Thursday, February 10, 2011
So Cal Alt Rockers, U.K. Hip-Hop Star Enter the Vibe Raters
An
Orange County indie-rock band that has been developing since 1994, and a
U.K. rapper with a pair of #1 singles overseas are the two latest entries on
HITS’
Vibe-Rater tally of the top new and developing artists.
Young the Giant formed in Irvine, CA, with lead vocalist Sameer Gadhia, guitarists Jacob Tilley and Eric Cannata, bassist Payam Doostzadeh and drummer François Comtois. Formerly known as the Jakes, Young the Giant was signed by Roadrunner Records in 2009 and released its eponymous debut album digitally late last year, with the physical dropping in January. The first single, “My Body,” is garnering PoMo adds at major Alternative stations like KITS, WRFF, WBOS, CIMX, KNDD, KEXX and more. Just did Kimmel in January. Look for ongoing headlining tour with a SXSW appearance on tap. See complete entry here.
Capitol’s South London-born Tinie Tempah has already scored a pair of #1 hits in his native U.K., where he is a certified hip-hop superstar, thanks to “Pass Out,” the song he says changed his life, and “Written in the Stars,” the first U.S. single as well, from his debut album Disc-Overy, platinum-plus in Britain and slated to come out here on May 3. The multiple Brit-nominated “Breakthrough Artist” recently made his stateside bow with a performance at Cinespace in L.A., winning over the tough industry crowd with an outsized personality. He’s already getting multi-format love at Rhythm and Top 40 radio, and was named by MTV one of its 2011 Artists to Watch. Look for performances at Coachella and SXSW, with a stateside tour to be announced. For the complete Vibe account, go here.