Kamaiyah

For Oakland emcee Kamaiyah, bounce-drenched new album Another Summer Night is nothing short of a victory lap. After landing in XXL’s highly coveted 2017 Freshman Class and appearing on fellow West Coast tastemaker YG’s lavish banger “Why You Always Hatin?” alongside Drake, the stars seemed aligned in her favor. Instead, the years that followed were dominated by label mismanagement, delayed project releases, and constant roadblocks. So the artist broke away from Interscope and 4Hunnid to found her independent GRND.WRK imprint, where she’s now championing the next generation’s underground wave – and carving out her own lane as one of the Bay Area’s finest. – Elizabeth Braaten