artists to check out

Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and emcees such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Killah, Open Mike Eagle, L'Orange, Quelle Chris, Jean Grae, Kool Keith, Chris Orrick, Nottz, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Pete Rock, and Rapper Big Pooh. In 2012 MTV Hive described MMG as having a "dedication to intelligent, street-wise boom bap," although the label has released a number of purely instrumental albums as well. Forbes magazine called Mello Music Group the most successful indie-rap label of the decade in 2016.

An early form of the label, Mello Mixtapes, was founded by Arizona hip hop fan Michael Tolle in 2004. As a college deejay Tolle releases a series of hip hop mixtapes, also avidly collecting vinyl.

Free Nationals are an American R&B band formed in Los Angeles, California. The group consists of Jose Rios (lead guitar, backing vocals), Ron "T.Nava" Avant (keyboard, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Kelsey Gonzales (bass guitar, bass synth) and Callum Connor (drums, percussion, backing vocals). They frequently accompany Anderson .Paak as his backing band.

Guitarist Jose Rios and keyboardist Ron Avant met Anderson .Paak while studying at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California in the late 2000's. Kelsey and Callum joined them soon after and they formed the Free Nationals. The band went on to produce for Anderson and frequently tour with him. The idea for their name came from their mentor Shafiq Huisayn. Free Nationals is a term which means the first settlers of America before Columbus came, the people indigenous to the land. They took their own interpretation of this, being 'indigenous to the music' by paying homage to the influential musicians before them.

Tahj Malik Chandler (born July 17, 1994), better known by his stage name Saba (stylized as SABA), is an American rapper and record producer. He grew up in the Austin neighborhood of the West Side of Chicago. He is a co-founder of the musical collective Pivot Gang with his brother Joseph Chilliams, their late cousin John Walt, and their high school friend MFn Melo. He is also one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Smino and Noname.

Saba initially gained recognition after releasing two independent mixtapes: GETCOMFORTable (2012) and ComfortZone (2014). He was also featured on Chance the Rapper's mixtape Acid Rap, in the song "Everybody's Something". In 2015, Saba and Chance the Rapper collaborated on the song "Angels". The duo performed the song live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, on October 26, 2015. He released his debut album Bucket List Project on October 27, 2016, and his sophomore album CARE FOR ME on April 5, 2018, to widespread critical acclaim. Saba’s third album, Few Good Things released February 4, 2022.

Pivot Gang is a hip hop collective of independent rappers based out the west side of Chicago. The group originated from the Austin neighborhood in 2011. The four founders consist of brothers Saba (born Tahj Malik Chandler) and Joseph Chilliams (AKA Jerrel Chandler), their cousin John Walt (Walter Long), and their high school friend MFnMelo (AKA Logan Yutters). Other artists who commonly collaborate with the group include Lucki Eck$, Martin $ky, Ausar, Noname, and DJ Damnage, along with others.

Saba is the most well-known rapper in the group, and is known as the front-man of Pivot Gang. Most of the music made by the group has a diverse sound, ranging from smooth soulful samples to more aggressive, rapid drill beats. MFnMelo explains in an interview with the Chicagoist, "a lot of the Pivot shit has that smooth kind of chord tradition that's influenced by New York soul, but it will just go harder. I'll put some drill drums over it. Some of my music has that same creative process, but a lot of it goes into a soulful, hip-hop-y route". The group has released a mixtape titled JIMMY on October 15, 2013.

The Atomic Bomb! Band are a touring supergroup who play the music of Nigerian funk musician William Onyeabor. The core group is music director Ahmed Gallab and his band Sinkane (composed of Jason Trammell on drums, Ish Montgomery on bass and Jonny Lam on guitar), Alexis Taylor (of Hot Chip), Pat Mahoney (of LCD Soundsystem), Money Mark (of the Beastie Boys) Lekan Babalola and Jas Walton (of Antibalas).

William Onyeabor took the classical HighLife style of West Africa into a more electronic and individualised approach, merging it with the approach to music to be found in groups like Yes, Focus, Kraftwerk and Simple Minds, while retaining the aspects of style which informed early hip-hop and rap. To a great extent Atomic Bomb! returns the style to a more instrumental band-based approach, as the use of a huge backing choir and the combination of several bands using a wider range of instruments shows, although the more folk-ethnic approach of Hi-Life in the 1950s and 60s has largely disappeared.

