The time has come for us as a country to stop looking across the seven seas when it comes to music. We're covered.
This piece is not to compare our artists to that of America or any other country or continent. This is just to illustrate the similarities between what they're doing over there and what we're doing over here, except that we're just doing it a whole lot better.
You like J. Cole? You ever hear of Shane Eagle? I'm pretty sure that you'd enjoy the latter's album, Yellow, more. That's not a joke, stop laughing. Yellow is THE album of 2017 regardless of what drops in December.
You love the underground sound that impacts the culture commercially like that of Kendrick Lamar? Well then why not trade him in and listen to YoungstaCPT. He's work ethic is uncontested and he has new music out at what feels like a daily basis.
The artists aren't the only ones. The producers are no longer just riding a wave originated in America. They too have crafted their own path. You have dudes like Zoocci Coke Dope, Wichi1080 & my personal favorite SilasBeats. These dudes and many others can't be touched behind the boards.
I have more local music on my phone now than international. I don't even source out international albums anymore. I just spend my money and data on local albums/EP's & mixtapes. Dudes like A-Reece and Flame deserve so much acclaim for their respective sophomore and debut offerings.
I just used a few examples and for the sake of keeping this post short: stop spending money and data on international artists. The artists in this country have become the new measuring stick.