For the first six months of the year, we’ve seen some significant numbers on Spotify from some of Christian Hip-Hop’s biggest names. We all want to know who’s on top.

Some notes before we dive in:

The data we’re using compiles artists’ “monthly active listeners.” These are unique listeners and isn’t how many times the artist was listened to.

The numbers presented here are the sum of the people who have listened to the artist over the past six months.

There are a couple of surprises, but most are pretty straightforward.

Final note:

I excluded Magic & Bird; the duo of Andy Mineo and Wordsplayed because they’re both on the list independently as artists.

Top Ten CHH Spotify Streaming Artists In The First Half Of 2018

10 – Manafest

In September 2017 Manafest released Stones which received some commercial and critical success. He’s continued to bang the drum with live shows and a remix album for his Patreon supporters. The album was nominated for “Christian Contemporary/Gospel Album of the Year” at this year’s Hugo Awards in Canada. He released the single “Transformed” with artist Rel McCoy in March as well. Manafest has had a decent first half of the year amassing 1,660,679 unique listeners on Spotify.

9 – GAWVI

After making waves as a producer for Reach Records, GAWVI has found continued success as an artist. His album We Belong in March 2017 debuted at No. 19 on iTunes. This along with a steady drip of singles from his EP 954 later in the year, has kept him in the conversation in a big way. To keep the party moving, he released a new single last week titled “Slingshot.” So far in 2018 GAWVI has secured 1,870,054 uniquelisteners on Spotify and the momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing.

8 – Derek Minor

If anyone in CHH knows how to play the steady release game, it’s Derek Minor. Over the course of 2017, the artist released multiple singles and a couple of EPs. 2018 has seen the trend continue with releases such as “It Is What It Is,” “Decisions,” and “Of Course” which was released today. This has led the artist to grab 2,266,628 unique listeners over the course of 2018, with likely many more to come.

7 – Trip Lee

Trip Lee hasn’t released a full-length album since 2016’s The Waiting Room. In the time between, he’s popped up here and there on guest spots and single releases. Most notably on Ty Brasel’s remixed single “Praying Hands Remix,” the Reach Records 116 Crew joint “Light Bearer“, and “Forever.” He’s stayed busy, however, playing shows and speaking. His most impactful speaking appearance was arguably at the MLK50 Conference where he spoke about diversity in the body of Christ. Despite his lack of activity, his 2018 Spotify unique listeners total 2,300,160.

6 – Social Club Misfits

The duo of Marty and Fern had a fantastic 2017. They released the full-length titled The Misadventures Of Fern & Marty to wide commercial success, landing them at No. 2 on the Billboard Hip-Hop charts. In February 2018 they released Into The Night which also hit No. 2 on the iTunes Hip-Hop charts. They’ve been grinding hard, and it’s no wonder they sit at 2,357,189 unique listeners during the first half of the year.

5 – Wordsplayed

Wordsplayed released his first solo album titled Clowntown in 2016. He followed it up the next year with the Mixtape Magic & Bird which saw him pair up with Andy Mineo and reached 49 overall on the US Billboard charts. On June 1st, he released a new EP titled LFL1 which sees him in a team up with the producer collective Weathrman (Wit & 42North). His current mid-year stats sit at 2,732,131 unique listeners.

4 – KB

KB dropped his latest album Today We Rebel in October of 2017, and it reached No. 1 on the US Christian Billboard chart. Since the album’s release, KB’s been busy creating visuals for the album’s singles and appearing on other artists’ projects. From Jan. to June of 2018 KB has seen 3,056,879 unique listeners on Spotify.

3 – Andy Mineo

After the success of 2015’s release Uncomfortable, Andy Mineo didn’t release any solo music for nearly three years. He and Wordsplayed put out the Magic & Bird project, and he popped up on a few artists’ singles, but that was about it. In May, however, Mineo dropped what some consider to be his best project to date; I: The Arrow the first part in a series of three EPs expected to land this year. It’s vulnerable, poignant, and technically brilliant. It’s no wonder that his mid-year total sits at 8,373,361 unique listeners.

2 – Lecrae

In 2017 Lecrae hit us with the incredibly successful album All Things Work Together. It featured singles with mainstream artists such as Tori Kelly and Ty Dolla $ign. The album reached No. 1 on the Christian Billboard charts and number 11 on the overall Billboard Top 200. In an attempt to further expand his reach, today he released a collaborative album with award-winning producer Zaytoven titled Let The Trap Say Amen. His current Spotify unique listeners tally stands at 8,651,523 but it’s safe to say it will rise after today.

1 – NF

By far, the largest tally on this list belongs to NF. After his self-titled release on Capitol CMG, he shot up like a rocket. His last album Perception went gold and topped out at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. In March, he announced that he’d be joining Logic on the Bobby Tarantino vs Everybody Tour. This is the biggest stage that any artist ever associated with CHH has ever had. NF’s mid-year unique listener count on Spotify stands at an insane 87,817,614. Enter to win a sold-out NF sweater here.

Were you surprised by anyone on this list?