New York-based DJ/producer duo Take a Daytrip head up the latest Radar Station charts, followed by Detroit rapper Baby Smoove and TikTok sensation LoveLeo.

Take a Daytrip, consisting of David Biral and Denzel Baptiste, have climbed a huge 75 places to take first place on February’s Radar Station.

The pair, who are represented by Tom Schroeder and Cris Hearn at Paradigm, produced country trap song ‘Rodeo’, by Lil Nas X and Cardi B. A re-released version of the song, featuring rapper Nas, was performed live at the Grammys in January.

The pair also worked on Lil Nas X’s ‘Panini’ and have collaborated with the likes of Octavian, Vince Staples, former radar Station topper Sheck Wes and Juice Wrld.

In at second is Detroit rapper Baby Smoove, who released new single ‘Hawaiian Runtz’ just this week (2 March).

Take a Daytrip, consisting of David Biral and Denzel Baptiste, have climbed a huge 75 places to take first place

Baby Smoove is appearing at Rolling Loud Festival in Miami this May, alongside artists including Travis Scott, Asap Rocky and Post Malone.

Number three on the chart is LoveLeo, the latest artist to find fame through short-form mobile video platform TikTok.

Leo Reilly, aka LoveLeo, released his debut single ‘Boyfren’, which was recorded in his bedroom, late last year. The song went viral on TikTok and has currently clocked up 17.7 million streams on Spotify. The son of actor John C Reilly, LoveLeo is signed to Godmode record label.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm. Last month’s No1 was fast-rising R&B singer Kaash Paige.

See below for a Spotify playlist of last month’s top 20, plus the full chart with links to artists’ social media pages.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Rising R&B singer Kaash Paige tops the first Radar Station of the new decade, in a chart dominated by drill and rap artists and topped by two acts still in their teens– as well as an alien-meme-turned-Instagram-influencer…

Dallas-born Kaash Paige, 18, has climbed from fifth place to lead the Radar Station chart in January, following the release of her single ‘64’ and debut EP Parked Car Convos late last year.

The singer, who is represented by Cheryl Paglierani at United Talent Agency, is performing at Fortress Festival in Texas and the Miami edition of Live Nation’s Rolling Loud Festival in the coming months.

The remix of Kaash Paige’s most popular single, ‘Love Songs’, was released at the end of January, featuring Atlanta rapper 6lack.

In at second is the Kid Laroi, a 16-year-old Australian hip-hop artist that has stormed up the Radar Station chart over the past month. Releasing his debut EP aged just 14, the Kid has since appeared on stage with the likes of Manu Crook$, Tkay Maidza, Denzel Curry and Juice Wrld.

Dallas-born Kaash Paige, 18, has climbed from fifth place to lead the Radar Station chart in January

The Kid, who is represented by Niche Talent Agency, became the first Australian hip-hop artist to perform at Rolling Loud New York last year. His latest single, ‘Diva’, has amassed 3.5 million views on YouTube in just three days.

Lil Mayo becomes the first non-human entry to the Radar Station chart, as the three-foot-tall rubber doll – “the most savage alien on the ‘gram” – takes third place with his single ‘Be Gone Thot!’.

Created by US-based Alex Martyn, Lil Mayo emerged out of an extraterrestrial-themed page based on the ‘ayy lmao’ memes.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm. December’s number one was Coi Leray, who made history in securing the top spot for a third time.

See below for a Spotify playlist of last month’s top 20, plus the full chart with links to artists’ social media pages.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

In a Radar Station first, New Jersey-born rapper Coi Leray has topped the chart for the third time in November – and the second time in as many months, following a brief usurpation by Australian drill act OneFour in September.

Speaking to IQ last month, Paradigm’s Mike Malak, who represents Leray together with Alex Hardee, attributed the rapper’s fast-growing popularity to her reworking of the urban genre and unique style.

Leray (pictured), who is signed with Republic Records, got her breakthrough with the single ‘Huddy’ in September 2018, which now has over 3.2 million listens on Spotify. The artist’s latest track, ‘Add It’, was released last month, as Leray prepares for her first headline tour in 2020.

Climbing into silver-medal position is University of San Francisco student 24kGoldn, real name Golden Landis Von Jones, who held third place in last month’s Radar Station. The rapper is playing at Rolling Loud Los Angeles festival on 14 December, which is headlined by the likes of Chance the Rapper, Future and Lil Uzi Vert.

