WHAT IT IS: Growing up in a religious Jamaican household, Tiana Major9 was surrounded by a variety of music ranging from gospel and reggae to garage. Now, she’s letting her soul-inspired melodies shine through on her latest single, “Think About You” (Notion Mix). The track is the breakout star’s first solo release since inking to Motown/Capitol and follows “Collide,” her collaboration with EARTHGANG from Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack. Her impassioned, infectious vocals exude raw longing alongside simmering reggae grooves on Notion’s dance remix of the track, the first single off Tiana’s upcoming EP. The singer/songwriter roots her bold blend of future-facing R&B, enduring soul and hip-hop attitude in boundless jazz eloquence, twisted up with saucy East London inflection and a touch of Jamaican spirit.
SINGLE: “Think About You (Notion Mix)”
TV: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Soul Train Awards 2019
INTERNET: 1m+ monthly Spotify listeners; 11.4K+ YouTube subscribers, 4m+ combined video views; 31k+ followers across Instagram and Twitter
RADIO: “Think About You” Impacting Urban AC on 5/4, Urban Mainstream on 5/18; “Collide” f/EARTHGANG” went Top 10 at Urban AC
PRESS: Essence, Complex, Wonderland, Noisey, Hypebeast, HotNewHipHop, more
BOOKING: Kevin Shivers/WME
MANAGEMENT: David Orelaja
WHAT IT IS: New York rapper Fivio Foreign took the Brooklyn drill scene by storm with his hit song, “Big Drip,” off his four-track EP, Pain and Love. Compared to the fast-paced deliveries from counterparts in Brooklyn’s rap scene, Fivio takes his time—without losing his high energy—adding meaning to adlibs that would otherwise go unnoticed. After signing to Columbia late last year, Fivio has dropped his latest album, 800 BC, and has been named an artist to watch in 2020 by Complex and Earmilk, among others. Keep an eye on this fast-rising rapper as he continues to turn heads.
ALBUM: 800 BC
RELEASE DATE: 4/24
SINGLE: “Big Drip” and “Big Drip (Remix)” f/Quavo & Lil Baby
LIVE: NFL 2020 Draft-A-Thon, Trillerfest 2020
INTERNET: 2m+ monthly Spotify listeners; 50m+ combined YouTube video views, 114k subscribers, up 25k in the past 28 days, “Wetty” trended #13 day of release; 425k Instagram followers
RADIO: #22 at Urban and chart-bound at Rhythm at presstime
PRESS: Pitchfork, Complex (“Best Songs of 2019” and “Rappers to Watch in 2020”), XXL, Hypebeast, FADER, Hot New Hip Hop, The Source, NME, Earmilk (Artists To Watch), UPROXX, more
BOOKING: Darlene Deluna/The Signature Bookings
PUBLISHING: Sony/ATV
MANAGEMENT: Elliott Hardamon & Kahran Reefer
WHAT IT IS: Mnelia, née Monique Amelia, is a fresh voice in the ever-changing R&B genre. Hailing from Northwest London, the singer/songwriter dropped her debut EP, 2:4, in 2018, encapsulating an array of contemporary U.K. sounds including drill, exhibiting her versatility. Now, the songstress has stormed her way into 2020 with the release of her single “Say Yeah,” which features her honeyed vocals gliding over harp synths while radiating ’90s R&B and old-school vibes. Having accumulated over 1.7m streams and increasing her Spotify followers by 134% since the track’s release, Mnelia has been featured on key Spotify editorial playlists like The Pop List, This Is How We Do, R&B U.K. and Who We Be, in addition to Apple Music’s High Maintenance.
SINGLE: “Say Yeah”
INTERNET: 129m+ monthly Spotify listeners, 1.7m+ streams on single; “Say Yeah” video has amassed 610k views in two months
PRESS: MBW, Wonderland (“Not much may be known about Mnelia, but what we do know this girl is someone we need to watch this year”), RDW (“a breath of fresh air in the R&B ether”)
MANAGEMENT: LVRN & Nana
