While everyone knows the Beyoncés, Adeles, and One Directions of the music industry, many talented musicians often go unrecognized. These musical artists produce exceptional music but receive less representation, so here are a few artists to watch out for.

1.  Megan Thee Stallion– Megan is a rap artist hailing from the town of Houston, Texas. She produces music reminiscent of early Nicki Minaj. She spits lines that are pure fire, all while being a full-time college student. In many of her songs, she comes straight for you and leaves you breathless wondering what just happened. Her first song, “Like a Stallion,” dropped in April of 2016 and she quickly gained a cult-like online following. Megan is the aggressive and open rapper that we didn’t know we needed, so please do yourself a favor and listen to her on Spotify or Soundcloud.
2.  Hayley Kiyoko– Ex-Disney star Hayley Kiyoko broke out into music in 2007. It would be a few years before she really struck gold. In 2015 she released her second EP called This Side of Paradise which featured one of what is currently one of her most popular songs called “Girls Like Girls”. The music video would end up racking up of 84 million views as of January of this year. When asked where the inspiration for this song came from, Kiyoko responded that she wanted to sing about what she was most insecure about, which at the time was the feelings she had for girls. Her debut album Expectations is set to release March 30th, giving you plenty of time to catch up on her music. “She’s really cool and has a really good style,” according to sophomore Kailey Baldwin.
3. Khai Dreams– Khai is not a very well known artist so his anonymity makes it difficult to even find a biography on him. Khai Dreams’ music is best described as an artist that you would most definitely hear in an Urban Outfitters. Khai releases bright indie pop that makes you think of the one that got away in the best way possible. There are deep lyrics that make you wonder if he was looking into your soul as he wrote them, laid over a beat that you can’t help but want to dance to. As of now, he has released 17 singles since January of 2017. Definitely add all 17 to whatever playlist you are listening to the most right now.
4. BØRNS– Garrett Clark Borns, known better by his stage name BØRNS, has released two well known hits (“Electric Love” and “10,000 Pools”). BØRNS is best known for his beautiful falsetto.”He’s really catchy,” says Ellie Hess, freshman. In January of 2018, he released the album Blue Madonna which featured well-known artists such as Lana Del Rey. This album featured songs that hit you straight in the feels and make you feel like driving for hours on end with no destination set.
5.  Modern Baseball– Maybe you’re more into the raw feeling of basement bands, in which case, you should listen to Modern Baseball. Unfortunately, they are currently on an indefinite hiatus but don’t let that stop you from listening to what they wrote and produced before that break. The band was formed in Philadelphia in 2011 and released a total of three studio albums along with several singles until their hiatus was announced in January of 2017. Their music is described as indie rock and is perfect for that one friend who is maybe not totally out of their emo phase but is working on it. But no matter what music you usually listen to, Modern Baseball most likely has a song that you will dig.
6. LANY– LANY is a group that formed in March of 2014, which quickly released two songs on SoundCloud. Later in the year, they released their first EP Acronyms which debuts one of their most popular songs, ILYSB ( I Love You So Bad). The song ILYSB generated a lot of new fans which helped push the band to release several more EP’s and eventually, their first album titled “I Loved You”. This album was them followed by their well-known EP Make Out, which spawned new fans and a new tour. In February of 2017, the band announced that they would be launching a self-titled album later in the year. LANY is a cultivated indie pop band that many pop stars, such as Troye Sivan, swear by and love. All of their songs truly make you feel good and carry meaning that differs from person to person. They are a band whose songs would be playing during the romantic portions of one’s life.
7. Daniel Caesar– Ashton Simmonds, better known as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter. Caesar’s style of music is probably best encapsulated by his hit single “Get You” featuring Kali Uchis, which currently has over 10 million streams, this dreamy song traces the idea of a love that might seem underserved. Caesar has one studio album “Freudian” which reached number 6 on the United States Billboard R&B charts. Caesar was nominated for 2 Grammy awards for 2018. Although he did not win the awards, it would be hard to say the nomination was undeserved.

“I think underappreciated artists put just as much work in, and maybe even more than mainstream artists, and they deserve to be recognized,” thinks Anna Smith, an Air Academy senior. This sentiment is often repeated but it’s best to put your money where your mouth is and stream and/or buy an artist’s music if you feel they are underappreciated.