Look out for ZINN which is the moniker for Monique. She just released the fourth track Itch which completes her EP. She uses Cardi B’s manicurist – but she sounds nothing like the NJ rapper. Citing Bebe Rexha, Halsey, and Jessie Reyez as influences – her latest track is emotional. ZINN tells Kings, “I want people to rise above the differences. Understand the fact we are different people and have different opinions yet we are in the same place”. She continues, “We have so much energy we put into the world and we waste it on anger”.
Up and Coming artists Ren has two tracks on Spotify – Mind Games and Waves. The songs have accumulated over 2 million Spotify streams and was dubbed SoundCloud’s ‘Artist To Watch’. Check out the video which was directed by Lebni Thodakee, produced by Jonathan Coward, and features actor Cameron Kahin.
The Los Angeles-based Aussie Blake Rose releases the track Heavy Shit. He is brand new to the scene and started experimenting with programs like GarageBand and Pro Tools before taking a leap into songwriting. He’s managed by Best Friends Music who also reps Billie Eilish. Give it a listen.
Streams: 15 million Spotify streams, SoundCloud (140k)
Blogs: Ones To Watch, CULTR.
Playlists: Apple’s “Best of The Week”
With a bunch of late summer releases it’s easy to over look emerging artists that lack big promo budgets. With that, look out for 20-year-old singer-songwriter Aaron Carpenter. The Louisiana native released a new single Next via Capitol Records. He wrote the song with The Roommates (Jon Bellion) and Mozella (Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, One Direction). His first release Attitude has clocked over a million Spotify streams and BBC Radio 1 named it as one of the April’s Best New Pop tracks. Managed by Lighthouse Management + Media, Aaron got a boost through instagram where he has a million followers – probably a huge factor in his signing with Capitol. In interview with Paper, Carpenter says, “I didn’t take it seriously until I was about 15, 16. I love entertaining people in any way possible, and I have an insane passion with music. I didn’t know how to go about doing it—I could play instruments and I could sing, but I didn’t know how to go about it. My platform came along and it’s like, “Oh, might as well start doing what I like instead of just posting photos of myself online.” It’s a blessing.”
Australian based Gab Strum aka Japanese Wallpaper dropped the single Imaginary Friends via Wonderlick/Sony. Signing with Native Tongue Publishing he’s written songs and produced for artists like Allday and Mallrat and has collaborated with Charli XCX. He’s supported M83 and Lily Allen and showcased at SXSW. Having clocked over 20 million plays on Spotify, he first popped out after one of the tracks won triple j’s 2014 Unearthed High competition. He has fall U.S. shows booked that begin in Chicago and is mapped through San Francisco.