Representing NYC is a nonprofit artist management firm based in New York City. Representing NYC acts as a bridge between artists working in the context of social services programming and professional arts organizations and artists by fostering collaborative projects. Past Representing NYC projects have included a series of hip-hop albums, a silk screened T-shirt line, and three radio programs. Its network has included the Social Registry, True Panther Sounds, and Terrible Records, and a number of artists and educators.

Destin Choice Route (born October 31, 1990), better known by his stage name JID (also stylized J.I.D), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is a part of the musical collective Spillage Village, founded by EarthGang in 2010, with Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, and 6lack, among others. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. He is also a member of the hip hop supergroup Zoink Gang, with Smino, Buddy, and Guapdad 4000.

JID began gaining recognition after releasing several independent projects such as Route of Evil (2012), Para Tu (2013) and DiCaprio (2015). His debut studio album, The Never Story, was released in 2017 to public praise and included the single "Never". He released his second album, DiCaprio 2, in 2018; it contains the singles "151 Rum" and "Off Deez" (with J. Cole) and also received critical acclaim. In 2021, he released the single "Enemy" with pop rock band Imagine Dragons, which became his highest charting and most popular single, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. His most recent album, The Forever Story (2022), received widespread acclaim from critics and became his highest charting album peaking at number 12 on the Billboard 200.

Hablot Knight Browne was an English artist and illustrator. Well known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth.

Injury Reserve is an American hip hop group formed in 2013 in Tempe, Arizona by rappers Stepa J. Groggs (Jordan Groggs), Ritchie with a T (Nathaniel Ritchie), and producer Parker Corey.

Injury Reserve was formed in 2013 by producer Parker Corey and rappers Stepa J. Groggs, and Ritchie with a T after Groggs was featured on Ritchie's mixtape produced by Corey. Ritchie first met Corey through a mutual friend in high school after looking for producers, and met Groggs in middle school when Groggs was working at a Foot Locker store in Phoenix.

In 2013, the group released Depth Chart, their 15-track debut concept mixtape. There was a music video released for "Harvey Dent" to promote the project. Most tracks were based on the premise of a basketball player being drafted. It was released through digital platforms such as Audiomack, but was delisted after the subsequent media attention from 2015's Live from the Dentist Office. It was a relatively unknown release with very little press or media attention, garnering them not much of an audience.

Joseph Davis (born August 3, 1993), better known by his stage name Joey Purp, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He is one half of Leather Corduroys. He is one of the founding members of Savemoney.

Joseph Davis grew up bouncing between various neighborhoods of Chicago, ranging from Wrigleyville to Humboldt Park. His father ran a restaurant and his mother managed thrift stores. He attended Whitney Young High School, where he realized that he had a talent for freestyle rapping. In his senior year, he dropped out of high school. He worked and interned at LDRS 1354, a streetwear store at Wicker Park.

In 2012, Joey Purp released his first mixtape, The Purple Tape. In 2016, he released a mixtape, iiiDrops. Tentatively titled Eyedrops, it featured contributions from Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa, among others. It was included on the year-end lists by Complex, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Lyrical Lemonade.

Micah Davis (born June 8, 1993), known professionally as Masego (mə-SE-go), is a Jamaican-American musician and singer known for incorporating the saxophone into his music. Masego released two EPs in 2016, The Pink Polo EP with Medasin, and Loose Thoughts. He gained widespread attention with his collaborative record with FKJ called "Tadow" in 2017. In 2018, he released his debut album Lady Lady.

Micah Davis was born to a Jamaican father and an African-American mother. His father was in the U.S. Air Force and his mother was an entrepreneur. He also has two sisters and a brother in law. One of his sisters is a musical artist as well, the other is involved in acting and media outlets. Both his mother and father were also pastors and he was raised in a non-denominational Christian home. The military travels eventually led his family to Virginia. He also lived in Sumter, South Carolina for a couple of years while his family was moving around from state to state. He first learned how to play the drums without formal lessons in his youth. Davis has spoken about learning the piano, sax, and various drum machines. In high school, Davis adopted the name Masego, a Tswana translation of his church name "blessing." Davis attended Woodside High School (Virginia) in Newport News, and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia before leaving to focus solely on his musical career.

