WHAT IT IS: Following his genre-blending 2019 track, “Cringe,” which spent four weeks at #1 on both U.S. Alt radio and the alt chart, Matt Maeson’s latest single, “Hallucinogenics,” is picking up momentum across the country. Hailing from Norfolk, Va., as the offspring of Christian metal musicians, the soul-baring singer/songwriter grew up unexposed to secular music, but the 26-year-old exhibits the influences of legends like Johnny Cash, Kurt Cobain and Jeff Buckley in his alt-indie sound. Following a pair of EPs, his debut album, Bank on the Funeral, and his Amazon-original single, “We Were the Same,” fans are eagerly awaiting Maeson’s second studio album.
ALBUM: Bank on the Funeral
RELEASE DATE: 4/5/19
SINGLE: “Cringe” and “Hallucinogenics”
TV: Late Night With Seth Myers
LIVE: Sold out his North American headline tour, performed “Hallucinogenics” with Lana Del Rey on his tour; scheduled direct support for KALEO in the fall
INTERNET: 70m+ streams between both singles on Spotify alone, 2.3m+ monthly listeners; 65.3k+ Instagram followers
RADIO: “Cringle” spent four weeks at #1 at Alt radio; “Hallucinogenics” reacting at Alt, #36 at presstime
PRESS: OTW, Time, ANCHR, 303, Complex, more
BOOKING: Christine Cao and Ryan Craven/Paradigm
PUBLISHING: UMPG
MANAGEMENT: Clayton Blaha

WHAT IT IS: During her time at Cambridge University, where she studied politics and psychology, Japanese-British Rina Sawayama applied her experiences in her musical journey to carve out an identity of her own, entwining her culture with her Western life and evolving her into the artist she is today. After releasing a string of singles, the singer/songwriter/producer dropped her deeply personal debut album, SAWAYAMA, showcasing her genre-blending capabilities. Featuring tracks like lead single “STFU,” which fuses early 2000s nu-metal elements with the delivery of a young pop maverick, the album was executive-produced by Clarence Clarity and includes co-writes from Nicole Morier (Britney Spears) and Kyle Shearer (Carly Rae Jepson), among others.
ALBUM: SAWAYAMA
RELEASE DATE: 04/17
SINGLE: “STFU,” “Comme Des Garcons,” “XS” and “Bad Friend”
LIVE: U.K. and North American tour scheduled for the fall
INTERNET: 1.3m+ monthly Spotify listeners, 50m+ plays across DSPs; 185k Instagram followers, 66k Twitter followers
RADIO: “XS” and “Bad Friend” added to Annie Mac BBC Radio 1 Hottest Records
PRESS: NME, DIY, Hot Press, Dork, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, CLASH, Pitchfork
BOOKING: X-ray (EU + rest of world), Paradigm (North America)
PUBLISHING: UMPG
MANAGEMENT: Will Frost & Caspar Harvey/House of Us

WHAT IT IS: The latest R&B player on the rise from St. Louis, Gen-Z artist Luh Kel has captured attention globally with his string of bouncy, sing-along bangers. After a dance challenge centered on his now platinum certified track “Wrong” went viral, the Jonnyshipes, 11vn and BubbagotBeatz-produced single garnered over 2.3m+ TikTok videos created, catapulting Kel’s career. Included on his recently dropped 12-track debut album, Mixed Emotions, the project also features the PnB-assisted “Movie” and continues to prove its classic value to his fans. Most recently, his single “Y.O.U.” is gaining upward traction while “BRB” and “Pull Up” are on their way to gold certification.
ALBUM: Mixed Emotions
RELEASE DATE: 11/15/19
SINGLE: "Wrong"
TV: FOX 2
LIVE: YouTube performance on EscapeTracks channel on 4/25
INTERNET: 128.8m+ Spotify streams on “Wrong,” 5m+ monthly listeners; 1.3m+ YouTube subscribers, 2m+ Instagram followers; 2.3m+ activity on TikTok
RADIO: “Wrong,” Y.O.U.,” “Pull Up” impacted Urban radio, “Tweakin” impacted 1/9
PRESS: Genius, XXL, Seventeen, more
MANAGEMENT: Hovain Hylton/Cinematic Management