Its a Monday night in mid-June, and Im sitting on a couch in a studio at The Cutting Room, a New York studio where Cardi B, Future, DJ Khaled, and other stars have recorded. But today, Im here to see rising Atlanta rapper Ken Carson. Hes only 19 years old, but hes already emerged as one of the leaders of a new generation of “underground” rappers, alongside artists like SoFaygo, SSGKobe, Yeat, and more. The movement took shape in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown, when a new wave of young artists put their own spin on the high-energy, moshpit-friendly sound that was first popularized by SoundCloud-era stars like Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, and XXXTentacion in the mid-2010s. Carsons songs like “Yale” and “Hella” capture the same rebellious spirit of some “underground” peers, but hes cautious about using that word to describe himself these days. After playing in front of massive crowds on tour with Playboi Carti, he says hes grown past that. “I definitely dont think [Im underground],” he tells me. “The underground thing, that word itself, I feel it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I dont feel Im underground because I can actually pull out shows. Its different when youre underground. I feel like I was underground [but Im not anymore].” Instead, Carson simply describes his sound as feel-good music, explaining, “If youre down, its going to make you feel good.” He says his new album, X, which is dropping on July 8, will continue to bring his therapeutic sound to the forefront. In preparation for the new album, Carson dropped his single “The End” on July 5. The track, which the rapper describes as “super mellow,” immediately started trending on YouTube. Click to continue reading