Written by: Kai Eldridge, Music Discovery Editor, OnesToWatch | Last updated: July 21, 2026
Why WHATMORE Stands Out in 2026
- WHATMORE earned a spot on OnesToWatch’s 2026 Top 30 Artists to Watch after a rigorous selection from roughly 300 reviewed artists, highlighting their exceptional 18-month trajectory.
- The five-piece New York collective built their audience through accessible, community-focused free shows before securing a sold-out headline debut at Baby’s All Right and early streaming success with “go!”
- WHATMORE’s hypnotic blend of jazz, hip-hop, and alternative sounds stems from all members being jazz and classically trained musicians, drawing comparisons to BROCKHAMPTON.
- The group has progressed from DIY pop-ups to major festival stages including Coachella 2026 and Governors Ball, with a world tour and sophomore album planned for 2027.
- Discover your next favorite artist and the stories behind their rise on OnesToWatch for exclusive in-depth content that reveals the future of music.
From LaGuardia High to a Breakout New York Collective
WHATMORE is a five-piece collective made up of Cisco Swank, Yoshi T., Jackson August, Sebastiano, and Elijah Judah. They first met as freshmen at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan, the same school that counts Timothée Chalamet and Al Pacino among its alumni. The group formally came together in 2024 when Cisco Swank invited the others to join a solo show at Baby’s All Right instead of performing alone.
Before any headline booking existed, the group built their audience through a series of free performances across New York City. Rather than traditional venues, they chose spots that felt like everyday neighborhood hangouts, including Hector’s Diner, Brooklyn Substance Skatepark, Sweetie’s K-Chicken, and Golden Shanghai. These diners, skateparks, and casual restaurants turned shows into community gatherings instead of industry showcases.
Elijah Judah summarized the intent behind those nights: “It’s important to bring people together, because that’s what we do this for. The shows were free, and a lot of times we even gave out free food. It was all about building a community and making the shows super accessible.”
That community-first approach mirrors the live-performance potential metric that OnesToWatch uses when highlighting emerging artists. Across ten years and 850+ artists covered by the platform, roughly 1% have progressed from small rooms to arenas. WHATMORE’s 18-month trajectory places them firmly on that rare path.
After high school, the members pursued separate paths, then brought that experience back into the group. Cisco Swank studied jazz at Berklee, Elijah Judah and Yoshi T. attended Purchase College, Sebastiano worked as a solo rapper, and Jackson August organized house shows in Syracuse. They later reconvened in Pennsylvania to record what became their debut album.
How WHATMORE’s Training Shapes Their Sound
The group’s sound grows directly from their shared musical education and individual roles. All five members are jazz and classically trained musicians who play multiple instruments. Cisco Swank leads instrumentally, while Elijah Judah handles production and musical direction. Yoshi T. brings playful lyricism, Sebastiano adds charismatic vocals, and Jackson August supplies indie-rock energy and hooks.
Their diverse training shaped the sound that later caught OnesToWatch’s attention. The platform classified WHATMORE’s output as a hypnotic blend of jazz, hip-hop, and alternative, an organic style that feels hard to pause once it starts. That early description appeared before a wave of third-party coverage followed the October 2025 album release.
Wikipedia, Hypebeast, and Wonderland echoed that same genre-blending characterization and drew comparisons to BROCKHAMPTON. These outlets effectively confirmed what the platform’s human curation had already identified. Cisco Swank captured the local influence clearly: “You can’t live in New York, bro, and not have the hustle. It’s ingrained in the music we make, it just comes out naturally.”
Release Timeline and Festival Breakthroughs
The group’s recorded output arrived in a tight, momentum-building run. The chronology runs as follows:
- “Eastside w My Dogs” – June 2025
- “Chicken Shop Date” – July 2025
- “Go!” – August 2025
- Self-titled debut album – October 17, 2025
- “Still Loiteringgg” / “2000s Pop Punk Rnb” – March 2026
- “On Site” – July 2026
The debut album’s 12 tracks run just under 31 minutes and blend punk, pop-punk, hip-hop, and jazz into a fast-moving listen. As these releases built streaming momentum, the live milestones that the platform’s live-performance criteria anticipated began to arrive.
- Coachella 2026 – Gobi Stage debut
- Governors Ball 2026 – performed “eastside w my dogs” and “go!”
- Lollapalooza and Reading & Leeds – scheduled summer 2026
The Governors Ball set drew praise as “fun, loose, and full of movement, blending singing, rapping, and live musicianship in a polished performance where each member brought their own flavor and complemented the others well.”
