The SoundCloud Music Intelligence Report 2026 is officially here, hot off the press. The comprehensive report is an annual deep-dive into the trends, scenes and genre movements defining the future of music in real time. It spotlights artists, communities and sounds that start or evolve on SoundCloud, and goes on to establish what to look out for next.
We’ve scoured the report — which you can read in full here — to bring you 5 of our top scenes to watch as the year unfolds, complete with an exclusive playlist highlighting the artists leading each movement. Keep an eye out for deeper playlists and stories on each scene coming soon, as we’re just getting started.
LISTEN TO THE 5 SCENES TO WATCH PLAYLIST ON SOUNDCLOUD
UK UNDERGROUND RAP
Throughout the past year, UK underground rap has been catapulted into the spotlight, and is one of the most exciting developments in global hip-hop. Naturally, one defining characteristic is the British regional accents — from masked rapper EsDeeKid’s unmistakable Scouse tone to the London inflections of Zukovstheworld, Feng and Llondon Actress. If you’re new to the scene, there’s more to it than just accents, though. Drilling down, EsDeeKid isn’t fully representative of the scene’s sonic identity, either. The sound is diverse, with tracks often featuring synth-laden, experimental production that draws from influences like grime, drill, indie, jerk, ambient and more.
The scene’s biggest name is EsDeeKid; the rapper gained mainstream attention late last year by embracing an internet conspiracy theory that he was secretly Timothée Chalamet. The Hollywood actor has since dispelled that rumor by collaborating with EsDeeKid. Even so, the British rapper’s debut album, 2025’s ‘Rebel,’ is currently the longest-charting UK rap album on the Billboard 200.
Another name gaining traction in the scene is London artist fakemink, who has been steadily building his audience since he first began uploading to SoundCloud in 2020. He’s gone on to receive cosigns from Drake and Frank Ocean, and has collaborated with Swedish hip-hop collective Drain Gang members Ecco2K and Mechatok on “MAKKA.”
What was once underground is going mainstream; on SoundCloud, plays for scene artists grew nearly 300% last year alone. Tracks like EsDeeKid’s “LV Sandals,” featuring fakemink and Rico Ace, might have dominated UK streets last year, but they’re set to blast onto stages in the US this May at Rolling Loud. The prodigious hip-hop festival’s lineup for its Orlando debut features UK underground mainstay fimiguerrero, alongside EsDeeKid, fakemink, Feng and 2025 Ascending artist YT, further signaling the next phase in a growing transatlantic affair. The UK scene is also well-connected with indie sleaze revival acts; fakemink opened for Snow Strippers, and Zukovstheworld has featured Frost Children on a track. In 2026, expect more collaborations between this scene in the UK and big-name US artists, as the underground truly breaks cover.
NEW INDIE
In the indie rock scene, a new generation of artists is approaching the sound from a fresh direction. Unlike the band-driven ‘00s boom, the teenage artists driving this scene grew up online, making solo hip-hop beats online.
“Though most people don’t realize it, we’ve practically grown up together,” says yiru, whose acoustic-guitar-led style draws more on R&B than some of his peers in the new indie scene. He says that what defines the scene is “Camp,” an online community where core scene artists share their creations and collaborate.
This generation of artists is inspired by bands like Paramore just as much as plugg and jerk, using their self-taught DIY production skills to make band-evocative music that cherry picks from different styles. The result is largely lo-fi, guitar-driven songs all recorded in bedrooms. Leading the charge is bunii. The LA-based vocalist, guitarist and producer released his first track, “Mina,” on SoundCloud at the age of 16. SoundCloud scouts spotted him early and offered steady support, from playlisting to spotlighting him as Track of the Day (for “grand mal”), culminating in him being named an Ascending artist in October 2025.
“The scene allows me to connect with other artists who are incredibly talented. We all grow because we all inspire each other,” bunii says, adding it can be “defined by the artists’ eclectic storytelling, and the way they vividly express themselves in their songs.”
Bunii’s math rock-influenced guitar work contrasts with crayon’s layered vocal style and requiem for you’s rock intensity. Although the sounds are diverse, this tight-knit scene thrives on collaboration, with artists regularly featuring on and producing each other’s tracks.
As these emerging artists are engaging with guitar-centric music, they’re finding a willing audience. Bunii has a sense that the burgeoning scene is building on the foundations he helped lay; “you’ll see countless arial font lyric videos with a blank background. The sound and style seem to be catching on,” he shares.
Based on our data, the new indie scene grew 2.5x on SoundCloud in 2025. That’s partly due to the supportive artistic community at its core. But it’s more than that, too, as yiru explains: “I can proudly call each and everyone of [Camp] my brother or sister, because it’s genuinely deeper than music.” In 2026, expect names like bunii, crayon and yiru to hit bigger stages, along with the hip-hop-meets-alternative-rock of aeter, and the chorused guitars and angelic-voice of revivle.
