Latto – 777
Latto (Alyssa Michelle Stephens) started rapping at 10, won Jermaine Dupri’s The Rap Game at 17 and released her debut album, Queen of Da Souf, at 21. Now 23, with a new rap moniker (dropping the controversial Mu- at the front of her title), she’s back with her sophomore LP, recorded across two years in Miami, LA and Atlanta. “I’m reintroducing myself to the world on a clean slate,” she tells Apple Music. “I was adamant about its versatility, standing out as an artist—not just a female, but an artist in general.” And she’s accomplished that, with A-list collaborators (Lil Wayne and Childish Gambino on “Sunshine”, the Pharrell Williams-produced “Real One”), hard-as-hell empowerment bangers (“It’s Givin”, “Trust No Bitch”) and surprising sonic detours (Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” sample on her biggest track to date, “Big Energy”).