25 Best Mumble Rappers To Listen To Now - Music Grotto (2024)

Mumble rap is often used as a derogatory term for a style of rap that is hard to understand. It’s mainly defined by mumbled lyrics, a general simplicity of the bars, and often includes auto-tuned vocals. The unclear delivery might turn some people off if they aren’t familiar with the style, but turning away from it is a mistake.

This is one of the most popular styles in the modern day, and despite lacking the lyricism of old, it’s still awesome. In this article, we’ll check out the 25 best mumble rappers that you should be listening to.

1. Future

Future is a pioneer in the rap game, known for his prolific output of songs and his use of melody, auto-tune, and mumbled lyrics. In 2011, he signed with A1 Recordings and released two successful albums, Pluto and Honest.

The year 2015 saw him reach commercial success with DS2 and the singles f*ck Up Some Commas and Where Ya At. His fifth eponymous album and sixth album Hndrxxx made him the first artist to debut two albums in consecutive weeks that topped the US Billboard 200, with this event occurring in 2017.

After these releases, he left A1 Recordings and continued to create music. His first number-one single came in 2021 when he was featured on Way 2 Sexy with Drake and Young Thug. WAIT FOR U in 2022 became his first chart-topper as a lead artist, and it eventually won a Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance as well.

2. Lil Uzi Vert

Lil Uzi Vert began his rap career in 2010 as part of a musical group called Steaktown. His name change came because of his insanely fast rap style, as it was fast like a machine gun. Several mixtapes and song releases caught the attention of record labels, but it was the release of his 2016 single Money Longer that brought him mainstream attention as a rapper.

His first entry to the mainstream album charts came when his mixtape Lil Uzi Vert Vs The World debuted at number 37 on the Billboard 200 and spent 55 weeks on the chart. By 2017, he was a big name in the rap industry and his album Luv Is Rage 2 debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

3. Playboi Carti

Playboi Carti is another rapper who gathered a cult following in the early days of his career but eventually rose to mainstream prominence. Initially signing to underground label Awful Records, he earned a deal with Interscope Records under ASAP Mob’s AWGE label.

His debut eponymous mixtape was released in 2017 and saw two singles chart on the Hot 100 with Magnolia and Wokeuplikethis* leading the way. The following year, he released his debut studio album Die Lit, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. A two-year hiatus would follow, but he returned in 2020 with the album Whole Lotta Red, which debuted at number one on that chart.

4. Travis Scott

Travis Scott is one of the most commercially successful rappers on this entire list. His career has scored four number-one hits on the US Hot 100 and charted a total of 80 songs. He’s been nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won awards at several other prestigious ceremonies.

In general, his music is built on ambiance, merging lo-fi-style tunes with his own brand of hip hop. While he signed his first major record label contract in 2012, he’s self-produced and released music constantly throughout his career. His live shows are also known to be incredible and high-energy, and it’s no surprise with hit songs like SICKO MODE being within his repertoire.

5. Lil Yachty

Lil Yachty first rose to fame in 2015 when the SoundCloud version of his song One Night was used in a viral comedy video. His debut EP would feature that track alongside Minnesota, a single that saw him collaborate with Quavo, Skippa Da Flippa, and Young Thug.

By 2016, he had released his debut mixtape Lil Boat, and it earned him a joint-venture record deal with Motown, Capital, and Quality Control Music. In total, he has released five albums. Teenage Emotions came out in 2017 and started his rise to mainstream success. Four of those albums have charted inside the top 20 of the Billboard 200, and he has continued putting out mixtapes throughout his career.

6. Rich Homie Quan

Rich Homie Quan has been releasing music for a long time, but his rise to success came alongside the success of Atlanta-based rappers like Future. After a stint in jail, he started making music as a hobby.

Eventually, it took off for him, with his single Type Of Way in 2013 reaching the top 50 of the Hot 100 and his 2015 single Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh) reaching number 26 on that chart. He has spent time signed to Motown and T.I.G. Entertainment, but since 2021, he’s remained an independent artist. His debut album Rich As In Spirit from 2018 landed at number 32 on the Billboard Top 200.