MINIMAL TECH HOUSE
Over the past few years, more and more people have been listening to electronic music. This year, that’s especially true in the United States. In this broad church, the minimal tech house sub-genre is ascending fast. This sound is characterized by a retro ‘90s rave feel, stripped back, spacious production, spoken-word hooks and a low end that’s driven by 909 kicks and borderline acid bass (check out Ascending artist Josh Baker’s “Dr Feel Right”). It’s a hard contrast from stabby EDM riffs, and it’s much more groove-led. The scene itself is kept vibrant by artist-owned labels like Homegrxwn, Hottrax and Up The Stuss.
First joining SoundCloud in 2013, Manchester-born DJ/producer Josh Baker has been on an incredible run, a testament to his hard work and perseverance. His March 2025 club hit “Back It Up” featuring Omar+ was unavoidable in Ibiza over this past summer, and he’s gone on to play on massive stages, from Creamfields to Coachella.
Other mainstays of the minimal tech house scene are brothers Max and Luke Dean, along with Homegrxwn label owner/producer Rossi. — all Londoners. It’s not just the UK producing these talents; there’s a strong Dutch contingent, too, including big-hitter Chris Stussy. Expect to hear a lot more of this sound at festivals in summer 2026.
DMV RAP
DMV rap is a catch-all term for rap from Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia (hence DMV). Part of what makes DMV rap sonically and culturally different is its reference back to go-go: a genre of post-funk from the US capital that featured distinct rhythms and audience participation. Today’s artists draw inspiration from all over, including Southern hip-hop, drill and Philadelphia rap, but the go-go influence plays out with DMV rappers pushing faster, more rhythmic flows.
At the forefront of DMV rap’s latest wave is Too Many Strikers, a collective unified under the singular vision of producer/creative director SJR2800. Among its members are SlimeGetEm, who gained attention in 2024 with ”Mashallah I Cooked Him,” a track referencing his Islamic culture. Alongside him is JaeyChino whose digicore-influenced production earned him a co-sign from underground tastemaker xaviersobased, culminating in the collaboration “Can’t Go.” Elsewhere, DMV-born, NYC-based kuru is pushing his digicore influences further to the forefront with broken glass sounds, low-bitrate MP3 textures and ratcheting hi-hats.
There’s real sonic diversity in DMV rap, and it’s helping the scene flourish. From the soulful, R&B-inspired Nino Paid, whose 2025 album “Love Me As I Am” drove up scene overall listening time, to Skino’s intense “Middle of Hell” which appeared on several best-of lists last year, including Pitchfork’s. This is a growing movement that’s full of surprises.
HARD TECHNO/SCHRANZ
In 2025, the number of tracks uploaded to SoundCloud with the #schranz tag surged by over 80%. So what is Schranz? Schranz is a high-energy offshoot of hard techno that emerged from Germany’s underground club scene in the ‘90s. A portmanteau of the German words “schrei” (scream) and “tanz” (dance), “Schranz” reflects the sound’s intensity and danceability. It’s partly defined by fast tempos (150+ BPM), distorted kicks and euphoric breakdowns. However, Cloudy, one of the scene’s leaders, notes the sound of Schranz today is “more diverse and carries even more energy than before.”
“A lot of people think Schranz is monotonous, just noise and aggression, but that’s not true,” Cloudy says. The Cologne-based DJ/producer grew up listening to indie-rock. “In a way Schranz gives me a similar emotional intensity just translated into electronic music,” she explains, adding “there is actually a lot of groove, tension building and even a nostalgic feeling.”
The latest evolution of the sound — driven by 240KM/H label owner Adrián Mills and Cloudy, who holds residencies at Teletech and Adrenalin — takes influences from Latin music and Spanish hard techno variant makina. While Schranz shares sonic DNA with tekno and hardtekk — faster, more distorted sounds, linked to the free party scene — its sound is generally more polished and mainstream-friendly.
Cloudy and Mills, who refer to themselves as “mami and papi” of the scene, have helped propel the genre’s popularity with all-night sets, and a signature “face-to-face” performance style. In this setup, two DJs — each with their own decks — simultaneously feed off each other’s selections and layer other tracks on the fly.
Then, there’s Munich-based producer/DJ klangkuenstler, a scene veteran known for his high-production shows. After taking his Stargate-inspired Outworld production to Sao Paulo, New York and Ibiza, he sold out a fifteen-thousand-ticket Madrid date in under an hour. The appetite for this sound is global, and it’s growing. Also check out the relentless, high-energy sound of Kobosil, the dark, euphoric builds of KUKO and Novah, known for her vocal-forward production and bouncy rhythms.