Belgium’s urban scene has been on the rise for a few years now and 2016 looks very promising. We made a selection of five Belgian artists who we believe are going to have a great year. Let us know who you think is going to blow up in 2016 in the comments section.

Woodie Smalls

2015 was an amazing year for Belgian rapper Woodie Smalls. Back in May he put out his first single Champion Sound which immediately caught a lot of buzz on social media & on national radio stations. After landing a deal with Sony Music Belgium and a summer full of gigs the Sint-Niklaas native put out his debut album Soft Parade on September 18. The album was well-received and many music critics have agreed that the young artist could be headed for international stardom real soon. received the Chase Award (Best Urban Act) during the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards. To close out the year he released a new single called R.E.E.F.A. featuring K1D which makes us very curious about what Woodie Smalls will bring to the table in 2016.

WZRD

Antwerp-based producer/singer/rapper WZRD has been rapping for a while but it wasn’t until 2015 that we caught wind of this multi-talented artist. He first caught our eye with his impressive hook on Young B’s single Heart. On Cold World featuring Haio we got familiar with his impeccable production and on January 1 he unveiled his debut video In Space. It’s clear that this guy wants to prove something in 2016.

Tsar B

Belgian singer Tsar B first popped up on our radar a few weeks ago when she unveiled a spectacular rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black alongside Oscar & The Wolf which serves as the official soundtrack for the Belgian blockbuster Black. For her debut single Escalate, things got even more dark as she showcased her sultry vocals over a dark, pitched-down R&B production. Several music blogs have compared her to Sevdaliza, Banks & FKA Twigs and we definitely do not disagree.

Grey

Next up is another Antwerp-based artist who sings, produces & raps. In one of his songs Grey. raps about the fact that his city is lacking a black millionaire. It’s safe to say that this guy is all about chasing his dreams & 2016 just might be his breaktrough year. In 2015 he mostly dropped loosies but this year a full project might be coming up.

Abraham Blue

2015 was already a big year for Antwerp-based R&B crooner Abraham Blue but 2016 might even be better. His signature lo-fi beats and sultry vocals earned him a co-sign of Soulection and landed him various gigs in London including a performance at the Lovebox Festival. Soulection affiliate and renowned producer J-Louis remixed a couple of his songs and he made a thumping tune with PYRMDPLAZA at the Red Bull Studios in London. His live perfomances are always on point and he frequently perfoms unreleased material which sounds even better than the stuff he already released.