With festival season just picking up (Bonnaroo is next weekend, after all), we have a lot to look forward to this summer. Some artists, on the other hand, are already looking further into the future, as far as 2015, and implanting new ideas in fans’ heads early. Many bands on this list are exploring new territory and reveling in the rewards, whether it involves setting up the perfect hype track or exploring dreams on a darker, more mature level. Coast through these selections and look forward to an exciting festival season, second half of 2014, and beyond.
10. Sasha Go Hard – “Facts”
“No metaphor, I’m talkin’ facts,” concludes Chicago rapper Sasha Go Hard on “Facts”, getting to the heart of the drill scene’s theme of straight-up coldness. The song is a success for its lyrics, but more than that, it goes hard thanks to Sasha’s clawing delivery and Timmy Da Hitman’s beat, reminiscent of Hit-Boy’s production on Drake’s “Trophies”. As with similar no-hook series like Lil Herb’s “4 Minutes of Hell” and Lil Durk’s “52 Bars”, “Facts” shows that Chicago’s new school is attuned to traditional tactics, too. Sasha drops her Feel So Good mixtape on June 9th. –Michael Madden