Nasty Cherry, the brainchild of UK singer Charli XCX, come in at third. The female four-piece made waves last month with the release of their six-episode Netflix reality series I’m With the Band: Nasty Cherry, described by the Guardian as “a riotous clash of Big Brother meets Drag Race meets Spice World”.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm.

See below for a Spotify playlist of last month’s Radar Station top 20, plus the full chart with links to artists’ social pages and contact details.

For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

After a brief dethronement in September, Coi Leray was once again the fastest-growing new act last month, becoming only the second artist to twice place top the monthly Radar Station chart. Rising US hip-hop star Leray was the No 1 artist in August, and second the following month, when she briefly ceded first place to Australian drill rappers OneFour.

October saw her equal a feat previously managed only by Megan thee Stallion, who spent two months at No 1 in April and May 2019. (Megan thee Stallion has gone on work with Nicki Minaj and Chance the Rapper and sign a management deal with Roc Nation – as well as spawn a meme in the form of ‘Hot Girl Summer’.)

“Coi is challenging the norms in the urban genre and setting herself apart from other artists, which is clearly showing now as the momentum ramps up,” Paradigm London’s Mike Malak, who represents Leray jointly with Alex Hardee, tells IQ.

October saw Leray equal a feat previously managed only by Megan thee Stallion

The Republic-signed rapper’s 2018 break-out single, ‘Huddy’, remains her most-listened track, though Leray continues to release new music ahead of her first headline tour in 2020. She is currently on the road in the US, supporting Canadian rapper Killy.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm.

At No 2 in October was another Australian drill act, Melbourne-based Samoans HP Boyz, who climbed from 16th, illustrating growing international interest in the genre – while a new entry, US student rapper 24kGoldn, was third.

See below for a Spotify playlist of last month’s Radar Station top 20, plus the full chart with links to artists’ social pages and contact details.

For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

OneFour, ‘Australia’s first drill rappers’, were the fastest-growing new artists online last month, in a Radar Station first for the controversial UK-born hip-hop scene.

The band, from Mt Druitt in western Sydney, have been hailed by Vice as “Australia’s most exciting rappers” – but have been subject to similar harassment and censorship as that faced by drill acts in the US and UK, with authorities accusing their songs of promoting violent crime.

The group’s latest single, ‘Ladz in the Hood’, released on Monday 2 September, racked up 400,000 views in the space of 24 hours and become the top trending video on YouTube, leading GQ to describe them as the “biggest thing in hip hop right now”.

Spurred by this success, OneFour climbed from No4 in July to the top spot in August, according to the latest Radar Station figures, knocking Coi Leray to number two. A new entry, Kosovar DJ Regard, takes the third spot.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, Songkick and Last.fm. August’s chart-topper was September’s runner-up, Paradigm-repped Coi Leray.

“People are drawn to the feeling it creates. The raw emotion and honesty”

Speaking to IQ, OneFour’s manager, Ricky Simandjuntak, says the band’s global popularity is testament to their ability to speak to a forgotten underclass looked down on by the ‘establishment’:

IQ: What do you think it is about OneFour’s message and music that appeals to so many people – many of whom are drawn from outside the band’s culture and circumstances?
RS: People are drawn to the feeling it creates. The raw emotion and honesty. From the words to the visuals, everything is honest – even if you don’t know anything about that world, the music allows you to feel it all.

Not everyone can digest the content, but most people respect the authenticity. There is a story of overcoming extreme danger and adversity that people are drawn to.

For those who are from the culture, youth here in western Sydney and wider urban Australia are happy that there is finally a group of artists that represent urban, multicultural, working-class people in Australia at a world-class level. They’ve been waiting for a hero to champion.

IQ: As a manager, could you describe your strategy for growing the band’s profile and career so far?
RS: There wasn’t one. The only thing the boys knew how to do was tell their truth, using their own style of storytelling and delivery. The influences are obvious, but they remained true to themselves in the delivery. All Hau [Latukefu, Triple J host], [producer] Solo and I did was provide them the right environment and tools to make the music. The creativity and emotion is all them.

They directed produced their own videos with their own team, they marketed themselves. They spoke to an audience that is going what they go through. We have had minimal involvement up until this point.