7. 21 Savage

Rap artist 21 Savage was born in London, England, but he moved to Atlanta at the age of seven. In 2015, he became a known commodity in the hip hop world when he released two mixtapes, but he would find a musical breakthrough in 2016. Working with Metro Boomin, he released a collaborative EP Savage Mode that saw him team up with Future for X. That song and No Heart both peaked inside the top 40 of the Hot 100 and earned him a spot on Drake’s 2016 single Sneakin’.

His debut album in 2017 rose to number two on the Billboard 200 and notched him the number 12 spot on the Hot 100 with the single Bank Account. He’s won several awards and slotted two number-one singles on the Hot 100 as a guest artist.

8. Gunna

Gunna first found career footing with the 2018 mixtape Drip Season 3, but it would be later that year with the release of Drip Harder that he broke into the mainstream music world. The mixtape spawned the single Drip Too Hard, which saw him collaborate with Lil Baby. That single peaked at number four on the Hot 100 and achieved a diamond certification from the RIAA.

His second studio album Wunna debuted atop the Billboard 200 in 2020 and his third album in 2022 did the same. After his release from prison in 2022, he released a fourth album that contained his first top-10 solo single f*ckumean. Definitely a rapper with a bright future ahead of him.

9. Gucci Mane

Gucci Mane is another one of the originators of mumble rap, with his mumbled delivery and stylistic choices in his songs helping pioneer the genre. On top of that, he is one of the pioneers of the trap genre and at this point one of rap’s old heads.

Since his critically acclaimed debut in 2005, he has consistently released mixtapes and albums. In total, his work spans 14 studio albums and 71 mixtapes, releasing many of them from his own label 1017 Records, and influencing the sound of Atlanta hip hop for more than a decade.

10. Chief Keef

Chief Keef blew up as a teenager when his music became popular in Chicago during the early 2010s. Since then, he’s become a songwriter and record producer in addition to his rap career. His blowup came when his single I Don’t Like started a bidding war between major record labels and helped popularize the drill style of hip hop.

While he was dropped from his original label, he signed with 1017 Records and self-releases projects under his own label Glo Gang. Few artists on this list have had the same impact as him on the hip hop world, pioneering the popularity of both the mumble rap and drill styles within the genre that are apparent today.

11. Young Thug

Young Thug isn’t just one of the best mumble rappers out there, he has a unique vocal style all his own. A series of independent mixtapes led to him singing with Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records in 2013. By 2014, he had released his studio debut mixtape and earned critical praise with songs like Stoner and Danny Glover.

His debut album came in 2019 and topped the Billboard 200, spawning two top-20 singles on the Hot 100 in The London and Hot. Unfortunately, music hasn’t been too forthcoming as he’s spent the last few years being held without bail.

12. Offset

Offset first found major success in the music world as part of Migos. But in 2017, he released a collaborative album alongside 21 Savage and Metro Boomin titled Without Warning. Several major features have earned him major hits on the charts, including Drake’s No Complaints and Kodak Black’s ZEZE. He and Cardi B work together often, as the two are now married and have released several singles together.

13. Kodak Black

Kodak Black has a strange music situation, as controversy and legal troubles have kept him from consistently being able to devote time to producing new music. His initial rise came with the single No Flockin’ in 2014. His debut album Painting Pictures in 2017 scored him a top-five hit on the Hot 100 when Tunnel Vision peaked at number three on that chart. In 2018, he was able to score an even bigger hit with ZEZE, a single which reached number two on the Hot 100.

14. Juice WRLD

Juice WRLD had a short but influential career thanks to his unfortunate and untimely death. One of the most prominent figures of both the emo rap and mumble rap crowds, he was one of the biggest SoundCloud artists in history.

After beginning his career as an independent artist, he eventually signed at Interscope Records and scored a diamond-certified hit with Lucid Dreams. His posthumous album in 2020 matched chart records for the most successful posthumous albums of all time and the most US top-10 entries from one album.

