An influential figure in the 2010s drill scene, rapper Chief Keef pulls inspiration from the Chicago streets, delivering hardcore rhymes that often focus on inner-city tales of violence and drugs. Kicking his career off at the age of 16 with the street single "I Don't Like," he was a hit on Chicago's high school circuit before mixtapes and viral videos led to a contract with Interscope. In 2018, Keef repeated the prior year's prolific streak with a dizzying slew of mixtape releases, including two installations of The Leek series and the first two parts of The GloFiles. With barely a pause in his output, Keef picked his GloFiles series back up, issuing the third volume in late 2019 and the fourth in 2020. "Bang Bang," a collaboration with Mike WiLL Made-It, appeared later that year, followed in 2021 by singles like "The Talk" and "New Bugatti,"
JOZZY is an LA-based Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum songwriter and artist originally from Memphis,TN. Jozzy has been long celebrated for her pen game, and was mentored by Timbaland and Missy Elliott. She’s the woman who wrote Billy Ray Cyrus's verse on Lil Nas X's Old Town Road [Remix], “Lemonade” by Internet Money and “Mr Right Now” by Metro Boomin & 21 Savage feat Drake. Jozzy works across all genres with everyone from Coldplay and Rihanna to Pharrell and The Weeknd.
In addition to her songwriting, Jozzy has embraced her own artistry most recently signing a record deal with Diddy’s Love Records, while being Co-Managed by Roc Nation. Jozzy has also embraced activism; as an LGBTQ+, woman of color in the industry, she’s repeatedly spoken out about the issues she faces and her hope for more diverse voices to be recognized and positioned across leadership roles in all areas of the music industry.
The African diaspora has kept ‘Afrobeat’ in everyone’s mouths and in their playlists too, whilst also encouraging new artists to explore “afro music” in the ways they see fit. A perfect example of this is 22-year old Libianca, originating from Cameroon but based in Minnesota, US. Libianca’s childhood was filled with gospel, R&B, afrobeats, and Makossa, the amalgamation of all these genres effortlessly combined to create her music of today – afrosoul.
Perfecting her craft through several open mics and choir practices, Libianca sought to further expand her reach as a professional musician and appeared on Season 21 of The Voice US. The 22-year-old singer and her captivating voice attracted all four of the judges’ attention, but the show would see Libianca chose country music legend Blake Shelton, to be her coach throughout her time there.
Following on from her voice appearance, Libianca would go on to cultivate a tight-knit fanbase through social media with her mesmerising afrobeat covers, mash-ups and duets. She so effortlessly espouses vulnerability, empathy, and emotion through sweet melodies in a mission “to heal the world” and “allow people to accept themselves.” Many of her fans feel recognised and engage with Libianca on social media, discussing her positive impact on their well-being.
Her breakout hit ‘People’ has amassed over 750K creations on TikTok and 4.5M views on YouTube. She is truly a star in the making and one to watch in 2023.
Bravery can take many forms. For Danielle Ponder it took the shape of a leap of faith: leaving her successful day job working as an attorney in the public defender’s office in her hometown of Rochester, NY to devote herself full-time to sharing her powerful voice with the world. The singer-songwriter’s mesmerizing eight-song debut Some Of Us Are Brave reinforces that her faith was not misplaced, and her leap has been rewarded with a safe landing. Written and recorded over three years, the album is a refreshingly original, shiver-inducing mix of pop, R&B, blues, rock, and moody trip-hop topped by Ponder’s celestial voice— an instrument that can plumb melancholy depths with a heartsick murmur and scrape the sky with hurricane force wails.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr marches to the beat of his own rhythmically cool drum – and it’s infectious! Billboard named him an "artist to know" in 2019, Lena Waithe called him one of her favorite singers, and he’s racked up more than 10 million views on his YouTube channel, where audiences can’t get enough of both his covers and original music.
