Atlantic-signed rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again has been named as the Top Artist on SoundCloud’s Playback 2021 end of year review.
The annual SoundCloud Playback year-in-review spotlights SoundCloud’s highest achieving artists, tracks, debuts and ‘artist-to-fan moments’.
According to SoundCloud, the Playback is powered by fans and communities, and serves as an initiative to drive “what’s next in music culture” and “is rooted in music discovery from emerging and established creators”.
A Billboard 200 topping rapper, YoungBoy Never Broke Again took the Top Artist spot after generating the most fan engagement on SoundCloud in 2021, says the company.
Meanwhile, late rapper Pop Smoke was named SoundCloud’s Top Artist of 2020, with his music streamed over 191.5 million times in the year.
In September, YoungBoy Never Broke Again entered into a global joint venture with Motown Records, a deal which combines Motown’s “global leadership” with the “artistic and creative vision” of YoungBoy and Never Broke Again, LLC, Motown said at the time.
Polo G’s Rapstar took three top Playback spots, including the ‘Longest Run’ for most consecutive weeks on SoundCloud’s charts, Hit of the Year with the most plays by fans, and ‘Hardest Hit’ with the most engagements of a single in its first 24 hours.
SoFaygo also won the Top Independent Artist award, one of six new categories this year.
A.G. Cook’s Dream Logic mix, featuring tracks from Charli XCX, oklou, and Jónsi, was released as an exclusive to ‘SoundCloud’s Scene’s’ profile series, and was presented with the DJ Mix of the year accolade.
From December 2, SoundCloud users will have the opportunity to share their personalized Your 2021 Playback, which includes most-played tracks of the year.
The full list of winners can be found at 2021playback.soundcloud.com.Music Business Worldwide