If we’ve learnt anything from the past year of music, it’s that no one wants to be late to the party – no one wants to be tarnished with that dreaded word: ‘newgen’. In 2025, we saw UK newcomers fakemink and EsDeeKid explode in popularity, rock revivalists Geese capture new feelings with old sounds, and Chinese cloud rapper Jackzebra become New York label-collective Surf Gang’s first Asian signee. So, who should you put your bets on next? 

Below, we highlight ten artists around the world who are set to make waves in 2026. From the long-awaited comeback of grime’s secret weapon, Kibo, to melancholic alt pop star-in-waiting Sophia Stel, and the so-called ‘Metro Boomin of China’, ATM Hanson, each brings us up to speed on their unique journeys up until now, and where they’re headed this year.  

KIBO 

Anyone who’s seen a Kibo set knows that he’s a one-of-a-kind MC. From breakneck, F1-speed flows to tongue-in-cheek punchlines (“I wake up and pull back my window curtain… Ah, it’s a good day for merking”), to the bonkers work of art that is the Lauzza-directed video above, north-west London’s Kibo has long been charting unprecedented grime territory all on his own. His skills on the mic have seen him branded the ‘Victory Lap warrior’ by UK leading light Dave and have prompted foundational grime brothers Skepta and JME to call for reloads, and, in 2026, he is poised to release his first new music since cult classic FBFR: FUEGO BABY FURTARDO RETURNZ! (SORRY 4 DA LONGNESS) disappeared from streaming platforms in 2023. 

How it started: “I wanted 2 make cartoons/comics as a kid, but I’m not great at drawing. When I first heard Wu Tang, it felt like a version of making a cartoon or comic, but without needing to draw, doing it with just words and rhythm. I immediately fell deep into a wormhole absorbing as much rap adjacent music as possible, and soon after gave it a go myself and clocked I had a knack for it. Everything since then has just been following the craic.”

How it’s going: “Non-stop juugin, a lot of headachez and sleep deprivation, but I’m feelin confident that the fruits of my labour will be juicy and bountiful in 2026. Creatively, particularly in terms of my dialogue with the listeners, the stuff I’m making now is the rock upon which the rest of this journey will be built on. So all the work I’m doing rn is rooted in earnest reflection and sincerity. I wanna get this part of the tale correct and true to life so I can swag out for the foreseeable. 

Where it’s headed: “It’s a myth. For everyone strapped in for the ride with me, I will bring you to the gates of Kwengletaria. I’ve loved making music for as long as I can remember, but the work I’ve put together for this year, it’s the first time I’ve truly felt compelled to release music, I really want to share this stuff; I think those who absorb it will appreciate uncovering the nuggets lodged within. Everyone is invited to my world, and my main goal for 2026 is that everyone who comes to kick it here will find something valuable within and take it with them to their own world.”

DEELA

Lagos-born and London-based, both of these worlds manifest in Deela’s cross-pollinating music. Case in point is recent single “Why Always Me?” which oscillates between x-rated UK rap-inspired verses and a sung, afrobeat-descended chorus, all tied together with a dancefloor-ready amapiano bassline and off-beat bounce. It’s a versatility that has given rise to underground hits like cross-Atlantic collab “HEATER” with Vayda in 2025, and plenty more to come this year. 

How it started: “Growing up, I was more into drama, science, and writing stories on Wattpad. I used to write songs whenever I was in a mood, but I never seriously considered pursuing music. Then in 2019, a friend jokingly asked me to hop on a song, and I instantly fell in love with the process of making music. That moment pushed me to start recording and releasing my own tracks on SoundCloud and I haven’t looked back since.”

How it’s going: “I’m loving my journey! It’s been an upward trajectory with many lessons learnt along the way. I performed alongside Little Simz at the O2 and Coop Arena in Manchester – definitely the highlight of my career so far. I also did a mini EU tour and performed in Milan and Gothenburg, where I was surprised to see how well my music was received. On top of that, I had a successful rollout for my new mixtape ‘Wicked’ which I am incredibly proud of.”

Where it’s headed: “I’m currently working on a deluxe version of Wicked, which will be out in early 2026, as well as a single with Vanco dropping early next year. I’d love to do a headline show in the cities that have shown me so much love… performing is where I connect with my fans the most and where I feel the most confident. I’m so much more than just the music – I love fashion, acting and sports, and I’m hoping to be everywhere enough that people start saying my name backwards!”

TSO

TSO is a next-generation Greek popstar. Starting out with ethereal alt-pop and transitioning into thumping, electronic beats in more recent releases, TSO’s music bears traces of both Lady Gaga’s hedonistic pop anthems of the early 2010s, as well as the genre’s intensely digital future in artists like 2hollis. 

