Written by Zenn

2011 has quickly come to a close. Just like that the year came and went. Within one year many events occurred for better or for worse. In music, we saw a transition from Hip-Hop to Pop to Dubstep all in one brief moment. Many artists showed their virtue through their music that eventually became a huge success over a short period of time.

In Miami, 10 artists definitely made their presence felt through the release of their music and the amount of times they even reached the headlines, whether it was Hip-Hop or R&B or Pop, they made their point. 24hourhiphop.com has gathered our top 10 Miami artists that have made an impact within the industry and across the nation. Starting from 10 and working our way to number 1, here are the artists.

Top 10

10. Brianna – Ms. Brianna commences this list as the one behind the hit single ‘Marilyn Monroe.’ If you were in the clubs and this song would pop on, watch the ladies go nuts as this was definitely an official anthem for them. With her lyrical skill, image, and talented delivery, the young rich bandit was able to secure a deal with Atlantic Records like her labelmate Flo Rida before her. As of this past Friday, Brianna has recently become apart of the BET family as she hosted Friday’s 106 & Park. Now with the recent release of her latest mixtape ‘Face Off,’ this young Miami femcee is about to take the industry by storm.

9. Brisco – The Opa Locka Goon himself. This artist has been known for his street and club hits. 2011 came quite well for the veteran rapper as he held down the first quarter with the release of ‘On the Wall’ featuring his labelmate and the CEO of Young Money, Lil Wayne. That single continued to receive radio spins becoming an instant hit. Of course Brisco didn’t just stop there, months later he hits the streets again with the highly anticipated ‘21 Jump Street’ mixtape that quickly became a fan favorite in just a short period of time, it is obvious that numbers don’t lie. And through all the courtroom drama, Brisco still kept his main focus on the music. Be on the lookout for his highly anticipated debut album ‘Street Medicine; hitting stores in 2012.

8. Sean Kingston – The Jamaican pop king has already been known for his hits, you got to admit, everything he releases becomes a certified hit literally overnight. Now with J.R. Rotem’s production backing him, that’s an automatic. After recovering from his jetski accident that occurred earlier in May, there was no doubt he was eager to get back into the studio. Even before then, Kingston managed to release three mixtapes all in 2011. As of now, he is working towards the completion of his third studio album with proper and fitting title ‘Back 2 Life’ sometime in 2012.

7. Jason Derulo – Miami’s R&B sensation Jason Derulo has definitely made his mark upon the international music scene. Even before hitting the airwaves in early 2009, Derulo was already writing songs for such artists as Diddy, Sean Kingston, and Cassie. Now his second album entitled ‘Future History,’ was released not too long ago, Derulo is already on his way to headlining his second tour. His lead single, ‘Don’t Wanna Go Home’ landed the number 1 spot in the UK and in the top 5 in Australia.

6. Trina – ‘Da Baddest Bitch’ or ‘The Diamond Princess,’ no matter which moniker you know her as, she is still the baddest in the south. She is a veteran femcee with 5 studio albums under her belt and several mixtapes as well. Trina has also been nominated 7 times for the Best Female Hip-Hop Artist for the BET Awards. In 2011, there was some argument that she should have been nominated for this year, but wasn’t. Many other artists male and female expressed their disagreement via twitter. XXL Magazine even dubbed her the ‘Most Consistent Female Rapper of All Time,’ talk about an amazing title. She was also recently honored with the ‘International Friend Of Reggae Honoree’ during the EME Awards. Her recent mixtape ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ was also a huge fan favorite garnering 4.8 million views and downloads in two days. Her ‘Long Heels Red Bottoms’ joint has also become a major radio success. As of November 2011, she announced that she was no longer signed with Slip N Slide.

