Predictions have a habit of backfiring spectacularly on the absurdly confident journos who make them, but we’ll go with two: Blu and Bliss n Eso (pictured). The latter duo (trio if you count their strangely unnamed DJ Izm) made an astounding, epic album in Flying Colours. They’ve laid the groundwork for getting their quirky, upward-looking Aussie hip-hop onto the world stage in 2009.

But it is Blu who will prove the most interesting MC of next year. He has three extraordinary collaboration albums under his belt already and is blessed with possibly the best, most natural flow in hip-hop. The LA native hasn’t won over everybody yet but if one person has what it takes to make waves across the planet, it’s this guy. If label troubles don’t hamstring him as they did his fellow Next-To-Blow-Rappers Joell Ortiz, Saigon and Papoose, 2009 could be a very, very big year for Blu.