Light-Years Beyond the Big Names: How to Discover New Grown-Folk Rap
Plus upcoming important Hip Hop conferences and noteworthy events
The past couple of years have been pretty good for rap fans of a certain age — and younger fans with similar taste.
However, it’s one thing when big name artists like Clipse, Nas and Preemo drop, it’s another to find lesser-promoted-but-also-dope music that fans of those artists might also like.
For years, older rap fans have complained that the genre has strayed too far from their tastes — even though there are always people making whatever kind of music anyone wants. Now that we’ve seen a bit of a grown-folk-rap renaissance happening, however, one of the fears I have is that folks will think that the big names are all there is.
Personally, I haven’t had a problem discovering new, quality examples of what some are dubbing adult contemporary Hip Hop, so I wanted to share some of the resources and go-to curators that I know of, to help folks who have recently looked up — away from their CD collections and Rock The Bells Radio — and realized, “Hey! Maybe there IS new music out here I can enjoy!”
There is. And again, it’s not just the “big names.” In fact, these other artists have been patiently waiting, hoping we’d find them, and are ready for the moment.
Here are some resources to help reignited rap fans find new music in 2026.
Too Much Rap
You might know Donwill from his work with Tanya Morgan — which is a rap group — and was an indie NYC staple for years. In recent years, Donwill’s also produced a Webby award winning podcast, “The Almanac of Rap,” and his very own Substack, Too Much Rap. In said Substack, regular Tuesday drops will deliver music that should tickle all your grown folk, diverse, and eclectic rap fan fancies. His regular posts are also enjoyable for those of the culture.
Shatter the Standards
Another dope Substack I’ve recently come across, with a steady mix of long form commentary, retrospectives, and weekly new music drops. Shouts to Brandon O'Sullivan.
DJ Absurd / Ear 2 The Streets
For roughly 3287492734 weeks, New Jersey’s DJ Absurd has put out a two hour-or-so mix of current rap music and new releases, complete with a full tracklist. Absurd is a certified Hip Hop head, a connissour of rap that’s heavy on lyrical prowess and boom-bap DNA. The most recent mix features new music from the likes of Skyzoo, EPMD, A.F.R.O., Brother Ali, Ludacris, and more well known names, as well as plenty of bangers from indie and underground artists.
Hip Hop Can Save America! Discord Server
As part of ‘the world’s most enlightening Hip Hop Media Ecosystem’ — this very newsletter, the HHCSA! podcast, the HHCSA! YouTube channel, and the Cornel West-endorsed book, we’ve also set up a Discord channel as a place to hold continuing discussions about some of the topics I focus on — Hip Hop intersecting with education, health & wellness, science & technology, social justice, etc. Well, I’ve also set up a #share-music channel there, and I encourage our community members to share their favorite new drops! Come join the community and share yours!
Wally Hart
Wally’s a huge Hip Hop fan and frequently posts his personal top rap of the year lists on his Facebook page. Now, those who know me know I think lists are largely useless, but that’s more for, like, media outlets or social media accounts that post purely subjective lists as rage bait for engagement. Wally has the kind of muscial taste that I think appeals to the “adult contemporary rap” crowd, and so whenever I need to be reminded of what’s out, what I still haven’t listened to, and what I might have missed, I pop over to his Facebook page and an updated roundup is usually within a few posts on the feed.
Spotify
While I sometimes check out the playlists that the app suggests “for me,” one of the things that some folks tend to overlook is Spotify’s “Song Radio” and “Artist Radio” feature. It’s how I’ve discovered a ton of new music and artists, and I use it regularly. For me, I’ll pick a current artist or song that I really like, and go to “Song radio” or “Artist radio” respectively, and then just let it play. I’ll skip what I don’t like, and favorite what I do (hopefully, all further fine-tuning my personal algorithm), but either way, I’ll almost always find new music I’ll dig. I do this when I’m on a long drive and just want to passively discover new stuff. (For me, I love to start with “Artist Radio” for Sault. Whoo-wee I’ve found some really dope stuff that way.)
BONUS: A super dope year-end playlist from the good homie DJ Hoodwink. He describes it in part this way:
First, these are tracks that speak to me for both beats and lyrics. First and foremost - both have to hit for me, a beat I can rock to, and then bars. And either no hook, or a quality hook… The lyrics have to be something we can explore, what I label as empowering - something we can make sense of and examine in pursuit of personal or collective growth. This doesn’t mean “positive” or “conscious” per se, as these can have risky content and be opportunities to learn, to reflect, or even to plan in the face of cautionary tales.
Anyway, that’s my secret stash of new music discovery sources. Feel free to comment your own, no gatekeeping! 😁
Click here to get your copy of this important book today!
📅 UPCOMING HIP HOP CONFERENCES AND DOPE INTERDISCIPLINARY EVENTS
I’ll be keynoting or presenting at a BUNCH of these (look for the *)! If you want to talk about booking me for your event, just reply to this newsletter.
Also, if you have an event that should go here, please reply and let me know, I’ll be happy to include it in upcoming newsletters.
* February 5-7: The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College
“Hip Hop Can Save America!”
Book talk and community discussions/performances
* February 21, 2026: UMass Amherst College of Education
Black AF (Artistic Freedom) Conference
TV OFF: Hip-Hop as the Revolution for Critical Conversations and Resistance to Conform
March 4, 2026: Berklee College of Music
Fifth Annual International Hip-Hop Symposium
* March 18-21: Groningen (The Netherlands)
European Hip Hop Studies Conference
“Things Done Changed”: Hip Hop Futures for a World on Fire
* April 9-13, 2026: Trinity College, CT
20th Trinity International Hip Hop Festival
November 13-15, 2026: Howard University
4th Annual Hip Hop Studies Conference (Recap of 2025 conference)
* means I’ll be presenting!
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Talk more soon.
~Manny
Dope! 🫡
And this year’s Hoodwink 100 >>> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4TV1UgEoOffNra5a3ZEU7m?si=YgvWYeONSFmiXVOFSlaojA&pi=T5BwjV74QLSz1