1. Ground Up

Natives of Philadelphia, this hip hop trio contains producer Bij Lincs, and the two MC’s, AZAR & MALAKAI. Ground Up’s six mixtapes/albums are filled with head-bobbin’ beats mixed with clever lyrics that are perfect for those late night cruises in the summer. Having traveled to a variety of universities acros the eastern side of the nation, Ground Up has even stopped at Penn State a few times to perform, including last semester. You can download their most recent effort Girls Who Smoke Cigarettes and other releases here

Twitter: @TheRealGroundUp

2. Tyler, The Creator

Fountainhead and leader of the relentlessly-growing-in-popularity L.A. rap crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, 19-year-old Tyler, The Creator has garnered a considerable amount of attention in this past month. In the second week of February, the horror-core rapper signed a one-album deal with British-based XL Recordings, home of artists such as Radiohead and Vampire Weekend. A little over a week later, Kanye West tweeted that Tyler, The Creator’s music video for his first single “Yonkers,” off his upcoming album Goblins, is the “video of 2011.” Whether Yeezy is actually right about this year’s video of the year, one thing is for sure: this kid, along with the rest of OFWGKTA, is quickly making his way to the top of the game.

Twitter: @fucktyler

3. Chip Tha Ripper

Chip Tha Ripper switched into blunt cruisin’ control with his new single, “Light One Up.” The Cleveland native jumped onto the scene with fellow hometown rapper Kid Cudi, and the two have had a consistent feature-for-feature relationship ever since. The man on the moon even gave Chip a Twitter nod for his newest work. The new single is hot off of the recently released, rap-stew mix-tape, “Gift Raps,” which was produced by Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids. I’m predicting Chip to take the stoner jam of the month. But if the purple kush isn’t your forte, the video is enough of a trip to attempt jamming out sober. Light one up and download “Gift Raps” here for free.

Twitter: @chip216

4. Greg Falatek

Who told this guy he can rap? Just because you got down Twinkle Twinkle doesn’t mean you deserve to be blazing with a cluster of hot girls. And the line, “but we still drinkin’ vladdy…”? That’s too East Halls for my liking. But if you’re dead set on a college jam, rep the blue and white alma-mater with “Get By.” You may even find him freestyling outside of East View Terrace. What’s more G than overpriced singles? On the bright side, if the rest of the video contained more of the material like the last ten seconds, no one would give a shit about what Falatek is saying. If ya dig this, go download the rest of his mixtape, Higher Education, here.

Twitter: @falatek610