SoundCloud launched in 2007 as a way for musicians to share and promote their work online. It quickly became popular with independent and emerging artists, allowing them to upload tracks and connect directly with listeners. By 2023, SoundCloud had over 300 million tracks available and 76 million active monthly users. If you want to grow on SoundCloud, you should buy SoundCloud plays and take notes from some of the most streamed artists on the app.
While SoundCloud doesn’t publicly rank its most-streamed artists of all time, we can look at some of the biggest success stories from the platform. Many now-famous musicians started by building a following on SoundCloud before breaking into the mainstream. Here are ten artists who found significant success and likely rank among the most streamed on SoundCloud.
BTS
In recent years, K-pop has taken the world by storm. This music from South Korea is reminiscent of many pop groups in the USA in the 80s and 90s. One of the biggest names in K-pop is BTS or Bangtan Boys. While other artists have more followers, their tracks have hundreds of millions of streams. K-pop fans are known for their passion and loyalty, which shows how many streams they have. BTS is on hiatus until 2025 due to mandatory military service, with fans eagerly awaiting their return. Currently, the BTS track “Promise” is the most streamed track on SoundCloud.
XXXTENTACION
In the 2010s, SoundCloud rap became popular, with XXXTENTACION being one of the most popular. This rap genre is known for its themes of isolation and blends rap with emo lyrics, which are found in many songs from the 2010s.
XXXTentacion was the voice for many Gen-Z teenagers and young adults during his time. He was also in many controversies, which added to his mythos. Unfortunately, XXXTENTACION was murdered in 2018 at just 20 years old. However, his death further cemented him as an all-time SoundCloud legend, with his songs still getting hundreds of millions of plays today.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
YoungBoy Never Broke Again, or NBA YoungBoy, is a rapper who evokes the gangsta rap and southern hip-hop of the 2000s, with Lil’ Wayne being one of his inspirations. Like XXXTENTACION, he has gotten into many controversies, making him one of the bad boys of hip-hop. Another reason he is popular is that he produces a high work output. Sometimes, creating content is the way to go if you want to grow on the platform.
Juice WRLD
Juice WRLD was among the biggest names in SoundCloud’s 2010s emo rap boom. One of his most famous songs, “Lucid Dreams,” was about a breakup he experienced. Like XXXTENTACION, his life was cut short when, in 2019, he died from a drug overdose at the young age of 21. With a four-year career, he was one of the most streamed artists on SoundCloud, with hundreds of millions of plays.
Post Malone
Post Malone is one of the biggest names in rap, and his fame is not just reserved for SoundCloud. His rap blends many sounds, including country, which is one reason why he is such a popular artist. In the 2010s, country rap rose in popularity, mixing two genres that were believed to be contentious in the past. His tracks have hundreds of millions of plays on SoundCloud and on many other platforms.
Ozuna
Ozuna is one of the most popular SoundCloud artists in the Latin hip-hop genre. Although his songs are in Spanish, he has an audience of plenty of English speakers who want something a little different. He’s still making tracks, with many reaching the current most-played charts.
$uicideboy$
This rap duo was one of the early pioneers of SoundCloud rap and still gets millions of streams. One reason they became popular was their self-produced beats and lyrics. As you may have deduced from their name, their lyrics were highly emotional and spoke to a generation. They are still around and producing songs that get millions of streams, so give them a listen.
Major Lazer
Major Lazer is an EDM trio from Jamaica. Their music blends reggae and other popular genres in that region. They’re popular because they make music you can easily dance to in the club or yourself.
Lil Baby
Lil Baby is a hip-hop and trap artist whose music has hundreds of millions of streams on SoundCloud. It’s not just SoundCloud, though. His 2020 album, My Turn, went quadruple platinum when it was released. If you love some good hip-hop, you may want to give him a listen.
Migos
Migos was a popular hip-hop group that took SoundCloud and the rest of the Internet by storm during the 2010s. Unfortunately, like many SoundCloud artists, their career was cut short in 2022 when member Takeoff was fatally shot at just 28 years old. Despite his short life, he and the rest of the group have cemented a fantastic legacy for themselves.
What Can You Learn?
SoundCloud is generally a platform where rappers, hip-hop, trap, and EDM artists rule. If this is your genre, you may thrive on SoundCloud. It’s important to know that SoundCloud reached its cultural peak in the 2010s, with the 2020s being more uncertain for the platform. Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and other platforms designed for music streaming have taken over.
That said, SoundCloud is still around and is a powerhouse, especially for underground rappers. You can become the next prominent artist if you make genre-defining music. This means that you should strive to be the next XXXTENTACION, but instead create a new twist on rap that will speak to younger Gen-Z and the emerging Gen-Alpha. That’s why it’s essential to research your audience and find what music speaks the most to them.
Besides the content of your music, you also need to have promotional skills, a little luck on your side, and to be as consistent as possible. Also, have good equipment that will bring your music vision to life. With that said, we hope this article helps you. Good luck with SoundCloud and on your musical journey in general.
