My list of musical artists who have inspired me is a bit unconventional. I don’t necessarily look at “All Time Greats” (especially in rap) because many don’t do anything inspirational musically (in my opinion).
Here are my top inspirational artists (in no particular order).
Drake
The 6 God himself, Drake. Firstly, his rapping and singing are one of the most inspiring aspects for me. The way Drake interchanges both between hooks and verses (and sometimes in between). The other reason is his mixing of head and chest voices whilst singing. Not too out of reach like The Weeknd, but not so monotone. Drake’s type of singing is not hard to replicate. It gives the illusion that you’re doing a lot when you’re not doing too much.
Another thing (at least for me) is his rapping in an almost melodic way, but not in a singing way. The way he elongates his words whilst rapping almost sounds like singing, making it more catchy to the human ear. His most recent stuff is not the best, but he still does these things that make him who he is now to me.
The Weeknd
The Weeknd’s inspiration for me comes more from the engineering/mixing element of his vocals. The ambient nature in his vocals is almost trance-like. I have a few vocal presets based on The Weeknd’s, and I can’t wait for you to hear them!
Tyga
Tyga!?
Yes, Tyga. The two things that stand out to me about him are his airy and doubled vocals. It gives a full and spaced effect like it’s around you. The other thing is his exhalation adlib. I love it so much because it adds another layer to the beat, which I’ve done a couple of times, such as in my song “Know Better.” I think he’s underrated, not lyrically, but in terms of how many bangers this guy has.
Post Malone
Post Malone is one of my favourite artists. There’s so much to love about him musically. The mix of his vocals has the ambient nature of The Weeknd. The vibrato in his voice, which he described as this thing with his throat. Also, the harmonies he uses in his vocals, especially the backing vocals, make the song more full. It almost makes it sound like a vocal sample within the beat, not to mention his beat selection is top-tier (mostly).
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande has the same reason as Post Malone, the harmonies she puts together in her vocals and the background is astonishing. Her Thank U, Next album is one of my favourite albums ever, and what made me like her as an artist, especially seeing her recording the project and how she layers her vocals to make them sound the way it does. You can tell she’s a true artist.
Doja Cat
Doja has the same reasons as Drake with the interchanging between the rapping and singing. But also her rise from her song “Mooo!” The star she is now is astonishing and inspiring because who would have guessed it? And she did it keeping true to her weird self lol.