WHAT IT IS: The 18-year-old Brooklyn native J.I. the Prince of NY, born Justin Irvin Rivera, got his start freestyling with his brothers at the tender age of 11. Known for his melodic flow, infectious charisma and powerfully honest lyrics, the young rapper dropped his debut single, “No Static,” in 2016. Setting out on his first national headline tour this past winter, which included three sold-out dates at legendary NYC venue Sounds of Brazil, J.I. has been co-signed by Cardi B, Casanova, Drake and more. With lead single “Need Me” off his 2019 album, Hood Life Krisis Vol. 1, boasting 25.3m+ streams on Spotify alone, J.I. has collectively amassed 250m+ combined streams in the U.S. and plans on releasing more music in the coming months.
ALBUM: Hood Life Krisis, Vol. 1
RELEASE DATE: 10/11/19
SINGLE: “Need Me”
LIVE: National headline 2019 tour, sold-out three consecutive shows at Sound of Brazil, first artist to do so in the venue’s 38-year history
INTERNET: 250m+ U.S. career streams; 2m+ monthly Spotify listeners; 564k+ YouTube subscribers, 115m+ combined video views, 34m+ music video views on single; 1.3m+ Instagram followers
RADIO: “Need Me” Top 30 at Rhythmic, impacting Urban Radio soon with strong research across the country
PRESS: DJ Booth, Hip Hop n More, XXL, more
BOOKING: Cara Lewis Group
MANAGEMENT: Gaby & Natalie Acevedo/GStarr Entertainment
WHAT IT IS: Over the years, Giveon has developed his baritone delivery and pensive lyrics while perfecting an amalgamation of Rat Pack-style pop and contemporary R&B. During his journey from songwriter to artist, he caught the attention of multi-platinum singer/songwriter August 08, who became a mentor for the up-and-comer. After independently making his debut with “Garden Kisses” and “Fields” in 2018, he joined forces with producer Sevn Thomas last year and further honed a signature style of his own. Coming into 2020 with a feature on Drake’s surprise release, “Chicago Freestyle,” the Long Beach, Calif., native dropped his debut EP, Take Time, further cementing his status as an R&B artist to watch.
ALBUM: Take Time EP
RELEASE DATE: 3/27
SINGLE: “Heartbreak Anniversary”
LIVE: Snoh Allegra fall 2019 tour; performed at Soho House
INTERNET: 1.3m+ Spotify streams on single, 649k+ monthly listeners; 66k+ social-media followers
RADIO: Impacted Urban AC on 4/20
PRESS: Wonderland, Teen Vogue, Flaunt, HYPEBEAST, V Magazine, Essence, Fader, Okayplayer, Complex, Long Beach Press Telegram, ELLE, Genius, DJ Booth, OTW, E! News, more
BOOKING: Caroline Yim/CAA
MANAGEMENT: Isla Management
WHAT IT IS: Family man and country star Walker Hayes spent more than a decade trying to break into Nashville’s music scene. From graveyard shifts at Costco to becoming one of the two flagship artists signed to Monument, the Mobile, Ala., native made a name for himself with his debut album, boom, in 2017. The album, which he co-produced with Grammy-winning Shane McAnally, includes the RIAA double-platinum-certified hit “You Broke Up with Me.” That, coupled with his most recent singles, “Don’t Let Her” and “90’s Country,” and the third iteration of his direct-to-fan model of releasing new music, “8Track Vol. 3 Black Sheep,” have accounted for nearly 500m streams to date. With his genre-bending style and soul-baring subject matter, Hayes is carving out a new lane for himself.
SINGLE: “Trash My Heart”
TV: Premiered single on Fox’s new livestream series on 4/24; previously performed on NBC’s The Today Show and ABC’s Good Morning America
LIVE: Forthcoming headlining Triple Play Tour; 2019 headlining Dream on It Tour; supported Kelsea Ballerini’s Unapologetically Tour, Thomas Rhett’s tour, more
INTERNET: 1.7m+ monthly Spotify listeners, 218k+ Instagram followers, 55.9k+ Facebook likes
RADIO: Impacting Country on 6/8
PRESS: Country Now, Music Row, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, People, American Songwriter, more
BOOKING: Aaron Tannenbaum/CAA
PUBLISHING: SMACK Songs
MANAGEMENT: Robert Carlton/SMACK