New York Identity and Independent Scene Momentum
WHATMORE describe themselves and their sound as “very New York,” and their entire operational model reflects that identity. They hosted free shows with free food, staged pop-up events where members worked behind a fast-food counter handing out limited-edition CDs, and priced their first headline show at $10 advance and $15 at the door. Every decision favored access and community over short-term revenue.
That approach fits the independent-artist pipeline that OnesToWatch has documented across hundreds of annual features. WHATMORE’s rise from unsigned DIY pop-ups to a signed act on Alta Music Group with Coachella and Governors Ball credits illustrates that pathway in real time. As the group’s profile rose, industry validation followed, with co-signs from Laundry Day, Leon Thomas, and Role Model. An interview with Zane Lowe further confirmed that grassroots momentum had turned into broader recognition within the independent music ecosystem.
World Tour Era and What Comes Next
WHATMORE’s July 2026 single “On Site” arrived in the middle of an active 2026 world tour across the US, UK, and Europe. The track leans into a sun-soaked, singalong hook that blends laid-back hip-hop grooves with shimmering synths, matching the energy of festival season. Both the single and the tour align with milestones highlighted in the platform’s 2026 list.
The group has also shared plans for a sophomore album scheduled for 2027. Jackson August framed this phase as a starting point rather than a peak, saying, “In my head, the world has just started forming. We’re laying the groundwork.”
Explore OnesToWatch’s Top Artists To Watch in 2026.
Discover your next favorite artist and the stories behind their rise. Visit OnesToWatch for exclusive in-depth content that maps where music is headed next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the members of WHATMORE and where did they meet?
WHATMORE consists of five members: Cisco Swank, Yoshi T., Jackson August, Sebastiano, and Elijah Judah. All five first met as freshmen at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan, the same institution that counts Timothée Chalamet and Al Pacino among its alumni. The group began releasing music together in 2024 after Cisco Swank brought everyone together for a show at Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg instead of performing solo.
Why does WHATMORE’s placement on OnesToWatch’s 2026 Top 30 list matter?
OnesToWatch features approximately 300 artists per year across its editorial pipeline, and only around 20 reach the annual Top 30 selection. That conversion rate, roughly one in fifteen, reflects a focused human curation process that weighs authentic artistry, long-term potential, and live-performance strength. WHATMORE’s inclusion signals that the editors identified a sustained, verifiable upward trajectory rather than a single viral spike. Over ten years and 850+ artists covered, approximately 1% of acts featured by OnesToWatch have progressed from small venues to arenas.
What is WHATMORE’s musical style?
WHATMORE blend hip-hop, jazz, alt-R&B, and indie rock into a sound the group describes as “very New York.” All five members are jazz and classically trained musicians who play multiple instruments, and their individual backgrounds, including Cisco Swank’s Berklee jazz training, Jackson August’s indie-rock community building, and Elijah Judah’s production work, feed directly into the group’s genre-fluid output. The debut album’s 12 tracks run just under 31 minutes and draw comparisons to BROCKHAMPTON and Odd Future for their varied themes and sonic range.
What are WHATMORE’s most significant live milestones to date?
WHATMORE’s live arc moved from free pop-up shows at venues like Hector’s Diner and Golden Shanghai in 2025 to a sold-out headline debut at Baby’s All Right at the end of that year. In 2026, the group performed on the Gobi Stage at Coachella, appeared at Governors Ball in New York, and completed a run of US, UK, and European dates supporting Joey Valence & Brae. Lollapalooza and Reading & Leeds appearances followed that summer as part of their first world tour.
What new music has WHATMORE released in 2026?
WHATMORE released the double A-side “Still Loiteringgg” / “2000s Pop Punk Rnb” in March 2026, accompanied by a music video starring actor Sean Kaufman, a LaGuardia High School alumnus. The promo video accumulated approximately 410,000 views. In July 2026, the group released “On Site,” a summer-oriented track that blends hip-hop grooves and shimmering synths. The group has also indicated plans for a series of double A-side releases throughout 2026 ahead of a sophomore album projected for 2027.
WHATMORE and the Future of Authentic Music Discovery
WHATMORE’s inclusion in OnesToWatch‘s 2026 Top 30 Artists to Watch captures where they sit in the emerging-artist landscape. The placement reflects a documented journey that runs from free restaurant pop-ups in 2024 and early 2025 to growing streams by late 2025 and a Coachella Gobi Stage set in April 2026, followed by a world tour. Each step illustrates how consistent community building and strong live shows can translate into global opportunities.
For fans seeking artists with genuine neighborhood roots and clear upward momentum, WHATMORE embody the kind of act this 300-artist annual pipeline is designed to surface. Their story shows how careful curation, local support, and ambitious live performances can intersect to shape the next wave of music.