“There is finally a group of artists that represent urban, multicultural, working-class people in Australia at a world-class level. They’ve been waiting for a hero to champion”

IQ: What kind of challenges have you faced so far, especially around censorship and hostility from the establishment?
RS: The ‘establishment’  in Australia is still very close-minded and out of touch with young people and people of colour. You only need to look at how they treat the indigenous owners of this country to understand how their fear of immigrant Australians.

The music raises conversation that a lot of people in positions of privilege and authority do not know how to address. So their immediate reaction is damage control and censorship. This includes pressuring venues, promoters, DSPs, schools and nonprofit organisations the boys visit, hotels, licensed venues and the press not to do business with the group. Essentially, they are going out of their way to limit the ability of the group to work and generate income – while in the same breath telling them to get off the streets.

Mainstream media, the news channels and newspapers like the [Australian] Daily Telegraph are only interested in publishing stories that incite fear into the community. These platforms push a narrative for the establishment, not for the good of the people. Fortunately for us, they are platforms that are heading toward extinction.

IQ: Do the band have a live agent or record label, or is it still very early days on that front?
RS: Still very much independent and looking to remain this way until they learn some more.

OneFour recently started to work with Brett Murrihy at WME for live. So if you have work, he is our man.

OneFour climbed from No4 in July to the top spot in August, knocking Coi Leray to No2. A new entry, Kosovar DJ Regard, takes the third spot

IQ: How do you intend to capitalise on this streaming success?
RS: It’s giving us the opportunity to surround ourselves with more experienced people and learn from them. It’s giving us access to better data and people who understand how to interpret it.

To answer your question – we get better at growing.

IQ: Where do OneFour go from here?
RS: It’s early days and there are so many paths to success. Like I said, we are still learning. Artistically, for OneFour the UK has provided so much inspiration, so it’s definitely a goal to learn from and work with artists like Skepta, Giggs, Wiley, Headie One and J Hus to name a few. For me personally, getting the music so good that it’s on the radar of someone like [BBC DJ] Benji B is immense.

Business-wise and culturally, Jay-Z blazed the path that inspired me. To help OneFour create opportunities for people in the fashion that he did – but for Australian youth. That’s the dream.

See below for a Spotify playlist of last month’s Radar Station top 20, plus the full chart with links to artists’ Facebook pages and contact details.

For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

After narrowly missing out on the top spot in July, New Jersey-born hip-hop act Coi Leray was the fastest-growing new artist in August 2019, the latest Radar Station chart reveals.

The daughter of Boston rapper Benzino, Leray (real name Britanny Collins) built her fanbase via Soundcloud and signed to Republic Records just nine months after uploading her first song, ‘Goofy Ass Niggas’. She released her debut mixtape, EveryThingCoZ (pronounced “cosy”), in 2018 and a follow-up, EC2, earlier this year, which preceded US and European tour dates, including festival slots at Lollapalooza in Chicago and LadyLand in Brooklyn, New York.

Her break-out single, ‘Huddy’, meanwhile, is at 3.2 million YouTube views at the time of writing, while ‘Save the Day’, a collaboration with Ski Mask the Slump God, Jacquees and LouGotCash, appeared on the soundtrack to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

“Coi is an incredibly talented artist,” says Mike Malak of Paradigm UK, who represents Leray (pictured) alongside Alex Hardee. “Coming off the back of a successful festival season, Coi has built some strong foundations and is recognised in key European markets by all the relevant tastemakers, which will serve us well for her first headline tour in 2020.”

“Coi has built some strong foundations and is recognised in key European markets by all the relevant tastemakers”

At No 2 is 19-year-old Angeleño rapper Ambjaay, who capitalised on continued streaming success for his early summer smash, the Latin-themed ‘Uno’, to climb 61 places between July and August. Recently signed to Columbia Records, he is yet to find agency representation and can be booked by emailing [email protected].

In third is another new entry, Christian ‘King’ Combs – son of Sean, aka Puff Daddy – who just missed out on the top 20 in July. He released his latest singles, ‘Surf’ and ‘The West’, both of which appeared on his Cyncerely, C3 EP on Bad Boy Entertainment, last month.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm. July’s chart-topper was North Carolina rapper Stunna 4 Vegas.

