The Super Bowl is not the place to catch what’s new. It’s the place to learn what’s at the center of popular culture. As the last major live televised event that can still draw over 20 million viewers, when a halftime show is programmed, it says everything we need to know about the state of music.

This year’s halftime show made it crystal clear that hip hop and rap are now the epicenter of the music universe. Featuring artists over the last 30 years, like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar, to rap fans the show was a celebration of a genre that many Americans still refuse to see as more than thugs bragging about sexual conquests, guns, and cop killing. Sure, the halftime show was about 20 years too late, but it is evidence that America is now owned by hip hop.

The celebration of the past has us looking to the future in this week’s Vibe. Here are six songs by today’s upcoming artists you should be listening to. Perhaps one of them will play the Super Bowl in 2052.

“Poppin” – Yeat

“Poppin” is one of Yeats best. Off of his new body of work “2 Alive,” “Poppin” shows why his sound is gaining popularity by the day. Yeats’ rise, built on his excellent wordplay to the video game-inspired beats, “Poppin” shows why he’s one of the best right now. The style and manner of Yeat has fans everywhere trying to recreate his original style.

“No Sl33p” – Playboi Carti

Menacing and scary. That’s how Playboi Carti’s 3rd studio album “Whole Lotta Red” sounds. Throughout the album, Carti dives into this rockstar vampire persona. Using sounds we were not used to on first listen, “No Sl33p” stood out. Carti chants, “When I go to sleep I dream about murder” while a synthesizer carries a creepy melody. “No Sl33p” reminds me of “Castlevania.” For all the Carti fans, “Whole Lotta Red” is a new sounding Carti that has taken a while to get used to. Over time, the fans have come to their senses and realized it might be his best body of work. 

“Teen X Babe” – Ken Car$on

Some would say Ken Car$on sounds like the little brother to Atlanta’s Playboi Carti, but after his 2021 release “Teen X: Relapsed,” I think otherwise. Taking inspiration, as most artists do, from past and current greats, Ken has something different to him. Ken’s use of sounds and 808s differentiate him from other so-called “underground” artists out now. Ken uses his voice more as an instrument to complement the beat rather than chafe against it. 

“Lost It” – Cochise

Cochise, who some would label as a Tik Tok rapper, isn’t new to the game. He started dropping music in early 2017, and has been slowly developing his sound ever since. Like Ken Car$on, while first listening to him, some say he is just a “Carti Clone,” but I beg to differ. With his love of anime and games showing in his songs, Cochise has differentiated himself. “Lost it” sounds like if a UFO were to take you on an adventure through outer space. The melody on this Thai song will have you hooked on it within the first listen. With his first album coming, he’s an artist to watch.

“Money” – Rico Nasty (feat. Flo Milli)

With total charisma and a rebellious spirit, Maryland rapper Rico Nasty’s first single since her 2020 album “Nightmare Vacation” is readymade for the club dancefloor. Calling back to 80s tunes like “I Want Candy” and late 90s lifestyle rap, “Money” is a cheerleading chant about what it takes to hold on to a woman these days. The tongue-in-cheek delivery makes this song a total delight.

“Walkin” – Denzel Curry

“Walkin’ with my back to the sun, keep my head to the sky/Me against the world, it’s me, myself and I, like De La/Got in touch with my soul.” On “Walkin'” Florida rapper Denzel Curry wastes no time telling us where his influences are: Tupac and De La Soul. A sweeter combination can’t be found. As soon as you get caught up in the classic rapping and 70s choral sample that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Quentin Tarantino movie, the Curry erupts into a potent fast-tempo rap that can best be described as “rabid.”