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Enigmatic masked DJ/producer Marshmello makes groove-oriented, synth- and bass-heavy electronic dance music that regularly achieves mainstream crossover success. In the spirit of similarly cloaked dance figures like Deadmau5 and Daft Punk, Marshmello performs wearing a full head covering, in his case a marshmallow mask. Despite his early anonymity, Marshmello's career blew up in 2015 when he began releasing tracks online. From there came shows at New York's Pier 94, Pomona, California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, and Miami Music Week. He also scored a number five Billboard electronic/dance album with his full-length debut, Joytime, before landing two consecutive number one dance albums, Joytime II and Joytime III. Collaborative hits followed with artists including Selena Gomez ("Wolves"), Khalid ("Silence"), and Bastille (the platinum hit "Happier"). Marshmello again hit a solo peak in 2019 with his revolutionary in-game concert Fortnite Extended Set, and returned to the Top Ten of the dance charts with 2021's Shockwave. In 2023, he collaborated with Brazil's Tropkillaz on Mellokillaz and again topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart with his first Latin crossover set, Sugar Papi. His 2024 Kane Brown collaboration, "Miles on It," also topped the dance charts and was followed by The Roots EP and his 2025 Space Laces collaboration "Rave Repeater."

Marshmello's career began in 2015 when he posted his music on SoundCloud, including remixes of Zedd's "Beautiful Now," Jack Ü's "Where Are U Now," and others. Soon he was drawing fans and gaining vocal support from peers like Skrillex, who reposted Marshmello's track "Find Me." High-profile live DJ appearances followed, with shows at Ultra Music Festival and California's HARD Day of the Dead festival, among others. In 2016, Marshmello released a compilation of his previously released tracks, Joytime, which reached number five on the Billboard electronic/dance albums chart and number one on a digital top electronic albums chart. Included on the album was the single "Keep It Mello" featuring rapper Omar LinX.

Also in 2016, after a set at Electric Daisy Carnival, Dutch DJ Tiësto jokingly emerged from under Marshmello's mask, fallaciously proclaiming he was the mysterious DJ. The real Marshmello continued to perform and release singles throughout the year, later starting his own Joytime Collective record label. More collaborations followed in 2017, including "Silence" with Khalid and "Wolves" featuring Selena Gomez. Both tracks became Top 30 hits and were certified platinum around the world.

In 2018, Marshmello added another hit collaboration to his roster, pairing with British vocalist Anne-Marie for their multi-platinum hit single "Friends." After delivering his second full-length album, Joytime II, he released the non-album single "Happier," which featured Bastille's Dan Smith on vocals. The song quickly became a high-charting track, rising into the Top Three in the U.S., U.K., and Australasia. As the popularity of "Happier" continued to rise, Marshmello scored a charting effort with the revolutionary Fortnite Extended Set, a 30-minute mix taken from his 2019 in-game concert that attracted millions of video gamers. By the time summer rolled around, "Happier" had topped the Billboard electronic chart and peaked at number two on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, a collaboration with Chvrches, "Here with Me," began its steady rise up the charts, giving the indie outfit their highest-charting single to date. Marshmello also added additional cross-genre collaborations to his singles list, including "Light It Up" with Tyga and Chris Brown, "One Thing Right" with country singer Kane Brown, and "Rescue Me" with pop-punkers A Day to Remember. The latter track appeared on Joytime III, which arrived in July 2019 and featured guests Slushii, Flux Pavilion, Elohim, and Wiwek. It hit number 50 on the Billboard 200 and topped the dance chart.

In February 2020, Marshmello joined Svdden Death for the track "Crusade," and later Halsey for the ebullient "Be Kind." The following year saw Marshmello deliver collaborations with Aussie singer/songwriter Vance Joy ("You"), Kentucky rapper 2KBABY ("Like This"), and Iranian singer/producer Arash ("Lavandia"). The DJ's fourth full-length, Shockwave, arrived in June 2021 and featured appearances by Juicy J, Megan Thee Stallion, Subtronics, and more. It hit number three on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and earned Marshmello his first Grammy Award nomination. A handful of non-album tracks kept the DJ busy in 2022, including "Numb" with Khalid, "Sah Sah" with Nancy Ajram, and the punk-influenced "American Psycho" with Mae Muller (and featuring Trippie Redd). "Bye Bye," a 2019 collaboration with the late Juice Wrld, appeared in 2022, followed in 2023 by the Jamie Brown-assisted "Party Jumpin'." Other 2023 singles included collaborations with Polo G, Farruko, and Brent Faiyaz; he additionally released Mellokillaz with Tropkillaz. That same year, Marshmello also teamed with Sony Latin and a full roster of guests who included Farruko, Anuel AA, Nicky Jam, and more on the Latin dance crossover album Sugar Papi, which topped the Electronic Albums chart.

