Border region musicians often use their music to express personal experiences through lyrics that give it depth, something many commercially driven rappers lack.
Due to its explicit lyrics, hip-hop has often encountered censorship issues for being too offensive for mainstream audiences. Many songs include violent and anti-establishment themes in their songs.
Little Simz
Little Simz stands out as an exceptional young MC from the border region, earning two MOBO nominations and touring alongside artists like Gorillaz and Anderson Paak as well as performing at BET Hip-Hop Awards cyphers.
Grey Area was released in 2019 and earned her a Mercury Prize nomination and became a breakout success, featuring songs such as ‘101 FM’, ‘Boss’, ‘Selfish’ and ‘Venom’. Already popular on TikTok, 21-year-old singer-rapper Nia is set to make even greater waves with her fifth studio album NO THANK YOU.
Through her career, she’s worked to build an impressive body of work. Known for skillful lyric assembly and album covers that incorporate heavy instrumentals that draw upon deep funk jazz and neo soul influences, she’s built an admirable body of work.
She describes herself as an enthusiastic student of music, using her unique talent to explore experiences that reveal universal messages. London-based rapper GREY Area features several intimate tracks which explore her life as a young woman.
For this latest LP, she worked closely with producer Inflo to craft a sound that would help her achieve success. Think Timbaland to Missy Elliott; Inflo lends his signature production sense and playful swing to her material.
Introvert is the album’s standout track and showcases this ethos brilliantly; she addresses her anxiety issues by using them as inspiration for songwriting. The track sets an impressive tone for the rest of the record while displaying how her lyrics can connect with any audience member.
Creative Commission hired Steve Hyland of Hyland Creative Studio to produce an animated lyric video for Little Simz’s song Rollin Stone as part of her album campaign. Their task was to match Little Simz’s creative vision while producing an eye-catching animated video within an acceptable timeframe given she was due to release it on a Friday.
Jay Park
Jay Park is one of the driving forces behind hip-hop’s recent surge. By founding two of Seoul’s most successful record labels and providing support to Korean artists in international performances, Park has helped catapult Korean talent onto international stages. Furthermore, Park’s own label H1GHR Music launched with producer Cha Cha Malone last year has also made an impressionful mark.
Since his initial single “Know Your Name,” Park has released five studio albums and four EPs. Additionally, he has collaborated with numerous artists as well as performing at events around the world.
His style combines lyrical flow and trap elements with an upbeat vocal tone for an unforgettable listening experience. A singer, songwriter and rapper with over 1.3 million Twitter followers and over 1.7 million YouTube subscribers, he enjoys great popularity on social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube.
Park has excelled as both a musician and model/actor; his commercials for Adidas Korea and Umbro Korea feature him, among other brands. Furthermore, he produces music under his label and dances live.
At every point in his career, Park has strived to promote diversity within his work. He has collaborated with over 181 artists from different musical genres and released songs that span various musical subgenres – making him an accomplished performer and composer.
Although his journey has had its fair share of ups and downs, Jay Park remains confident that all is coming together in his favor. With an active schedule filled with hosting his own podcast, releasing music releases, touring, hosting his own podcast as well as remaining positive throughout all these areas he remains positive at all times.
His latest release, This Wasn’t Supposed to Happen, a collaborative EP with American rapper Hit-Boy has received much acclaim. Additionally, he’s working closely with fellow Roc Nation signee Mozart La Para on “Son Malas.”
Jay Park has established himself through H1GHR Music over the past year and recently released his two-part compilation RED TAPE to great acclaim. It brings together tracks from some of his artists to form an unexpectedly cohesive project.
Junior H
The border region is home to diverse cultural communities that have all come together through hip hop music as a unifying force. From Canada where Maestro Fresh Wes rose to fame during the late 1980s to Mexico where new generations of rappers are infusing Latin American influences into their sound, hip hop has brought people together across borders in a way no other form can. Together these artists have produced an astonishing variety of tunes and sounds across borders that come together as a distinct genre.
One of the greatest strengths of hip hop music is that it serves as a vehicle for storytelling and representation, which is especially vital in an increasingly unjust world where issues related to race, class, gender equality, and other forms of discrimination persist. Artists of diverse cultural backgrounds use hip hop as a vehicle to share their struggles through song.
Junior H, an influential member of the corrido tumbado movement, uses the border as a space where his music can connect on an intimate level with its listeners. His lyrics draw upon experiences gained while growing up both here in America as well as from memories from Guanajuato.
His music combines traditional corrido instrumentation such as the requinto and reedy baritone with elements of trap music for added variety. He has become widely renowned as the progenitor of the growing urban corrido movement worldwide.
Junior has also collaborated with numerous Latin artists on different projects. He has released songs with Paloma Mami, Snow Tha Product, and Rancho Humilde labelmate OVI.
Junior began his musical journey by self-releasing his first single, “No Eh Cambiado,” at age 17. This track caught Jimmy Humilde, owner of Rancho Humilde Records, who signed him to his label alongside fellow corrido practitioners such as Natanael Cano and Dan Sanchez.
Since then, he has released over one hundred songs and five albums, becoming one of the most beloved artists on social media with millions of views for each song he releases. It’s estimated that his net worth ranges between $100-200k.