A few years ago no one wanted to be called a “SoundCloud rapper.” The free platform for streaming and uploading music was associated with broke-ass rappers with dreams of hip-hop stardom. But with its low barrier to entry, more and more unsigned artists took to SoundCloud, where they didn’t need a record label or distributor to be heard like they did on major streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. This up-and-coming generation also rejected the mixtape hosting powerhouses of the early 2000s, like DatPiff and LiveMixtapes, that refused to adapt their one-song-at-a-time release preferences. An emerging class of artists reacting to a changing music industry, these artists took control of their own destinies, releasing their own music on SoundCloud, succeeding at a pace that the traditional music industry couldn’t keep up with.

In 2016, this rising SoundCloud rap generation got its first moment of mainstream validation when a pink-haired, horn-sign-throwing Lil Uzi Vert stood front and center on the cover of XXL magazine’s annual Freshman issue. To his right was a similarly excited Lil Yachty, and above was an intense Denzel Curry. Previously written off as a fad by the olds, the scene labeled “SoundCloud rap” had officially forced its way into the spotlight.

These SoundCloud stars had discovered their own unorthodox path to stardom. Publications were forced to reckon with them because if the SoundCloud scene wasn’t being represented on their sites and in their pages then they were out of touch. The success of having Uzi, Yachty, and Denzel grace the XXL cover—their cypher also featuring Kodak Black and 21 Savage is the magazine’s most popular YouTube video with over 118 million views—only confirmed the changing of the guard.

It was in late 2016, early 2017 that a South Florida-dominated wave of SoundCloud artists began to infiltrate pop culture. South Florida’s local scene became its own subgenre of SoundCloud rap with their grunge-inspired looks, faces covered with tattoos, animated personas, and music featuring narcotized and punk-inflected deliveries coupled with lo-fi and distorted beats. They used bedroom recording techniques that yielded XXXTentacion’s “Look at Me!”; and incorporated the lyrically repetitive, bass-blaring sound of Lil Pump’s “D Rose.” This movement peaked when in 2017 the New York Times ran an insightful piece on the burgeoning scene. The story focused on Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, XXXTentacion, and Lil Peep—the only non-Florida rapper featured—and labeled them a DIY subgenre that couldn’t be stopped.

Despite the sudden popularity of emblematic artists like Pump and X, there was more to the artists of this generation than face tats, unnatural dye-jobs, and distorted sounds. For proof, look no further than the guy who is arguably the SoundCloud generation’s first star, Bryson Tiller. In 2014, “Don’t” introduced SoundCloud listeners to Tiller’s sing-rap style, which blended hip-hop cadences with R&B melodies. The hit song became popular and memed enough that Tiller became a platinum-selling sensation soon after dropping his 2015 mixtape, Trapsoul. At the time, Tiller appeared to be an outlier because of his R&B sound and lack of collaborations with others in his class, but his breakout moment was the first sign that success in the SoundCloud rap world could translate to mainstream stardom.

When Trapsoul debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard charts, it was a wake-up call for the established music industry—it would have to adapt. The Recording Industry Association of America would soon move to change its certification to better accommodate streaming, and Trapsoul became one of the first albums to go platinum because of this rule change. This was the effect of an emerging generation that signaled the impending irrelevance of physical sales and even downloads. Later on, the Bronx’s A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie became the voice of the Northeast, releasing a goldmine of sing-rap and piano-heavy jams onto SoundCloud. A Boogie was not only an example of the diversity that was presented on SoundCloud, but was a direct beneficiary from this change that began with Tiller, as in 2019 his streaming mammoth album, Hoodie SZN, would spend three weeks at number one on the Billboard Charts despite selling a record low 823 units.

Weeks after Trapsoul came another milestone for the SoundCloud generation: Lil Uzi Vert’s Luv Is Rage. The 2015 mixtape showed off Uzi’s refined melody while introducing his Chief Keef-inspired deliveries and eye-rolling rockstar character. The Philly rapper’s tape proved that artists on SoundCloud didn’t have to dilute their sound to gain mainstream attention.