Three different corners of the map, three different sounds. This week's edition goes to Memphis for a hometown collaboration years in the making, to Richmond for one of the underground's most restless young voices, and to Florida for a drawl-heavy wildcard turning guest verses into a lane of his own.
K Carbon — Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis has never had a problem producing women who can rap circles around the room, and K Carbon is the latest name moving from the city's inner circle to its front line. On Thursday, October 15, she released "5 Star," a new single featuring GloRilla, according to HotNewHipHop. The record runs two minutes and thirty-three seconds, built on hard-hitting 808s and a minimal synth line, per HitzTV's coverage of the release.
This is not a cold collaboration. Hip-HopVibe reported ahead of the release that the two Memphis natives have been friends and musical collaborators for years, including Carbon's appearance on GloRilla's debut album, Glorious. "5 Star" arrives with an official video directed by BCP Brandon, per WhatsSleepTV, and it caps a busy 2026 release run for Carbon that Hip-HopVibe lists as including "Know Wassup," "Cocaine Crazy," "What They Like," "PULL UP," "Stay Strapped," "Shake Sum" and "Regular Day." A co-sign from the biggest name in your city only matters if you can carry your half of the record. Carbon leads this one.
Listen: "5 Star" on Spotify.
Nettspend — Richmond, Virginia
Richmond's Nettspend, born Gunner Shepardson, is 19 years old and already one of the most recognizable voices in rap's internet underground, per BroadwayWorld. On September 4, he and Atlanta's Che released "KickAss (Pull Up Pls)," the first official record to feature both artists rapping together, according to The Kitchen's report on the single. Che produced the track himself, and Stereogum covered the release the same week. SongData lists the record at 140 BPM and two minutes and thirty-four seconds, a tempo and a runtime a working DJ can do something with.
Two weeks earlier, on August 21, Nettspend released "sober," a more vulnerable single that HotNewHipHop and That Eric Alper both covered on release. That Eric Alper reported that his March album, early life crisis, reached No. 2 on both Spotify's Global and U.S. Top Albums charts and generated more than 7 million streams within its first 24 hours. A collaborative project with OsamaSon, NXO, is listed as scheduled for October 2026 in his published discography. The range is the story here: chaos on one single, reflection on the next, and an audience that follows him in both directions.
Listen: "KickAss (Pull Up Pls)" on Spotify.
1900Rugrat — Florida
Florida's 1900Rugrat broke out with his 2024 track "One Take Freestyle" and signed with 300 Entertainment for his debut album-length project, 2025's Porch 2 The Pent, according to his iHeart artist biography. This fall, he is converting that viral start into placements. His September single "What's Ya Name" landed on iHeartRadio's Rap Rising playlist in the week of September 18, per iHeart's Rap Rising report.
On October 9, That Mexican OT released "Boogie Man" featuring 1900Rugrat, a single from OT's upcoming album, Cucuy, according to The Hype Magazine's October 12 report. 8403 Media also covered the release. The record pairs Rugrat's breakneck flow with low-note pianos and horror-movie horns, a Halloween-season setup with a Florida drawl cutting straight through a Texas record. That is how a regional name becomes a national one: one verse, in front of somebody else's audience, impossible to miss.
Listen: "What's Ya Name" on Spotify.
Filed under Ones to Watch, MixShow Prime's weekly breakout briefing.
