The Vevo dscvr 2018 Artists To Watch is coming to a close today (Nov. 17) with 26-year old rapper and St. Louis native Smino.
Smino — neé Christopher Smith Jr. — has already laid the groundwork for a meteoric rise with the release of his excellent debut album blkswn in March along with its lead single and bonafide jam “Anita.”
The rapper offers a punctuated delivery that is complemented by a blend of hip-hop, R&B and neo-soul productions composed by fellow Zero Fatigue member Monte Booker. Now based in the Midwest hip-hop hotbed of Chicago, Smino is surrounding himself with budding talents from the Vic Mensa–Chance The Rapper collective SAVEMONEY and frequent Chicago collaborators like theMIND and Noname, all while maintaining his own unique style.
For the dscvr series, Smino performs blkswn opener “Wild Irish Roses.” Watch the video below.
The dscvr Artists To Watch list is a globe-spanning collection of 20 artists poised to breakout over the next year and it includes alums such as Sam Smith, Alessia Cara, Jorja Smith, and Maggie Rogers.
For the 2018 U.S. list, ten artists have been announced daily starting Nov. 6 with a video package of a performance and exclusive interviews produced in-house by Vevo. The rollout also includes an ezine with behind-the-scenes photos and original video content that can be found on the dscvr website here.
The 2018 series has named promising up-and-comers such as Billie Eilish, J.I.D., EarthGang and Ashe.
Catch an exclusive clip with Smino and renowned Chicago-based sound engineer Elton “L10MixedIt” Chueng below.