Bay Area Artists that Made it!

There's no shortage of talent in the Bay Area. Within our community, some unique & successful artists have emerged setting new trends and pushing the boundaries of how music is shared today. During the pandemic, these Bay Area artists did not sleep, pushing out album after album following their debuts. They worked towards staying relevant in the industry and pursuing ventures outside of music to build their brand. Check out these Bay Area artists who followed their dreams and are making headlines.

KAMAIYAH - Oakland

Birthday: March 13 1992 (30) First Release: A Good night in the Ghetto (2016) Latest Release: Divine Timing EP (2022)

Monthly Spotify Listeners: 636K

Kamaiyah has been making music since she was 15. She made her debut in 2016 with her album A Good Night in the Ghetto produced right here in Oakland at Nexus Audio! To critical acclaim, she made it to the 21st spot of the 50 Best Albums of 2016 by Complex and placed 17th on Rolling Stone “Best 40 Rap Albums 2016.” Her first album topped artists already in the game like Mac Miller, 2Chainz, Lil yachty, Rae Sremmurd, and Frank Ocean. She featured on YG’s song with Drake and even opened for him on his F*ck Donald Trump Tour. The Queen of Oakland scored a record deal with Interscope Records later in 2016. XXL magazine placed Kamaiyah in the “2017 Freshman Class.” She launched her own label GRNDWRK in 2020 and has since then released 2 albums independently.

LARRY JUNE - San Francisco

Birthday: April 8 1991 (31)

First Release: Cali Grown (2010) Latest Release: 2 P’z in a Pod (2022)

Monthly Spotify Listeners: 3.5M

Larry June had been steadily releasing music since the 2010’s. His career kicked off in 2014 with a feature in Complex for his album Route 80. All the exposure landed him a record deal with Warner Bros. He toured with artists including Cousin Stizz, Berner, Curren$y, Asher Roth. He was the show opener for Post Malone and Smokepurpp. After being released from his contract he became an independent artist, releasing his own music through DistroKid. Larry June released mixtape after mixtape each year with no sign of stopping creating more than 30 projects. In 2019 & 2020, he dropped 6 studio albums & numerous collabs. By 2021, he struck a distribution deal with Empire Records and has been releasing music under this label.

ALLBLACK - Oakland

Birthday: March 21 1992 (30)

First Release: No Shame (2015) Latest Release: Couldn’t Be Me (2022)

Monthly Spotify Listeners: 540K

ALLBLACK started in the industry as a hypeman for his friend Kossisoko. After messing around in the studio in 2015, his closest friends leaked his song to SoundCloud. The attention it received catapulted him into the music industry. He gained momentum by collaborating with producers such as P-Lo and Iamsu!. He steadily released quality EPs year after year and then was featured on G-Eazy’s songs West Coast and Got a Check in 2019. He released No Shame 3 in 2020 which includes collaborations with Too Short, DaBoii, and Guapdad 4000. In 2021, he was featured in Rolling Stone magazine and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. His latest album TY4FWM features everyone from Vince Staples and Drakeo the Ruler to Mozzy, G-Eazy, and E-40.

THUY - Oakland

Birthday: - (30)

First Release: Ain’t No One (2015) Latest Release: i hope u see this (deluxe) (2022)