Compton-raised rapper Kendrick Lamar brushed elbows with the top of the hip hop food chain in 2013, opening for Kanye West on the "Yeezus" tour and serving as the only guest rapper to appear on Eminem's studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. Those high-profile assignments came after Lamar's first major-label album, 2012's good kid, m.A.A.d city, vaulted to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. A 2013 Rolling Stone story named Lamar one of 50 reasons to be excited about live music -- his ticket-buying fans certainly agree. He can do it without a posse or dancers, often commanding the stage joined only by a DJ.
Alt R&B chanteuse SZA is the latest contender for the burgeoning genre's crown, generating significant buzz with her silky voice, fresh beats, and mesmerizing performances. At her live shows SZA truly sizzles on ethereal, ominously beautiful tracks like "Babylon" and "Warm Winds", delivering her poetic lyrics with a confidence and ease that belie her recent arrival on the scene. She may be young, but there's nothing novice about her -- from her striking visual presentation to her deliciously raspy voice, SZA has all the markings of a star in the making.
Compton-raised rapper Kendrick Lamar brushed elbows with the top of the hip hop food chain in 2013, opening for Kanye West on the "Yeezus" tour and serving as the only guest rapper to appear on Eminem's studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. Those high-profile assignments came after Lamar's first major-label album, 2012's good kid, m.A.A.d city, vaulted to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. A 2013 Rolling Stone story named Lamar one of 50 reasons to be excited about live music -- his ticket-buying fans certainly agree. He can do it without a posse or dancers, often commanding the stage joined only by a DJ.
Alt R&B chanteuse SZA is the latest contender for the burgeoning genre's crown, generating significant buzz with her silky voice, fresh beats, and mesmerizing performances. At her live shows SZA truly sizzles on ethereal, ominously beautiful tracks like "Babylon" and "Warm Winds", delivering her poetic lyrics with a confidence and ease that belie her recent arrival on the scene. She may be young, but there's nothing novice about her -- from her striking visual presentation to her deliciously raspy voice, SZA has all the markings of a star in the making.
Compton-raised rapper Kendrick Lamar brushed elbows with the top of the hip hop food chain in 2013, opening for Kanye West on the "Yeezus" tour and se...