Lelo

Detroit rapper Lelo has cited Midwestern artists like Earl Sweatshirt and Lucki as influences on his eerie, left-field sound. He'd been making music for around five years, including a three-year presence on TikTok, when his 2024 song "No Contempt" landed in the Billboard TikTok Top 50. Born Khalil Jewell and hailing from Oak Park in suburban Detroit, Lelo started recording music with friends in the late 2010s. He emerged on streaming sites with singles like 2019's "Pink" and 2021's "Life Interlude," which came out around the time he started sharing clips of his music on TikTok. He released a steady stream of new tracks over the next couple years, building a fan base with songs like 2022's "Stuck Up" and "Upset" before a record deal with 10K Projects helped bring further attention to tracks including 2023's "Drapes" and "Holes. Lelo released the full-length Nightingale on the label in early 2024. It was the April 2024 non-album single "No Contempt," however, that launched Lelo onto the Billboard TikTok Top 50 chart. Placing at number 24, it helped him carry a following over to subsequent releases such the next month's "Limbless" and October 2024's "GOAWAY." ~ Marcy Donelson