How it started: “I started writing songs when I was literally a child. I was obsessed with pop culture – Lady Gaga bleeding on the VMAs stage was peak inspiration for me: very gay, very dramatic, very formative. I studied her stems religiously and became fascinated with her backing vocal and harmony choices. Later, when I went to film school, I met some producers... who eventually dropped me. So I made an indie-pop track on a type beat and posted it on Facebook. That’s how my long-time collaborator TEO.x3 found me. He said, ‘Your music is cool, but your production sucks,’ and offered to help me shape my first EP, 3598.” 

How it’s going: “Honestly, it’s going well – though I’m greedy and always want more. I just released my new single ‘IPNOS feat. Marina Satti’. It’s a step closer to the sound my upcoming album is aiming for. The last few months I struggled with my artistic identity because I kept thinking about what the audience wanted to hear from me. That made me feel lost. I want to make music that reflects me – my thoughts, my world, my artistry. Creation is psychotherapy. Now I’m back on track and finishing my first album, KINI [Common Ground’].”

Where it’s headed: “I’d love to do a COLORS show with the new album – Greek Orthodox church-inspired melodies blended with electronic experimental production and heavy autotune. I think that fusion could resonate globally. Maybe some shows in Greece and across Europe, too. I’d love to travel, collaborate abroad, and let new people, new sounds, and new cultures clash with mine.”

SOPHIA STEL

Both a deep emotional weight and unbridled freedom can be found in Canadian Sophia Stel’s music – perhaps why she was recently dubbed ‘the sonic lovechild of Ethel Cain and 070 Shake’. Her electronic alt-pop releases are intensely lonely, replete with intimate one-liners like “I’m tortured, you love it, you hate it” and “I just liked her jeans, now we’re here swapping passwords”, but it’s delivered with an angelic quality that has captivated the entire Dazed team.  

How it started: “I started writing songs when I was about seven, and have pretty much always been trying to make music since. I just started to do it (there wasn’t so much of a decision) and I’ve slowly found new things and tools that I’ve wanted to use. I started with piano, and I learned some guitar from my brother, and then I started making beats on GarageBand in high school. It’s hard for me to pin down early inspirations, because I didn’t listen to that much popular music growing up – mostly classical. Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’ and ‘La bohème’ both really moved me as a child.”

 How it’s going: “I released my first two projects, which I’m proud of, and I just finished my first tour ever.”

Where it’s headed: “I’m working on my first album and starting to tour a lot. I’ve never been so excited.”

61H

A new crop of Chinese rappers swept the country in 2025 – the likes of Billionhappy, R!R!Riot and Jackzebra, each infusing cloud rap, plugg and hyperpop music with local influences. Now, it seems that the floodgates are open and one of the most exciting rising names is China-born, South Korea-raised rapper 61H. Releases like 2025 EP Red and Blue confront the polarised identities at the heart of this movement, with red representing the Chinese flag and the colour of passion, and blue representing 61H’s personal sadness. “Behind my red passions are my blue emotions,” 61H sums up. 

How it started: “I started making music in 2019 when I was only 15 in China. I learned how to make beats by myself and tried a lot of kind of music styles before: Cloud rap, futuristic and even some folk.”

How it’s going: “In 2025, I released the Red and Blue and HAI EPs with Chinese producer Azazel, my mixtape twenty and my album BAI JIA ZI with genome6.66mbp. I usually post my music on NetEase Cloud Music in China and Soundcloud.”

Where it’s headed: “I plan to shoot more music videos for my songs. I don’t have too much plans, maybe I will make it when I have inspiration and make them into a new mixtape. I’ve barely done any promo for my music, so I really appreciate everyone who discovered it.”

ROZIE RAMATI

Look past the beguiling vocals and orchestral instrumentation and you’ll find that LA-based singer-songwriter Rozie Ramati’s latest single “Blinking Aisles” is intensely political. The track’s music video depicts the Chicano artist attending an anti-ICE rally, while lyrics sheath in poetry the blistering critique of American imperialism that Ramati confronts directly on her own personal Substack. All of this is but a recent taste of the rich inner voice that carries the self-taught indie artist’s music. 

How it started: “My decision to start making music was an internal pact I made with myself after being faced with my own mortality a few times. When you’re faced with death, you get really clear about what you want out of life. For whatever reason, I always arrived at needing to make music.”

How it’s going: “Since my personal pact, I’ve taught myself everything I know and can do through listening to great jazz musicians, random YouTube vocal lessons, and being simply obsessed with music. I’ve just released my song ‘Blinking Aisles’, which is a song posed as a reminder of what’s truly wrong in America and our personal power to make things right. The song brought me back full circle to my identity as a Chicana artist from L.A. It rooted me into a newfound purpose as an artist and is one of my most important releases to date.”