Born in Cleveland , Ohio, and based in Los Angeles, Durand has built a career performing with Erykah Badu and collaborating with the likes of the Internet, Anderson. Paak, Ari Lennox and Teedra Moses. His larger-than-life range is wrapped in a buttery-smooth voice that leaves you wanting just one (or one hundred) more sensual vocal runs.
Durand's first EP, Sound Check, was released to accolades in 2016, and in 2019, Durand co-produced and featured on “Freefall,” a track on KAYTRANADA’s album BUBBA, which has already accumulated more than 2 million plays on Spotify alone. Now, in the words of Billboard Magazine, “Durand Bernarr is bringing his silky pipes to the forefront,” with his highly anticipated new album to be released in Q2 of 2020.
Fans old and new can expect Durand's velvety vocals with rich lyrical storytelling, representing the core of who Durand Bernarr really is - a musical coming of age, free of shame and guilt, and embracing every piece of his true self.
El DeBarge, known for his signature falsetto, was the lead singer of the '80s R&B sibling group DeBarge throughout their career, appearing on the hits "All This Love," "Love Me in a Special Way," "Who's Holding Donna Now," and "Rhythm of the Night." After leaving the group in 1985, he launched his solo career in 1986 with a self-titled debut album that featured the number three hit "Who's Johnny?," featured in the film Short Circuit. DeBarge recorded one more album for Motown -- 1989's Gemini -- prior to signing with Warner for 1992's In the Storm and 1994's Heart, Mind & Soul. In 2010, DeBarge resurfaced and released Second Chance.
An assured singer and rapper whose songwriting is resolutely forthright, Tink made a name for herself as a teenager in the early 2010s with numerous mixtapes, the first couple volumes of her acclaimed series Winter's Diary among them. These recordings led to a spot in XXL magazine's Freshman Class of 2015 feature and a contract with hitmaker Timbaland 's label. Although the deal didn't pan out -- a completed album, Think Tink, remains unissued -- Tink has continued to progress independently with several charting full-length projects ranging from Pain & Pleasure (2018) to Thanks 4 Nothing (2023). "Cut It Out" and "Bottom Bitch," two of her more powerful singles released during this period, have earned gold RIAA certifications.
Raised in Nashville, TN, by a mother who was also a singer, and a father who played in the NFL, Jones learned ambition early on. While Jones released music in her younger years, she’s now stepping into the rich R&B career she deserves, signing with High Standardz / Def Jam Recordings.
You may have seen Coco Jones on the big screen—she’s been in film and on TV since she was a tween, she’s currently starring as the new Hilary Banks in Peacock’s Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air. It makes sense that Jones found her way into acting through song—first as a recurring guest on Disney’s musical sketch comedy, So Random!, and, in 2012, as the golden-voiced love interest in the network’s TV movie, Let It Shine. However, music came first, Jones began recording at the age of 9 with the help of her mom.
As the multi-faceted Coco Jones launches her music career with a brand of R&B as soulful as it is relatable, as diary-honest as it is marked by powerful storytelling. And though she’s young, it’s been a long time coming.
Known for his distinctively gravelly voice and unflinching hardcore rhymes, Jadakiss established himself with Bad Boy and Ruff Ryders affiliates the LOX before he made further strides as a solo artist with Ruff Ryders and Def Jam. He started a streak of Top Ten solo albums with Kiss tha Game Goodbye (2001) and continued it with the chart-topping Kiss of Death (2004) (featuring the controversial, Grammy-nominated "Why?"), both of which were certified gold by the RIAA. His releases since then include Top 5 Dead or Alive (2015), the Fabolous collaboration Friday on Elm Street (2017), and Ignatius (2020).
Fabolous scored his first Top 40 pop hit, "Can't Deny It," right out of the gate in 2001, instantly establishing himself as a rising East Coast rap star with a combination of street-savvy toughness and crossover appeal. The Brooklyn rapper was one of the first East Coast MCs to embrace the bling mentality of the South as well as the gangsta swagger of the West Coast, all the while incorporating a subtle undercurrent of pop into his music.
