If you like Kanye West, try these 6 artists

When Kanye West put out The College Dropout in 2004, the sound that stuck was soul records sped up until the singers sounded like they were smiling through a lump in the throat. Kanye did not invent sampling soul, and he was not the only one doing it well. The same warm, dusty, chopped-up feeling runs through a whole shelf of records that most Kanye fans never reach.

Here are six artists for that shelf, past the names Spotify already shows you. Four are older records worth digging for, and two are from India, because the sound travelled. You can also see all the artists like Kanye West.

1. Little Brother

A North Carolina trio: rappers Phonte and Big Pooh, with producer 9th Wonder behind the boards. Their 2003 debut The Listening and 2005 follow-up The Minstrel Show are built on soulful loops and conversational raps about ordinary life, which is the closest thing to The College Dropout mood outside Kanye's own catalogue. Start with "Lovin' It", from The Minstrel Show.

2. Black Milk

Detroit's Black Milk raps and produces, and he is a drummer's producer: the beats hit harder and looser than most sample-based rap. On "Losing Out", from his 2008 album Tronic, Royce Da 5'9" guests. If you came for the beat on a Kanye track and stayed for the drums, this is your door.

3. Blu & Exile

Rapper Blu and producer Exile made Below the Heavens in Los Angeles in 2007, a record that leans on golden-era hip-hop and old soul for its loops, with Exile's beats giving Blu room to talk. It is gentle, hopeful and a little sad, a good fit for the part of you that still plays "Family Business". Start with "Dancing in the Rain".

4. Rhymefest

Chicago's Rhymefest is the Kanye connection hiding in plain sight: he co-wrote "Jesus Walks", and Kanye appears on "Brand New" from Rhymefest's 2006 album Blue Collar. Same city, same era, same talky, funny, self-deprecating style. It is the record to play when you want the Chicago version of the story.

5. Yungsta

Now to New Delhi. Yungsta's 2023 album MEEN has 11 songs, produced largely by Sez on the Beat, and it chops Indian sounds the way Kanye once chopped Motown and Chicago soul: "Sansani" is built around a tabla sample. If the sample-flip is what you love, this is the closest Indian version we know.

6. Lojal

Lojal is Martin J. Haokip, born in Manipur and based in Bengaluru. His debut Phase (2020) is eight tracks and about 26 minutes of soul, R&B and hip-hop, released on the Pune label Maaya Sound, with guests Hanumankind and Banrap Lyngdoh. It is short, warm and easy to put on repeat, and you can hear it on Bandcamp.

Where to go next

Start with Little Brother if you want the closest sound, Black Milk if you want the drums, Yungsta if you want it in a language you grew up with. Tell us who we missed.