See below for a Spotify playlist of last month’s top 20, plus the full chart with links to artists’ Facebook pages and booking agency details.

For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

North Carolina rapper Stunna 4 Vegas leads the Radar Station chart for July, followed by fellow rappers and Radar debutants Coi Leray and Blanco Brown.

Collaborations with the likes of DaBaby and Offset have seen Stunna 4 Vegas raise his profile since the release of debut album Big 4X in May.

Currently touring the United States, the rapper – who grew up listening to the likes of TI, Gucci and Lil Wayne – is best known for tracks ‘Ashley’ and ‘Animal’, both featuring fellow North Carolina dweller DaBaby.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm. Last month’s chart topper was Italian production trio Meduza.

Hot on Stunna 4 Vegas’ heels is Coi Leray, daughter of Boston-born rapper Benzino. Garnering fame via songs released on Soundcloud, Leray released her debut mixtape, EveryThingCoZ, in 2018. The follow-up, EC2, came earlier this year, preceding US and European tour dates.

Collaborations with the likes of DaBaby and Offset have seen Stunna 4 Vegas raise his profile

The artist played at festivals including Live Nation-promoted Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Country trap artist Blanco Brown is best known for breakthrough hit ‘The Git Up’, which saw the singer spend four weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The song currently has almost 59 million listens on Spotify.

The hybrid nature of Brown’s music is inspired by his childhood, listening to hip hop artists at home in Atlanta and spending summers surrounded by country music in rural Butler, Georgia.

The artist, represented by United Talent Agency worldwide, has produced for high-profile acts including Chris Brown and Pitbull.

See below for a Spotify playlist of this month’s top 20, as well as the full chart with links to artists’ Facebook pages and booking agency details.

For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Rising Italian producers Meduza, who reached No2 in the UK singles chart in February with their breakthrough, ‘Piece of My Heart’, were the hottest new artists in June 2019, the latest Radar Station chart reveals.

Hailing from Milan, the trio – Mattia Vitale, Simone Giani and Luca De Gregorio – were signed to Polydor in the UK and Virgin in Germany after impressing at Amsterdam Dance Event, in what has been called the “hottest signing in recent years”. After debuting with a remix of Friendly Fires’ ‘Heaven Let Me In’, their first original material, house smash ‘Piece of Your Heart’, featuring British act Goodboys, picked up more than 7m streams on Spotify and 6m on YouTube in the space of two months, and also propelled them to the top of the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

CAA’s Ben Kouijzer, who represents the band outside North America, tells IQ: “When Serg and Kevin from Club Class/Komplete played me ‘Piece of Your Heart’ at ADE, it was love at first listen – I knew Meduza had something special. They had just signed the record to Virgin Germany and Polydor UK in a JV, and we all believed it would be the biggest dance record of the year.”

Despite the “incredible commercial success” of ‘Piece of Your Heart’, Kouijzer says Team Meduza have focused establishing “foundations in the underground club circuit at cutting-edge house venues, nurturing a grassroots fanbase of house music lovers” and setting the stage for festival performances and headline shows beyond 2020.

“We all believed it would be the biggest dance record of the year”

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm. Last month’s No1 was Texas-born rapper Megan thee Stallion, who become the first artist to successful defend her title, after initially topping the chart in April.

In second place in June was New Zealand folk singer-songwriter Aldous Harding (repped by ATC Live’s Clémence Renau in Europe), who climbs from No28, while Jade Bird (booked in the UK by Olly Hodgson at Coda) rose one place, to fourth, in a consecutive strong showing for the Tony Visconti-approved Brit.

See below for a Spotify playlist of this month’s top 20, plus the full chart with links to artists’ Facebook pages and booking agency details.

For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Glastonbury Festival returns tomorrow (Wednesday 26 June) following a year’s hiatus. As hundreds of thousands of fans prepare to descend on Worthy Farm, here’s what to look out for this year.

In a slow year elsewhere for UK festivals, enthusiasm for this Glastonbury remains high. Standard tickets for the 2019 event sold out in 36 minutes, compared to 50 minutes in pre-fallow year 2017.

Stormzy will become the first UK grime act to head up the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage on the Friday night, followed by the Killers and the Cure on the following evenings. Kylie Minogue will play the Sunday afternoon Legends Slot.

