A rapper who grew up on the beats of Marilyn Manson and Kanye's 808 & Heartbreak, Lil Uzi Vert came out of North Philadelphia with a relaxed style that connected the dots between Young Thug, Chief Keef, and the A$AP Mob. Debuting by featuring on some DJ Diamond Kuts tracks, Uzi kicked his career into high gear in 2015 when he dropped "Dej Loaf," a dedication to the Detroit vocalist. Don Cannon hosted his mixtape The Real Uzi that same year, then DJ Drama helped broker a deal with Atlantic Records, which released his Luv Is Rage mixtape late in 2015. Don Cannon was back for the early-2016 mixtape Lil Uzi vs. the World, which also featured beats from Metro Boomin and Maaly Raw. Two of its tracks -- "You Was Right" and "Money Longer" -- crossed over and reached the Billboard Hot 100. Led by the Future collaboration "Seven Million," The Perfect Luv Tape was out by the end of that July. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi

Nigerian singer/songwriter Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (aka Wizkid) began his career in music when he was just 11 years old. His first record, Lil Prinz, was recorded in 2001 in collaboration with Glorious Five, a group consisting of Balogun and his friends from church. In 2006 he started pursuing music full-time, at first collaborating with various Nigerian pop acts, including OJB Jezreel, Naeto C, and Banky W. By 2011 he was ready to record his debut studio album as a solo artist; Superstar was released via Empire Mates Entertainment (EME for short) to great critical and public acclaim across Africa, propelling him to stardom in his home country of Nigeria. After multiple delays, and label disagreements, Balogun released his sophomore album, Ayo, in 2014. His second studio album featured a multitude of guest appearances, including a spot from Femi Kuti. It also featured Balogun's global breakthrough track, "Ojuelegba." Not only did the single cement his status as one of Nigeria's biggest pop acts, it was also picked up and remixed by Drake and Skepta, thrusting Wizkid into the spotlight on an international scale. In return, Wizkid appeared on Drake's 2016 single "One Dance." ~ Liam Martin, Rovi

Tory Lanez is one of the more versatile commercial artists to surface during the early 2010s. A songwriter and producer who flits between and fuses R&B and rap -- his vocals alternate between swift and rugged boasts and smooth and sensitive come-ons -- he made steady strides toward the mainstream with numerous mixtapes, guest appearances, and self-directed videos. He spent parts of his early life in Toronto, his birthplace, as well as in Montreal, Miami, Atlanta, and New York. Although he was known underground well before his 20th birthday, and was supported early on by Sean Kingston, he made some of his biggest moves in 2014. During that year, he was featured on "Me & My Bitch" -- a track off YG's Top Five album My Krazy Life -- and among his own tracks that circulated in 2014 was "The Mission," his first cut to hit Billboard's Twitter Emerging Artists chart. In July 2015, after he had signed an Interscope-affiliated deal with Benny Blanco's Mad Love label, he released "Say It," an R&B slow jam that sampled Brownstone's mid-'90s hit "If You Love Me" and peaked the following February at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. A handful of additional tracks, including the dancehall-flavored "Luv" -- his second Hot 100 placement -- led to his debut album I Told You, issued in August 2016. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi