From Drake to XV, 5 Rappers That Will Change the Game in 2010

With the new year fast approaching, heads everywhere are preparing to close the book on the 2000s and enter into a brave new decade of hits, misses, fads and fashions. We at RefinedHype.com and DJBooth.net may not have access to a crystal ball, but we have spent the last year with our fingers on the pulse of urban music and culture. We don’t like to brag, but if Vegas took odds on which rappers are set to make it big, we’d be swimming in gold like Scrooge McDuck.

With that in mind, we wanted to pause for a moment to reflect on the year that was, and look forward to the year that will be. After polling each of our staff members individually and tabulating the results, we've come up with a quick breakdown of the three artists that broke through the biggest in 2009, and two more that are set to blow up bigger than Oprah’s bank account in 2010.

Blown:

Kid Cudi:
Rocketed to superstardom thanks to the sleeper success of debut single and Billboard #3 smash “Day N Nite” (plus a little help from Kanye), this lonely stoner has been hailed by many as a potential game-changer. Is hip-hop as a whole ready to follow the G.O.O.D. Music emcee-singer-songwriter down the trail he blazed with his critically-acclaimed debut, epic concept album "Man on the Moon: The End of Day?" Maybe not, but we're willing to bet that the Cleveland native will ride his spaced-out sound to even greater success in 2010, even if he did get kicked off Lady GaGa's nationwide tour for punching a fan in the face. Hey, at least he didn't throw a little kid off the stage (we're looking at you Akon).

Wale:
D.C.-”Chillin” emcee Wale's success story began in 2007,when his third street album, "100 Miles & Runnin'", caught the ears of tastemakers across the nation, sparking a surge of interest that ultimately led to a deal with Interscope and Allido. The rapper recently his profile by performing with D.C.'s legendary Go-Go ensemble, the UCB Band, as house band for MTV's '09 VMAs, and rocked the stage twice during this month's VH1 Hip-Hop Honors ceremony. Currently co-opening for Jay-Z with J. Cole and celebrating the release of his debut full-length, "Attention Deficit", Wale is indeed poised to “get it” in 2010.

Drake:
Having already scored a #1 spot on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop/chart with “Best I Ever Had,” the swoon-inducing lead single off '08's smash So Far Gone mixtape, Aubrey ”Drake” Graham is on top of the game and, with the Valentine's Day 2010 release of debut studio album "Thank Me Later", the Toronto phenom's set to rise even higher. After battling every major label in the game to sign Drizzy, Young Money and Universal Republic aren't taking him for granted – we have no doubt that, in 2010, Lil Wayne's line "[We're gonna] be fine if we put Drake on every hook.” (from Birdman's “Money to Blow”) will prove to be one of the truest ever gargled through Auto-tune.

Primed to Blow:

XV:
This up-and-comer isn't signed to a major, but that shouldn't be the case for much longer – several labels have already expressed interest in inking a deal with the Kansas emcee. XV's insightful rhymes and infectious flow caught DJBooth.net readers' ears way back in summer of '08, and, since the release of his long-awaited, critically-acclaimed "Everybody's Nobody" mixtape, more and more tastemakers have jumped on his bandwagon. Could XV's forthcoming debut studio album, "The Kid With the Green Backpack", be what launches this now-underground talent into the national limelight? We don't see why not!

J. Cole:
Though the great Jay-Z's departure from Def Jam marked the end of the Roc-A-Fella era, it wasn't long before Hova's latest venture, ROC Nation, rose from the legendary imprint's ashes. The new label's flagship artist, Fayetteville lyricist J. Cole, may have just two mixtapes under his belt ('07's "The Come Up" and '09's "The Warm Up"), but one listen to“Lights Please,” the lead single off his yet-untitled debut album (due out next year) should be enough to convince you that he's headed to the top. J. Cole is currently on tour with Hova (who he collaborated with on prophetically-titled Blueprint 3 cut ”A Star Is Born”).