Have you ever had that one rapper you could’ve sworn would’ve been a star? Finding a good rapper early in their career can make you feel like a professional scout or like you’re predicting a stock taking off. Sometimes, you’re off-base and you realize how much you were tripping later down the line. But when you’re on the money, it feels unbelievable.
However, there are also those who feel like missed opportunities. Whether it’s label failure or the audience not quite catching on to the obvious singles, it can feel like someone somewhere dropped the ball. And frankly, it wasn’t the artist. That’s where we come in. The 2010s were rich with artists who could’ve been more. From the underground darlings on Soundcloud to blog era wonders to the artists who just couldn’t get a fair shake from execs, there are plenty of examples of artists who probably could’ve been stars in different realities.
One rule for this list is that it’s not fair to include rappers who passed before they had the chance to blow up. It’s not fair to artists who didn’t live long enough to see the fruits of their labor. Rappers like Lil Snupe, Doe B, Young Pappy, and Drakeo the Ruler immediately come to mind, artists with real talent and classics under their belt, but never made that big mainstream leap. Instead, this is reserved for the artists who stayed in their pockets despite their music suggesting a higher stardom.
Three Rappers That Should’ve Made It Mainstream (But Couldn’t)
Tito Lopez
Probably the truest example of someone who fell off the face of the planet when he had potential. Coming from Mississippi, Tito Lopez dropped two distinctly country coming-of-age rap songs that made Big KRIT such an endearing artist. Additionally, in his interviews, he was all about representing the underdog. From a state that doesn’t get much opportunity in work or art alike, it was all about beating the odds.
But here’s the thing: Big KRIT already existed. So people probably felt like it was redundant already. Not to mention, he signed with a label that evidently didn’t have the vision for a star rapper. Lopez frames signing his record deal as a way to do the unexpected. “We could’ve went to Def Jam, Jive, and anywhere, but we chose Capital because ain’t too much hip-hop there, so we’re gonna do the unexpected, they’re the underdog label too. They got Katy Perry and Coldplay, so what am I doing over there trying to rap? But they showed me the most love, let me get free reign to do what I do, and they trust me, so the rest is history,” he tells WHO?MAG.
An egregiously bad decision on Tito and his manager’s part. Now, he’s seemingly releasing for leisure, and he still sounds stuck in 2012. Ultimately, though, I think with enough care and development, Tito Lopez should’ve stuck around.
Starlito
Despite never going mainstream, Starlito’s career is still a success story. The Nashville rapper signed to Cash Money during its most anemic time period. Almost all the originals left, and Lil Wayne was the only one keeping the lights on. You would think Lito would have enough breathing room to make a name for himself. However, due to label neglect and lack of nourishment, he was quietly shafted into purgatory.
Typically, a lot of rappers don’t make it from this hell. But Starlito, through tireless releases, solo and with Don Trip, and an awe-inspiring perseverance, became one of the big Southern blog era darlings. Moreover, he cultivated all of it independently, forgoing the flimsiness of the music industry entirely. As much as Starlito could’ve flown the Tennessee flag on mainstream merits, it’s honestly even more impressive and more respectable that he did it all on his terms.
KEY!
KEY! could’ve blown up dozens of different times. No matter the era or aesthetic, he had the raw attributes to go mainstream. He rapped almost exclusively in Atlanta radio music, where the traffic is bad and the lemon pepper wings are going to take forever to grab from American Deli. Perhaps it was too distinct for audiences, opting for something more vague. But records like his Kenny Beats-assisted 777 or “Boys Don’t Cry” showed he could create an earworm out of seemingly nothing. Frankly, KEY! not receiving his flowers outside of critical and Atlanta love proves that the powers that be don’t always know what they’re doing behind the scenes.
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