Everything,” and her mixtape, In Sexyy We Trust, charted higher than anything she put out last year. She also had a nationwide tour and hit the stage at Camp Flog Gnaw, where she got a pop bigger than Stone Cold. 

The sports community even gravitated towards Sexyy after her appearances on WWE and NFL games. But her range stretches beyond sports, as she also recently pulled up to Kai Cenat’s viral Mafiathon 2 stream. And let’s not forget that she’s charming and social media-savvy, a perfect combination for a celebrity in today’s landscape. Incredibly, she’s been able to pull all this off without an official album, which hopefully we’ll get next year.  – A.D.

Pink Friday 2 arrived in December 2023, and even with the influx of projects released this year, Nicki Minaj’s PF2 reigns supreme as the best-selling album from a female rapper for all of 2024 as far as units earned go, according to Luminate. “FTCU” separated itself from the pack and added to Minaj’s 148 Billboard Hot 100 hits when the riotous banger cracked the chart’s top 15. 

2024 served as a well-deserved victory lap for the Queens rap legend. Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 World Tour broke the record for the highest-grossing trek by a female rhymer – and that was only the first 34-date North American leg. Nicki spun the block in Gag City for another round of arena takeovers across the U.S. into the fall, which ballooned the tour’s gross to over $108.9 million – the fourth-highest of any rapper ever – across 70 total shows and 788,000 tickets sold, according to Billboard Boxscore. 

She’s not done with 2024 yet, either. Pink Friday 2: The Hiatus will be the set’s final deluxe installment as Minaj turns the page to a new era, but the batch of tunes should hold the Barbz over well into 2025, when she can reclaim the list’s top slot. But it appears there’s a chance Nicki could step away, and temporarily relinquish the pink diamond-encrusted throne she’s dominated for a decade-plus with LeBron James-esque longevity. – MICHAEL SAPONARA

Ms. Head Hottie sashays up a notch from her No. 3 perch in June. At that point in time, Megan had achieved several milestones: logging a Hot 100 No. 1 debut with inaugural solo outing “Hiss”; appearing in the film musical remake of Mean Girls and contributing to its soundtrack; teaming with Warner Music Group to distribute music through her Hot Girl Productions.

For Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, however, that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. She christened her Warner Music partnership with the June release of Megan, her third studio album. Bowing at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, it was her fifth top 10 on that tally. In support of the project, Megan launched her first headlining tour. The 36-show Hot Girl Summer Tour featured openers GloRilla and Ms Banks for the junket’s North American and European legs respectively. 

Displaying considerable hosting skills during the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, Megan then delivered a one-two punch with the release of deluxe album Megan: Act II and her critically acclaimed Amazon Prime Video documentary Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words. But more important for the Grammy-winning superstar are her roles as a philanthropist and humanitarian. In October, Megan partnered with the California Department of Public Health for its youth suicide prevention campaign, Never a Bother. – G.M.

After a stellar rookie campaign that produced grand-slam hits, including “F.N.F. (“Let’s Go”)” and “Tomorrow 2,” GloRilla was on the precipice of stardom, clutching a Grammy nomination and a bevy of bangers to her name. Despite those gaudy wins, she faced a sophomore slump in 2023 after “Cha Cha” and “Pop It” failed to recapture her 2022 magic, raising questions about her longevity.

Instead of giving up, GloRilla made a triumphant comeback and reclaimed her mojo when she struck gold with “Yeah Glo!” at the top of 2024. The swaggering track zoomed into the top 30 of the Hot 100 and showcased her resiliency as a rapper who refuses to buckle under pressure. Her torrid streak continued with the top 15 Hot 100 record “Wanna Be” featuring Megan Thee Stallion and the summer hit “TGIF.” 

Despite being an opener on her rap bestie Megan Thee Stallion’s Hot Girl Summer Tour this past Spring, she has been giving headliner energy, becoming a blockbuster name within months. Everyone felt GloRilla’s momentum, as pop behemoths Rihanna and Taylor Swift applauded her efforts, saluting her as rap’s newest “IT” girl of the moment. Kamala Harris even phoned her up at the tail-end of her campaign to win over youth voters during her run against Trump. 

The proverbial cherry on top came when GloRilla netted the highest opening week in 2024 for a female rapper, when her debut album GLORIOUS entered at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 69,000 album-equivalent units – doubling the release of her spring mixtape Ehhthang Ehhthang. – CARL LAMARRE