Archy Ivan Marshall, also known by his stage name King Krule, among other names, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, rapper and record producer.

Christopher Smith Jr., better known by his stage name Smino, is an American rapper and singer. Smino is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae. He is a member of the hip-hop supergroup Zoink Gang, with JID, Buddy and Guapdad 4000. He is also one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Saba and Noname. Smino is signed to Downtown Records and Interscope.

Odie Payne was an American Chicago blues drummer. Over his long career he worked with a range of musicians, including Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Little Johnny Jones, Tampa Red, Otis Rush, Yank Rachell, Sleepy John Estes, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Minnie, Magic Sam, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Guy.

Louis Kevin Celestin, known professionally as Kaytranada, is a Haitian-Canadian record producer, DJ, and songwriter. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of mixtapes, remixes, and original music projects beginning in 2010 under the alias Kaytradamus. By 2013, and under the moniker Kaytranada, he began gaining wider recognition and, the following year, signed a deal with XL Recordings, with whom he would release his critically acclaimed debut studio album 99.9% in 2016. In 2019, he released its follow-up, Bubba, for which he won two Grammy Awards including Best Dance/Electronic Album. Celestin is one half of the hip hop duo The Celestics, along with his brother Lou Phelps.

Sylvan LaCue, formerly known as QuESt, is an American rapper originating from Miami, Florida. He began his career in 2009 with several releases, including the critically acclaimed Searching Sylvan mixtape. In April 2016, he released his debut album, Far From Familiar, and in January 2018, he released his second album, Apologies in Advance.

Aloe debrana ist eine Pflanzenart der Gattung der Aloen in der Unterfamilie der Affodillgewächse (Asphodeloideae). Das Artepitheton debrana verweist auf das Vorkommen der Art bei Debre Berhan in Äthiopien.

Aloe debrana wächst einzeln oder sprosst und bildet dann kleine Gruppen, ist stammlos oder kurzstämmig. Die etwa 24 und mehr lanzettlich lang zugespitzten Laubblätter bilden dichte Rosetten. Die trübgrüne Blattspreite ist 25 bis 60 Zentimeter lang und 7,5 bis 15 Zentimeter breit. Die stechenden, rötlich braunen Zähne am rötlich braunen, hornigen Blattrand sind 2 bis 4 Millimeter lang und stehen 0,8 bis 15 Millimeter voneinander entfernt. Der Blattsaft ist trocken bräunlich.

Der Blütenstand besteht aus acht bis zwölf Zweigen und ist 100 Zentimeter lang. Die unteren Zweige sind gelegentlich nochmals verzweigt. Die dichten, fast kopfigen Trauben sind 5 bis 10 Zentimeter lang und 6 bis 7 Zentimeter breit. Die eiförmig-dreieckigen Brakteen weisen eine Länge von 3 bis 5 Millimeter auf und sind 1,5 bis 2 Millimeter breit. Die scharlachroten, an ihrer Mündung helleren Blüten stehen an 10 bis 15 Millimeter langen Blütenstielen. Die Blüten sind 17 bis 20 Millimeter (selten bis zu 35 Millimeter) lang und an ihrer Basis sehr kurz verschmälert. Auf Höhe des Fruchtknotens weisen sie einen Durchmesser von 8 Millimetern auf. Darüber sind sie leicht verengt und schließlich zu ihrer Mündung hin erweitert. Ihre äußeren Perigonblätter sind auf einer Länge von etwa 6 Millimetern nicht miteinander verwachsen. Die Staubblätter und der Griffel ragen kaum aus der Blüte heraus.

Sir Darryl Farris (born November 5, 1986), known mononymously as Sir (stylized as SiR), is an American singer from Inglewood, California. He released his debut album Seven Sundays in 2015 on the independent label Fresh Selects, and is currently signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, where he released his second and third studio albums, November and Chasing Summer.

Sir Darryl Farris grew up in a musical family with his mother, brothers, and cousin being gospel singers in Inglewood. He earned a degree in recording arts at the Los Angeles Film School and developed his songwriting, arranging, and production skills. His mother was a backup singer for Michael Jackson and Anita Baker, and his uncle Andrew Gouche was a bassist for Prince. He is the younger brother of Grammy award nominated rapper D Smoke.