Princess Nokia – Born on June 14, 1992, Princess Nokia entered the music industry at the age 25 with her freshman rap album 1992 Deluxe. In this album, she writes of growing up in New York state’s foster care system, racism experienced by people of color and brave confidence exuded by women unafraid to challenge gender norms. Despite the alternative and rap undertones found in many of her songs, Nokia considers her music genre agnostic – meaning that her music does not fall into any specific genre. She can be found on Apple Music, Spotify, and other major music streaming services.

Frank Ocean – Born October 28, 1987, Frank Ocean entered music’s pop sphere with his debut album Channel Orange in 2012. Ocean’s music is best described as melodic, tranquil, and ecstatic. In his second album Blond, he writes of queer romance, being a black man in the United States and maturing as a millenial in the late 2000s to early 2010s. Frank Ocean’s music can be found on Apple Music, Spotify and other major streaming services.

Fiona Apple – Born September 13, 1977, Fiona Apple entered the music industry’s alternative genre in the late 1990s with her debut album Tidal. Her music is best described as tranquil like Ocean’s, extremely poetic, and genre ambiguous. In April, 2020, Apple released her latest album Fetch the Bolt Cutters where she writes of her childhood, falling in love and rebelling against social norms. 

Clairo – Despite entering the music industry as a young adult, Clairo has found her way into the playlists of millions of members of Generation Z. Born on August 18, 1998, Clairo released her first single Bubble Gum in 2015. Although her first single was not a success, she garnered more exposure through the release of her album Immunity in 2019 and popularity of her songs on the social media app TikTok. Some would describe her music as tranquil, mellow and at times an emotional tug-of-war.

Gorillaz – Since the band’s inception in the late 1990s, Gorillaz has continually released music that expands the alternative rock genre. By transfusing elements of electronic, punk rock and rap music Gorillaz has crafted songs enjoyable for all music listeners. Because the band’s human members would rather remain astray from the spotlight, the group uses animated characters in some of their music performances and videos. Gorillaz can be found on Apple Music, Spotify and other major streaming services.