15. Lil Pump

Lil Pump is another one of the most important SoundCloud rappers and is best known for his minimalist approach and hyperactive public persona.

His debut self-titled album in 2017 brought him mainstream recognition and scored a major hit with the single Gucci Gang. That song rose to number three on the Hot 100 and helped boost his following album to number seven on the Billboard 200. Though his third album received mixed reviews, he remains one of the best and most influential SoundCloud and mumble rappers out there.

16. Desiigner

Desiigner might be described as a one-hit wonder by a lot of people, but boy were his songs big hits. His release of Panda in 2015 was one of the most successful tracks of the decade, topping the Hot 100 and going viral online. The success of the song earned him a deal with Kanye West’s GOOD Music label, but in 2019, he became an independent artist. In 2016, he released a follow-up single to Panda with Timmy Turner, which was another success and reached number 34 on the Hot 100.

17. Fetty Wap

Fetty Wap is another artist with a brief but influential career in hip hop. His debut album helped him rise to stardom, largely on the back of three hit singles. The biggest of those was Trap Queen, a song that made it to number two on the Hot 100. The other two were successes as well, with 679 and My Way both breaking the top 10 of the chart.

18. Lil Baby

Lil Baby’s debut mixtape Perfect Timing was what pushed him to stardom, though his 2018 debut studio album was what earned him commercial success. Harder Than Ever gave him a top-10 single on the Hot 100 thanks to Yes Indeed.

Since then, he continued to release mixtapes and albums, notching several chart hits with songs like Drip Too Hard and The Bigger Picture. The latter of those two earned two Grammy nominations in 2021, but his collaborative album with Lil Durk the next year won him one of the awards.

19. Takeoff

Takeoff was another member of Migos and was best known for being the youngest member of that group. Alongside his uncle, Quavo, and cousin, Offset, he secured several top-10 hits on the Hot 100 that included MotorSport, Stir Fry, and Bad And Boujee. The last of those rose to number one on the Hot 100 and would help him earn two Grammy Award nominations as part of the group.

20. Rich The Kid

Rich The Kidd started out as Black Boy Da Kidd, but he eventually changed his name to what we know it as now. His debut album The World Is Yours was released in 2018 and had several incredible songs contained within it. The best singles to come from the album were New Freezer and Plug Walk. A second album was later released, The World Is Yours 2, in 2019, and his last album was released in 2020.

21. Trippie Redd

Trippie Redd is a major player in the SoundCloud rap scene. His debut mixtape A Love Letter To You and its lead single Love Scars are what helped him find prominence on the platform. Three of his singles have reached the Hot 100, namely Topanga, Dark Knight Dummo, and Taking A Walk.

22. YoungBoy Never Broke Again

YoungBoy Never Broke Again, also known as NBA YoungBoy, has one of the biggest cult followings on this list. Between 2015 and 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes that earned him a deal with Atlantic Records. After his major label releases, he scored several hit singles with Outside Today and Bandit.

23. Lil Xan

Lil Xan is best known for his song Betrayed, which peaked at number 64 on the Hot 100 and earned a platinum certification from the RIAA. His debut album Total Xanarchy came out in 2018, and he’s become one of the biggest names on SoundCloud in the years since.

24. 6ix9ine

It’s hard to miss 6ix9ine, also known as Tekashi 69, in a crowd thanks to his rainbow hair. He’s been active since 2012 and is one of the most famous mumble rappers out there. The aggressive style of his songs has turned off some listeners, though that should in no way stop you from checking out his work.

25. Lil Wayne

Look, nobody in their right mind would go out of their way to call Lil Wayne a mumble rapper, as very little in his time at the top of hip hop falls in that category. But as the genre has become more popular, he has dabbled in it. And how could I leave one of the greatest rappers to ever exist out when they’ve done it too?

Everyone knows him, but it’s the fact that he only dips his toes in the genre that places him this low on the list. He, among other artists, also laid the blueprint for a lot of what mumble rap has become over the years. A lot of its defining characteristics could be seen in his earlier work, with songs like Lollipop paving the way for the themes and styles of modern mumble rap that we now have.