Valedictorian

Existing in the mould pioneered by Asher Roth and Lil Dicky—see: white and nerdy—Dallas-born rapper ian packs this caricature with winking self-awareness. He’s goofy, and as DJ Holiday says in the intro to his debut project, Valedictorian, he “dress white as hell, though”. Everything on the album is a nod to ian’s cred, from the inclusion of Holiday, the Atlanta-based mixtape king, to his ability to speak the language of ATL icons like Playboi Carti, Gucci Mane and more. ian’s self-awareness as the new white dude in rap is constantly pushed up against his ability to mimic the language of hip-hop pioneers. Take “Bentayga”, a woozy-synth jam with tons of ad-libs and bouncing 808s that get slowed down to near chopped ’n’ screwed pace. The signifiers are bountiful, and any student of rap in the 2010s can pick out a few artists who ian models himself after. “Chauncey”, which pays homage to Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, features blown-out synths and chunky hi-hats, a signal that his ear is also as tuned in to rap’s current era as its predecessor.