Opium was founded in 2019 by Playboi Carti, including artists Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, and Homixide Gang, with seven studio albums and two mixtapes. Opium has taken over the rap underground scene since its creation. Its first official studio album, "Whole lotta Red," by Playboi Carti, charted #1 in the U.S. and effectively changed the trap underground scene, influencing big artists such as Yeat and many up-and-coming underground artists at the time like Ken Carson, Summrs, and Autumn. Not to diminish Carti's influence, but everybody knows about Carti. His two most popular artists, Ken and Lone, are who I see changing Rap in the future.

Ken Carson signed with Opium in 2019. Ken Carson is a genre-pushing artist, paving his own wave in the underground. Yes, he was signed before his mainstream push, but it wasn't because of the label. Ken had little help with Playboi Carti's unique style of releasing his artists' music, which is by not doing it at all. Ken found success with his single "Yale" and continued to build up his audience with his first album, "Project X," featuring a more Hyperpop-esque party sound. Ken redefines both genres of Rap and Hyperpop. He experienced more growth with his album "X." Ken did not release new music for a year, except for a deluxe version of "X" and music on his archive. Ken then made a huge splash in the underground, pushing him to some mainstream success. Debuting at number 11 on the US Billboard charts, "A Great Chaos" showcased a completely new sound. Ken showcased a darker and deeper sound with this album, as his previous albums had him using a higher tone. "A Great Chaos" showcases his deeper voice.

Destroy Lonely signed with Opium in late 2021. Lone had initial success with his single "Bane," making waves on the popular social media app TikTok. But this isn't his start. Lone has been making music since before 2018 with a high school friend, Nezzus. Lone and Nezzus would make a whole album together after agreeing to stay up all night on Adderall. It still has a few songs released, with some of the songs being lost media now. Similar to a lot of Ken's early music being lost because of his ex-girlfriend deleting his Soundcloud, Lone would have a decent amount of projects before his larger exposure, which consists of Lone perfecting and crafting his final sound. After signing to Opium, Lone would release his long-awaited album "NO STYLIST." Lone would release a deluxe version of "NO STYLIST" named after his cat, "ULTRA." Lone then released his tape "If Looks Could Kill" with a short film with the title "Look's Killa". Lone tends to post on the old-school social media site "Tumblr," with most of his posts being pictures of his cat, Ultra. Lone has brought a different sound to Opium. While Ken raps with energy, Lone takes a different approach, being more relaxed and slow.

Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely's production style is a breath of fresh air in mainstream music production, with a new dark and gritty sound. Ken's rage and party sound and Lone's dark and isolated style could completely change the way mainstream music is produced. This new sound is extremely versatile and does not solely belong to Opium, even though it is currently headlined by them. Some mainstream artists have already incorporated this style into their work. For example, Kanye West's new project "Vultures" shows obvious Opium influence. In this upcoming decade of music, we predict that fans will notice a change in how albums are made, especially the way artists go about their roll-outs. We are extremely excited to see how artists develop this sound and make it their own.

• Who’s Next - Ken Carson

• JETLGGD - Destroy lonely

• redlight - Destroy lonely

• Me N My Kup - Ken Carson

• Vampire Hour - Ken Carson

• Miley Cyrus - Destroy Lonely

• Succubus - Ken Carson

• new new - Destroy Lonely

• Singapore - Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely

• NOSTYLIST - Destroy Lonely