While September’s all-star lineup of mixtapes was impossible to top in terms of household names (special thanks to Thugger, Migos, and co.), October allowed us to focus in on a slew of lesser-known talents from across the country who were bursting with potential (if not already firing on all creative cylinders).

Thus, read on to discover releases from a collection of artists whose sounds stem from ’90s-influenced emceeing, the moody haze that is Toronto hip-hop, and a bit of everything in between.

Know a struggle rapper whose mixtape is actually hot? Want to try and convince Mike that Gucci Mane isn’t the most important artist of the 21st century? Get at his mentions on Twitter.

Alex Aff – Forever

According to Pitchfork and Noisey, North Carolina’s hip-hop scene is poised to become red hot within the near future. While the Durham native Alex Aff has yet to reach those outlets’ radars, he’s stepped up to the plate and delivered a self-produced record that transcends time in the context of rap. With a mixture of pure emceeing and brilliant instrumentals that thrive through their subtleties rather than overwhelming the senses, cuts such as “Waterfall” find him spitting a mesmerizing flow that shifts gears smoother than a luxury sports car atop a beat whose melodic flairs sound almost Postal Service-esque. While not every track is as wholly developed, the vast majority of Forever points toward Alex Aff eventually ascending to prominence as his work already provides more than enough to chew on, whether it be due to his words behind the mic or ear for samples behind the boards.

Standout tracks: “9th Wonder,” “Made For This” and “Workin That (ft. Danny Blaze)”

DeLorean – Perfect Black

While Big K.R.I.T.’s It’s Better This Way was better left unreleased when compared to the rest of the self-proclaimed King of the South’s discography, the surprise record did provide us a positive in the form of DeLorean’s quality “Got Me Thru” verse that hinted at the purely southern side of his sound present on Perfect Black. Amidst the now-available record’s sea of head-nodding Houston-specific sounds (with a greater emphasis on intricate production) is the occasional oddity such as “Pay Off” that combines the high-hat-laden Atlanta approach with DeLorean’s raspy flow at a high-flying pace. Thus, while the bulk of Perfect Black caters to audiences familiar with southern hip-hop, DeLorean shows flashes of cross-regional appeal.

Standout tracks: “Bacon (ft. Short Dawg),” “I Gotta Go” and “Pay Off (ft. Bam Rogers),”

Devontée – District Vibe

Devontée’s music is clearly in the vein of the woozy Toronto-sound popularized by figures such as The Weeknd (and whose qualities Drake has, of course, mashed with his, uhh, rather apparent Atlanta influences to create a whole new beast). The rising artist’s recently released project, District Vibe, couples the two approaches and thus results in equal parts swagger, lust, and a creeping sense of uneasiness all around wrapped into a raw, affecting body of work. The unwavering strength of the emotions being channeled into the record is best observed on “Hunger Pains,” a cut whose hook finds Devontée painfully recounting “Remember when I had hunger pains, when my stomach was rumbling” as church bells ring and a venomous line of sub-bass rumbles toward the climax: “Now I’m getting money, man, money, man, money, man, money, man, oh…”

Standout tracks: “Hunger Pains,” “Luh2Giv” and “The Ends”

G Herbo – Ballin’ Like I’m Kobe

Formerly known as Lil Herb, G Herbo has shed the youthful moniker and taken his music to a new level of grittiness in tandem on Ballin’ Like I’m Kobe. The mixtape’s opening track quickly establishes this notion with a churning C-Sick production that transitions from a soulful sample into a thundering assault of 808s and spazzed out high-hats while Herbo delivers his aggressive flow; “13 I’m in the books, I’m playing basketball / By 16 I’m cool with crooks and lettin’ ratchets off.” Cuts such as “Bottom of the Bottom” and “100 Days 100 Nights” dive even deeper into the surreal environment Herbo was simultaneously raised from while it snatched away his close friends’ lives. In the end, G Herbo’s rebirth has resulted in not only his best work to date, but one of 2015’s most intriguing listens.

Standout tracks: “Bottom of the Bottom, ” “Eastside” and “L’s”

Jah X – Mad Feels

Regionalism in hip-hop is slowly fading due to the onset of the Internet, but New York-located rapper Jah X has managed to find a balance between his region’s famously intricate wordplay and an overall sound that fits nicely in the context of rap’s current state. Composed of 10 tracks, Mad Feels finds Jah skillfully intertwining lines in quick succession just as naturally as he calmly flows with a storytelling-oriented approach that would make old-heads proud (if they knew how to navigate SoundCloud, the entire modern hip-hop scene, etc.). On the production side, he has worked with an array of artists whose sounds range from slow, soulful affairs dominated by raw drum-work all the way to a trap-influenced instrumental whose energy mirrors that of TNGHT (minus the overwhelming synths). It’s a diverse collection of tracks that point toward a bright future for Jah.

Standout tracks: “Born Alone (ft. Ishmael Raps),” “Jamaica” and “Poor Memories”

(Editor’s note: For more on Jah X, look out for a UTG interview with him in the near future.)

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Mike Giegerich

Mike Giegerich is a freelance journalist with an affinity for the hip-hop scene. His top-five favorite records of all time are Future's last five releases. Feel free to blow up his mentions on Twitter.

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