Where it’s headed: “I’m finishing up my mixtape right now, it’s called Cradle. I went through a really difficult couple of years trying to finish my album and felt I needed to make something that reflected that pain. The mixtape is meant to help ‘cradle’ listeners through difficult seasons of life. I made it because I needed it, though it definitely became something bigger than me in the end. It makes me cry.”

ATM HANSON

Shanghai producer ATM Hanson is a hitmaker for China’s next generation. Inspired by pioneering trap producer Sonny Digital, Hanson has been branded the ‘Metro Boomin’ of China’ for his Atlanta-inspired production – but that’s underselling it. In projects like R!R!Riot’s LVL R and africakid’s GAMEBOI, he takes these influences a step further, recontextualising the maximalist yet deeply emotive pluggnb sound against the cross-pollinating digital world China’s Gen Z have grown up within.

How it started: “I grew up around music, always listening to FM radio in the car. My mom owned a CD shop, so I was exposed to all kinds of music early on. In 2015, in Shanghai, I heard a Chinese radio podcast called The Park that interviewed [Atlanta producer] Sonny Digital. That interview really sparked something in me—I got obsessed with making beats and learning production. About a year later, when I got to high school, my mom bought me my first MacBook, and that’s when I really started making music.”

How it’s going: “At first, it was just my friends and me cooking up songs, dropping them on SoundCloud, and performing at our high school. Nothing too crazy was happening until 2019, when I met Masiwei during a random session in Chengdu. I played him some beats, and he rocked with them. From that moment, we stayed locked in, and I started taking music way more seriously – working with new artists, building projects, doing shows, and creating a lot of fresh sounds.”

Where it’s headed: “I feel like good music should travel worldwide. I want my art everywhere, just like an ATM. Since 2022, I’ve been moving back and forth between LA and Shanghai, linking up with talented artists and creating different chemistry. Music is fun for me, and I just hope my music brings good energy to everyone who hears it.”

NEW YORK

New York-formed and London-based duo NEW YORK are definitely experimental. Production ranges from a bit of alt pop-esque weirdness, to straight-up Squarepusher style madness, but nested at the centre of it all is a small but compelling human voice that makes listening extremely rewarding.

How it started: “We met and had similar music taste. Coumba sent vocals over of a Chief Keef cover and we decided to start a band.”

How it’s going: “Good! Slowing down for winter in NYC.”

Where it’s headed: “New music and working towards a next era for the project.”

SHARP PINS

Sharp Pins is the solo project of Chicago indie rock band Lifeguard’s guitarist and vocalist Kai Slater. The 20-year-old’s two full-length releases this year, Balloon Balloon Balloon and Radio DDR, are firmly indebted to the heyday of psychedelic rock, but their success speaks to something fundamental about Gen Z experience. In his sepia-toned choruses and lofi guitar melodies, Slater evokes a nostalgia for a youthful freedom that has been lost in today’s digital age of dwindling IRL experience – a bittersweet feeling that is only set to grow in the coming year. 

How it started: “It started in second grade when I saw a CD of ‘Rubber Soul’ in my local Record Store and thought to myself, ‘I'd like to get as stoned as these blokes’.”

How it’s going: “I am a bit fatigued from touring at the moment and I’m working on my immune system. There always seems to be a devilish baby who coughs in my face when I’m on the road. I’m also wearing many scarves and jumpsuits. I’m praying every night that Paisley will still be ‘In’ in 2026.

Where it’s headed: “I plan to encounter many amphibians and drink from a raven’s beak. Maybe get myself a real guitar too. I plan on truly introducing centrifugal force to the live rock circuit (this could take the form of an anti-gravitational chamber or a ginormous carousel painted with horses). I’d like to make an album entirely of vuvuzela. Although I’m a bit tied up being in a rock and roll band.”

CLARA KIMERA 

Previously releasing as part of Cergy-based art pop duo Agar Agar, French singer Clara Kimera’s solo work has been described as ‘cyberfolk’ – blending haunting electronic production with nostalgic, almost soporific storytelling. This tension between human and machine runs throughout Kimera’s releases, with digital distortion often threatening to swallow her intimate lyrics whole, while visuals draw on Japanese anime, memes and tarot cards. 

How it started: “I don’t really know when it begins and when it ends, what I know is that I can’t help myself sampling the things I adore, field recording what surrounds me, finding new melodies and new sounds since it all started I also know that it’s not the end, and my current creative phase is : everything has to sound like a music box.”