by William Yeomans
I will be diving into a look at my top five artists of all-time. These are my go-to artists when I’m looking for a good song to listen to. I have grown up listening to their songs and I decided on these five, hopefully you agree.
5.) Juice WRLD
At just 17 years old, Juice WRLD was rising onto the Rap/Hip-Hop scene in 2015. He is known as the first of many to make it big after spending years on Soundcloud an app that artists use to upload music to promote themselves. However, he did not release his first album until 2018. Just weeks after the release the Hot 100 Billboard put three songs on the album to their top 100 chart, placing one of them at 68, another at 41.
Juice WRLD’s best-known song, “Lucid Dreams”, reached the number two song on the charts at its peak. When I asked Matt Mordini for his favorite song he said “Armed & Dangerous” was his all-time favorite song which is one of Juice WRLD’s most popular songs. Juice WRLD’s ability to use his melodic voice and freestyle is what I enjoy about him the most. He has songs such as Fine China and Lucid Dreams that are melodic and happy while, he can also rap as good as any other artist in songs like “Different” and “Realer N Realer”.
4.) Jon Pardi
Jon Pardi is the only country artist in my list, he separates himself from the rest of the country artists because he is consistently able to create catchy, upbeat songs with meaningful lyrics. In just his second album, Pardi had three songs in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Just two years after the album he released two singles that also made the top ten of the charts and five more that were in the top 100.
I was able to see Pardi perform this past summer and he put on an excellent show. His voice while live sounded like it does in his songs and the pyrotechnics went along with the words perfectly. My favorite song of his, “Dirt On My Boots”, is a hit as he uses repetition and his joyful voice to draw listeners in. This song is a major reason why he is in my top five because it is my all-time favorite country song.
3.) Kid Cudi
An artist who is put on many people’s lists of all-time greats, Kid Cudi is probably one of the greatest writers that I have grown up listening to. He creates a story in all of his songs by writing about his emotions and how he is feeling at that point in his life. Many listeners feel like their lives are very relatable to his which is a major part of his success. Not only does each song have a story but every album that he’s made creates a much bigger story. He is able to grab the reader’s attention with his dark beats and ability to alter his voice to sing to the melodies of his songs. Kid Cudi’s first single “Day ‘n Nite” reached the top five of the Hot 100 Billboard charts and his career skyrocketed from there. His first album, “Man on the Moon: The End of the Day”, went platinum twice and is considered one of the best albums in the generation of hip hop.
2.) Lil Uzi Vert
Lil Uzi Vert is an eccentric rapper who uses autotune to allow his voice to pair with his beats which creates an original sound that is loved by many people in this generation. My favorite album that he’s released is his first album which he dropped in 2015: “Luv is Rage”.
When I asked NAHS senior Nick Digiacomo what his favorite album was he replied, “Luv is Rage” because he was original and creative at that point in his life. This album did well on the charts as it reached number 47 when it was released, but it was not until just last year that the traction from his newest album, “Luv is Rage 2”, garnered love for his past projects. “Luv is Rage 2” was the number one album for a week on the Billboard Hot 200 albums and is considered his most successful album but, I think his first three albums were better.
Lil Uzi is also known for his features. In 2017, he joined the Migos in their hit single called “Bad and Boujee” which top the charts at number one for over three weeks. His childlike and loveable personality is what I think attracts me and many others to consider him one of their most favorite artists.
1.) Future
I placed Future at the top of the list because he consistently creates music that is catchy while it tells a story. Ethan Chu, an avid fan, says, “Future’s flow is what separates him from the rest of the rappers nowadays.” Future released his first album in 2012, and since then has created nine more projects. There are many artists who produce projects often, but none of them can consistently create albums the way Future does. After he released his third album the rest of the albums all reached number one on the Billboard Hot 200 Album chart. That’s a total of six albums that consecutively surpassed Future’s competitors. He was also the first person to release two number-one albums on the Billboard Hot 200 chart in the same week. My two favorite albums of all time came from this artist, my first being Future’s eponymous album called “Future” and one of his earlier albums named “Pluto”. On “Pluto” he had a song go platinum and in “Future” he had four songs in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. I believe that Future’s longevity and ability to consistently make hits is what makes him my favorite artist of all time.
The First Launch 