Festival organisers recently revealed dancehall star Sean Paul as a late addition to head up the John Peel stage on Saturday.

Elsewhere, European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) leaders and May’s Radar Station runnersup, Fontaines D.C., will show why they’re one of Europe’s fastest emerging acts on the William’s Green stage.

Other popular Etep acts performing at the festival include Black Midi, Flohio, Pip Blom and Octavian.

Performing arts collective Arcadia will bring a brand-new installation to this year’s festival, in the form of Pangea. The new arena, Arcadia’s “most ambitious yet”, will see performances from the likes of the Black Madonna, Four Tet and Carl Cox.

Standard tickets for the 2019 event sold out in 36 minutes, compared to 50 minutes in pre-fallow year 2017

The weather, a major talking point of any UK festival, is looking to turn around in time for Glastonbury. Some forecasters are predicting the hottest Glastonbury Festival on record, with London’s Met Office indicating temperatures could hit 35°C.

According to Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge, “it will start out overcast and there could be the potential for some showers but going forward it’s going to be much dryer than in recent days.

“There may be some heavy showers in the south west of England, though these are likely to be further west than Glastonbury.”

The Greenpeace-partnered festival is striving to up its eco-friendly policies this year, banning single-use plastic bottles and encouraging attendees to leave no waste behind. National food retailer the Co-op will sell sandwiches in 100% compostable packaging at its pop-up shop at the festival.

A proposed Glastonbury spin-off festival, the Variety Bazaar, appears to be on hold. Organisers had previously claimed that the event would take place instead of Glastonbury Festival in 2021, on a different site.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

After becoming the first woman to reach the top of the Radar Station chart in April, US rapper Megan thee Stallion last month become the first to successfully defend her title, retaining her crown as the fastest-growing new artist in May.

Born in Houston, Texas, in 1995, Megan thee Stallion (aka Hot Girl Meg, real name Megan Pete) learned to rap from her mother, who performed under the name Holly-Wood. She released her debut single, ‘Like a Stallion’, in 2016, with her first EP, Make it Hot, following in 2017.

Pete (pictured) signed to the 300 Entertainment label, co-founded by YouTube head of music Lyor Cohen, late last year, and released her debut album, Fever, earlier this month.

In a positive review, the New York Times praised Fever as a welcome antidote to the largely male-dominated hip-hop scene. NYT reviewer Jon Caramanica writes:

There has long been a numbing calculus at work in hip-hop that has largely only afforded oxygen to one female rapper at a time, or at most, two. The internet has exploded that logic, thankfully — Megan Thee Stallion is part of a robust generation of women with wildly differing styles, though many of them share an affinity for sexual frankness. Megan Thee Stallion’s sex raps (“Pimpin,” “Sex Talk” and many more) are raw, luridly detailed and completely unfazed. (And largely in newspaper-unfriendly language.)

On “Fever,” there are only two guests, both men: Juicy J, a pioneer of hip-hop filth, and the up-and-comer DaBaby. Both provide verses that, had they appeared on their own albums, might have seemed unduly crass or cringey. But here, the ridiculous brags seem almost charming — they’re just trying to keep up.

Megan thee Stallion’s 2018 mixtape Tina Snow was streamed more than 11m times

The album also received an 8/10 rating from the notoriously hard-to-please Pitchfork, and has commercially outperformed Megan thee Stallion’s previous releases, including 2018 mixtape Tina Snow, which was streamed more than 11 million times across all platforms.

The Radar Station algorithm calculates the fastest-growing new artists by combining data across a number of online platforms, including Spotify, Facebook, Songkick and Last.fm. For more details about the Radar Station, contact [email protected].

Irish five-piece Fontaines DC, who signed with ATC Live’s Sarah Besnard in Europe last September, held the #2 spot in May, climbing from no 68 the previous month.

In addition to their streaming success, the band are also closing in on the record for the all-time highest number of European Talent Exchange Programme (Etep) festival bookings, with 18 so far in 2019, including Glastonbury, Roskilde and Trnsmt.

In third place are American rapcore act the Fever 333, whose debut album, Strength in Numb333rs, was released in January. A strong early-summer showing on streaming services sees them climb 29 places, from 32, in April.

See the full chart, along with links to artists’ Facebook pages and booking agency details, below.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.