"Miles on It," the DJ's second collaboration with country singer Kane Brown, arrived in March 2024, topping the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and reaching number 29 on the Mainstream Top 40. That November, Marshmello was back with the EP The Roots, which featured guest spots from Pluko, Hamdi, and Lil Jon, among others. In December 2025, the DJ joined forces with dubstep producer Space Laces for the single "Rave Reapeter." ~ Matt Collar

Atlanta rapper/producer Southside is responsible for some of the most high-impact rap instrumentals of the 2010s and beyond, helping to shape the sound of mainstream trap with his work on hits for Future, Young Thug, Gucci Mane, Drake, and many others. In addition to artistic collaborations such as the 2018 album Swervo, a joint effort with G Herbo, Southside also performs under the moniker Young Sizzle, releasing various mixtapes including the Free Agent series. His output going into the 2020s includes work with Doe Boy and Travis Scott, as well as album-length solo projects like 2024's Break the Silence.

Born Joshua Howard Luellen, he grew up, as his name suggests, in South Atlanta, focusing on sports before he started beatmaking at the age of 14, inspired by Lil Jon, Pharrell Williams, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Kanye West, and Swizz Beatz. He forged an early alliance with Waka Flocka Flame, joining fellow producer Lex Luger on a trio of tracks from the rapper's 2010 debut, Flockaveli. That same year, Luellen and Luger joined to form the production/songwriting team 808 Mafia.

As Luellen's reputation grew in the Atlanta area, he started working with Gucci Mane, who would become another frequent client. With the Southside brand in demand, the rising producer went on to work with Kanye West, Jay-Z, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Wale, Machine Gun Kelly, Pusha T, Young Thug, Drake, and many more. In 2018, Southside produced the entirety of Chicago MC G Herbo's sophomore effort, Swervo, which debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200. In October 2020, the Blood on the Hills mixtape was released, showcasing new collaborative work from Southside and his 808 Mafia peers and Pyrex. Less than a month later, Southside teamed with Doe Boy for the sinister trap beats of the Demons R Us mixtape.

More production work for other artists ensued, including work on Travis Scott and Future's 2022 track "Hold That Heat," which debuted at the number 57 slot on the Billboard charts. From there, Southside produced tracks with Lil Durk, Polo G, Marshmello, Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, and more, reaching millions of listeners every time. In August 2024 he released the solo mixtape Break the Silence, made up of 16 new tracks with no featured artists. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

SAINt JHN specializes in slow jams that are lyrically lucid and sonically shadowy. The rapper/singer, songwriter, and producer was known behind the scenes for his work with the likes of Kiesza and Usher before he advanced with his first album, Collection One (2018). Ghetto Lenny's Love Songs (2019), his HITCO-supported second LP, capitalized on the Beyoncé collaboration "Brown Skin Girl" and cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. A club remix of his early track "Roses" became a global hit shortly thereafter. That track later appeared on his Top 40 hit album While the World Was Burning in 2020. It was followed by collaborations like "Just for Me" with SZA off Space Jam: A New Legacy and "Stadiums" with London on da Track.

Raised in his birthplace of Brooklyn and his mother's native Guyana, SAINt JHN started self-releasing material (under the name Carlos St. John) and co-writing for other artists (sometimes credited as Carlos Phillips) in the early 2010s. He established himself by working on songs by the likes of Hoodie Allen ("No Interruption"), Kiesza (three tracks off Sound of a Woman), Nico & Vinz ("Praying to a God"), Gorgon City ("Doubts"), and Usher ("Crash" and "Rivals," both of which he also co-produced). This sequence of advancements was catalyzed by industry veteran Zach Katz, who had heard an early song SAINt JHN granted to a fellow fledgling artist.

Emboldened by the progress, SAINt JHN started issuing solo material again in 2016. Among the tracks that caught on most were "Roses" and "Reflex." "3 Below" and "Some Nights" followed in 2017, the year he also co-wrote "Helicopters/Beware" for Jidenna and "Can't Wait" for dvsn. SAINt JHN's debut full-length, the independent release Collection One, arrived in 2018 and reached number 95 on the Billboard 200. A handful of intermediary singles, along with the co-writing of "Brown Skin Girl" for the Beyoncé-produced soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift, led to the 2019 arrival of Ghetto Lenny's Love Songs. Issued through L.A. Reid's HITCO label, the album featured Meek Mill, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and Lil Baby, and entered the Billboard 200 at number 39. Also in 2019, producer Imanbek's remix of "Roses," which transformed a trap-styled ballad into an uptempo club track (with SAINt JHN's vocal pitched up), topped the pop charts in the U.K. and Australia and went Top Ten in several other territories.

Marshmello then sought SAINt JHN, as well as Giggs and Southside, for the 2020 single "Been Thru This Before." Along with the solo track "Gorgeous," he was featured on the collaborative hit "Tommy Lee" with Tyla Yaweh and Post Malone. At the end of the year, SAINt JHN released his third full-length effort, While the World Was Burning. Debuting within the U.S. Top 40, the set featured guests Lil Uzi Vert, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, DaBaby, Future, Kanye West, and many more. "Just for Me," a collaboration with SZA from the soundtrack to Space Jam: A New Legacy, arrived the following year. Further singles followed, including "The Best Part of Life," "For the Squadron," and 2022's "Stadiums" with London on da Track. ~ Andy Kellman