We're ranking the best rappers of 2018 based on their year's performance. Whether they're dropping the hip hop bangers or releasing the hottest rap albums, this list of the top rappers in 2018 includes new artists to watch for as well as the most popular rappers right now.
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known by his stage name Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of the group D12, as well as one half of the hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil. He is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 83rd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The same magazine declared him The King of Hip Hop. Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has achieved ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200. Eminem has sold more than 155 million albums and singles, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, better known as Kendrick Lamar, is an American hip hop recording artist from Compton, California. In 2004, Lamar signed to Carson-based independent record label, Top Dawg Entertainment. Lamar would later secure a recording contract with a major-label in 2012, when he signed with Aftermath and Interscope Records. Apart from his solo career, Lamar is also known as a member of the West Coast hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside his TDE label-mates and fellow South Los Angeles-based rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. Lamar began to gain major recognition in 2010, after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated. The following year he released Section.
J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole, better known by his stage name J. Cole, is an American hip hop recording artist, songwriter and record producer from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Cole first received recognition in 2007, following the release of his debut mixtape The Come Up. Shortly after the release of The Come Up, Cole was contacted by American rapper Jay-Z and subsequently signed to his record label Roc Nation, in 2009. In that same year, Cole released his second mixtape, The Warm Up, which was itself followed by Cole's third mixtape, Friday Night Lights, in 2010. His debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, was released on September 27, 2011.
Travis Scott
Jacques Webster, better known by his stage name Travis Scott, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer from Houston, Texas. In 2012, Scott signed to Epic Records before eventually signing to Kanye West's GOOD Music production wing known as Very G.O.O.D. Beats, in November of the same year, as an in-house producer, after appearing on the label's debut compilation Cruel Summer. In April 2013, it was announced he signed with T.I.'s Grand Hustle imprint. He released his first official full-length project, an album titled Owl Pharaoh, on May 21, 2013.
Drake
Aubrey Drake Graham, who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor. He was born in Toronto, Ontario. He first garnered recognition for his role as Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. He later rose to prominence as a rapper, releasing several mixtapes like Room for Improvement before signing to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment in June 2009. Drake's EP, So Far Gone, spawned the hit single "Best I Ever Had" and the moderate hit "Successful". His first studio album, Thank Me Later, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and generated notable singles