Rising Artists of 2019

For anyone living in 2019, music is probably an essential part of life. Music is undeniably important in improving mood, relieving stress, or easing anxiety; it could also simply just be a pass-time if someone is bored. There are hundreds of genres of music and an enormous industry of artists that is continuously growing. Currently, there is a lot of rising talent from young artists in various different genres of music. These artists are breaking charts, records, and quickly rising to fame.

An artist who is currently making her mark in history is Billie Eilish. At only 17 years of age, this singer/songwriter has become one of the fastest artists to rise to fame. Billie Eillish Pirate Baird O’Connell was born in Los Angeles, California on December 28, 2001. She started to make music and write songs at age 11, being inspired by her older brother, Finneas O’Connell, who already wrote, performed, and made his own songs with his band. Today, the two siblings are a great artistic duo. At age 14, Billie had signed a record deal with Interscope records and started her career.

Billie’s first song, “Ocean Eyes” was released in 2017, and soon after, her first EP, “Don’t Smile At Me” was released. It consisted of nine songs, featured by her brother and Vince Staples, who is an American rapper. Some of the songs have appeared in movies and TV shows, like 13 Reasons Why and Shadowhunters. Her other singles, such as “Lovely”, featuring Khalid and “You Should See Me In A Crown” secured spots on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Her first album, “When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go” coming out on March 29.

Another artist taking the world by storm is H.E.R. Gabriella Wilson was born on June 27, 1997 in Vallejo, California. She is a singer/songwriter who is currently making plenty of noise in the music industry. Her career recently reached a milestone in December when she was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2019 Grammy Awards (along with four other nominations). H.E.R. is an acronym for Having Everything Revealed. She remained faceless on purpose; “The mystery is a metaphor for who I am, or who I was at the time of creating the project,” referring to her first EP, “H.E.R., Vol. 1”.

She has gotten massive support for her first EP, “Focus” from other public figures like Alicia Keys, Rihanna, and even Barack Obama. H.E.R rose to fame by participating in Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing in 2009. She later signed to RCA Records at the age of 14 and released a single, "Something To Prove", under her real name in 2014. She re-emerged in 2016 and released her first debut EP, “H.E.R Vol. 1”. She then released subsequent EPs “H.E.R. Volume 2”, “The B Sides”, “I Used To Know Her: The Prelude”, and “I Used To Know Her: Part 2”.

Finally, an emerging new rapper is quickly rising to fame with his fast-rap style and perfectly controlled speed. Destin Choice Route, known by stage name JID was born on October 31, 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is part of the musical collective Spillage Village, founded by EarthGang in 2010. He is also signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records and Interscope Records, where he began gaining recognition after releasing many individual projects.

JID was a late bloomer career-wise, from being kicked out of his parents house, sleeping in a car at one point, to funding his musical career with jobs delivering pizzas and working at call centers. Nevertheless, JID has been in a BET Awards cypher and the XXL 2018 Freshman Class, alongside others like Lil Pump, Ski Mask the Slump God, and BlocBoy JB. His debut studio album, “The Never Story” was released on March 10, 2017 and he released his second album “DiCaprio 2” on November 26, 2018 to positive reviews and critical acclaim. There is a lot of promise for his future as he continues his outstanding performance.

Music can soothe the brokenhearted, motivate runners and kickoff the most epic dance parties, but it also has some serious scientific benefits for our health and overall well-being. Researchers at Stanford University found that listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication. Researchers also tracked 557 participants with chronic sleep disorders and found that sleep quality was improved significantly with music. They concluded that “music can assist in improving sleep quality of patients with acute and chronic sleep disorders.”

In a nutshell, music is not only a pleasurable activity, it’s also proven to improve health in various ways. With that being said, there are several artists to look out for in 2019 and the upcoming months.

Raida Fardous

2019 Spring Issue