5. Ace Hood – Hustle Hard was one of the hottest tracks and probably the most remixed song of 2011, including his own official remix featuring that of DJ Khaled, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne. Ace came hard with the Lex Luger beat on that joint. He killed radio rotation leading up to the release of his latest album ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears.’ That song alone peaked at #60 on the Billboard 100. Even though the album sales weren’t as high as they anticipated, he hit them again twice with back to back singles, another Lex Luger produced track ‘Go N’ Get It and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League produced track ‘Body 2 Body’ which also featured the soulful sounds of Chris Brown. The official remix to that track featured DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, and Wale. At the 2011 BET Awards, he was given the opportunity to perform the ‘Hustle Hard (Remix)’ alongside Ross, Khaled, and Wayne, he was also included in ‘The Cypher’ with Kevin McCall, Tyga, and Chris Brown. With another studio album, making this his fourth, already in the works for the young emcee, 2012 already looks promising for Mr. Hood.

4. DJ Khaled – Khaled continues to dominate the Hip-Hop music scene no matter if it’s his own track or on a feature, you got to admit he has always been on point. Every year he hits us with a number one chart topper. Last year he released ‘All I Do is Win,’ this year it was ‘I’m On One’ featuring the hottest artists in the game today, Drake, Ross, and Wayne. That track became an instant hit as soon as it was released. The song has so far peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest peaking song and first top-ten hit in the United States for both DJ Khaled and Rick Ross. It also topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart for 11 weeks. As of December, the song has sold 3 million copies making it DJ Khaled ‘s most sold song. It has also been nominated for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration award for the 2012 Grammy’s. XXL has already named this song the second best song of 2011. Khaled’s recent album ‘We the Best Forever’ has sold over 144,000 units and it even hit number 5 on the Billboard 200, making this his highest charting album ever.

3. Pitbull – What hasn’t Pitbull done that has paved his path to success? The veteran rapper dubbed, now, Mr. Worldwide went through an interesting transition from straight Hip-Hop to a fusion of Pop and Dubstep. His latest album, which already is his sixth release, had an eclectic collection of beats from different producers ranging from David Guetta to RedOne to even Jim Jonsin. ‘Planet Pit’ debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 55,000 copies, becoming Pitbull’s highest-charting album in the United States. As of December, ‘Planet Pit’ has already sold 286,000 copies in the US. Pit’s second single off of the album, ‘Give Me Everything’ featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Nayer, made a huge impact on the charts and radio play, it has officially peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and in the UK, and at number two in Australia.

2. Flo Rida – There really is ‘Only One Flo,’ I mean this artist continues to outdo himself every single time. Even before the release of his own hit single ‘Good Feeling,’ you could hear Flo on David Guetta’s track ‘Where Dem Girls At,’ which also featured Nicki Minaj. That track alone debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling over 160,000 digital downloads in less than one week. Months later Flo hit em’ again with the release of ‘Good Feeling,’ which you already know is a certified hit single across the globe, it was used in the 2011 Express Holiday Collection commercial and served as the official theme song for the WWE Survivor Series 2011. It has officially peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, this track has become his sixth top ten and fourth top five single on the charts. ‘Good Feeling’ has become a top ten hit in fifteen countries. Aside from the music, let’s not forget that he has officially launched his own music label he titled ‘IMG/StrongArm.’ ‘Only One Rida (Part 2)’ will be in stores early 2012.

1. Rick Ross – 2011 was definitely the year of the Boss, I mean let’s be real, Ross has been featured in literally over a dozen high-profile collaborations and not to mention everyone else’s remixes. As a CEO, his own label officially inked a deal with Warner Bros. Music Group then quickly released their first compilation ‘Self Made Vol.1.’ The first artist to have already released an album off of the label is that of Wale. However, even before the close of the year, Ross continued to release music, his first two singles to his next album entitled ‘I Love My Bitches’ and ‘You the Boss,’ which also featured the vocal talents of Nicki Minaj, was released simultaneously. Ross’ latest upcoming album ‘God Forgives, I Don’t’ is in serious high anticipation. Even though he wasn’t the winner, he was also nominated for ‘Best Male Hip-Hop Artist’ for 2011 alongside nominees that included B.o.B., Drake, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. In early 2011, Rick Ross confirmed that he intends to expand his label and launch Maybach Music Jamaica along with Maybach Music Latino. His latest single ‘You the Boss’ debuted on the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 8. ‘God Forgives, I Don’t’ has been set to be released early 2012.

Let’s wait and see how all these artists do in 2012!!!

Happy New Year from all of us at 24HourHipHop.com!!

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