RIN

RIN, born Renato Simunovic, dropped his third album, Kleinstadt, in October 2021, with the mission statement that you don’t need to be in a big city to make a big impact (Kleinstadt translates as “small town”). And he leads by example: From his home in Bietigheim-Bissingen outside Stuttgart, RIN is on a mission to blow apart German rap’s horizons, layering R&B, grunge, house and even indie rock onto his cloud-rap and trap foundations. “I wanted to ask myself, ‘Can I do something else?’” he told Apple Music of the album. “It was not about making my next big move or creating the next streaming hit—I simply wanted to create something with substance.” In 2021, he won the Apple Music Award for Artist of the Year — Germany.