Tyler, The Creator, DaBaby, Lil Nas X and More Make Forbes’ 2020 30 Under 30 List
The future of hip-hop is looking good—and pretty damn financially viable.
On Tuesday (Dec. 3), the folks at Forbes unveiled the 2020 edition of their annual 30 Under 30 list, which documents entertainers, athletes and more who've solidified themselves as entrepreneurs before the big 3-0. This year's edition includes Tyler, The Creator, DaBaby, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion and Tierra Whack, five artists who've left an imprint on pop culture over the last several months.
For his part, Tyler dropped Igor, a critically acclaimed LP that pushed his genre-bending-ways to new limits on its way to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Tyler's been on rap's main stage for nearly a decade now and he's showing no signs of falling off any time soon.
Meanwhile, Lil Nas X pretty much conquered the world when his breakout single "Old Town Road" broke the Billboard Hot 100 chart record for most weeks at No. 1. For his epic 2019, Nas X was nominated for five gramophones at the 2020 Grammy Awards.
2019 XXL Freshmen DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion and Tierra Whack also made time to ascend the ranks of rap up-and-comers. After making some major waves with his RIAA-gold-certified album Baby on Baby, DaBaby followed things up this past September with Kirk, a sophomore LP that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. With a ton of charisma, lyrical dexterity, it's safe to say Baby's going nowhere.
Megan also managed to solidify her rise to the ranks of legit rap star. After unloading her 300 Entertainment debut, Fever, Megan popularized the phrase Hot Girl Summer as she showcased her technical wizardry pretty much the whole year.
Repping Philadelphia, Tierra Whack didn't drop a ton of music this year, but the moments she did surface always proved memorable. In July, just a bit over one year after she dropped her stunning Whack World project, she joined Beyonce for "My Power," a track off of the soundtrack for Disney's 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King.
Salute to all these artists, and here's to wishing them even more success in the next year.
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