Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two EPs, Praise Break (2014) and Pilgrim's Paradise (2015), Caesar released his debut studio album, Freudian, in 2017, which received three Grammy Award nominations, winning for the collaboration with American singer H.E.R. "Best Part". In 2019 he released his second studio album, Case Study 01, longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. In 2021 Caesar featured alongside Giveon on Justin Bieber's single "Peaches", his first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100, and receiving four nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2023 Caesar published his third studio album, Never Enough through Republic Records, winning his second Juno Award. In 2025, Caesar released his fourth studio album Son of Spergy, which became his third top-ten album on the Billboard Canadian Albums and first on the Billboard 200.
Through his career, Caesar has collaborated with several artists, including Brandy, Kali Uchis, Ty Dolla Sign, Summer Walker, Common, Omar Apollo, Bon Iver, and has written songs for Mary J. Blige, SZA, Tyler, the Creator, Shawn Mendes and Kanye West. He was also awarded with a total of four Juno Awards, two Soul Train Music Awards, a MTV Video Music Awards and an ASCAP Awards.
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, Lamar's music features conscious, introspective lyrics, with political criticism and social commentary concerning African-American culture. Journalists have referred to Lamar as one of the greatest rappers of all time. In 2018, he became the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Born and raised in Compton, California, Lamar began releasing music under the stage name K.Dot in high school. He signed with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005 and co-founded the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy. His alternative rap debut album, Section.80, led to a joint contract with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. He rose to stardom with his gangsta rap–influenced second album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012), which became the longest-charting hip hop studio album on the Billboard 200 and was named the greatest concept album of all time by Rolling Stone. In 2015, he had his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, with the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood", and released his first of five consecutive number-one albums on the Billboard 200, To Pimp a Butterfly, which infused hip-hop with historical African-American music genres such as jazz, funk, and soul.
Lamar's critical and commercial success continued with his R&B and pop-leaning fourth album Damn (2017), featuring his second US number-one single, "Humble". He contributed to the soundtrack of the 2018 film Black Panther, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "All the Stars". His fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), delved into introspection and concluded his tenure with TDE and Aftermath. In 2024, his highly publicized feud with Drake and sixth album GNX spawned the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Like That", "Not Like Us", "Squabble Up", and "Luther". "Not Like Us" won five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year, while "Luther" also won the latter and became his longest-charting number-one song in the US, at 13 weeks.
Lamar's accolades include 27 Grammy Awards—the most for a rapper—two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Brit Award, 5 American Music Awards, 7 Billboard Music Awards, 11 MTV Video Music Awards and a record 37 BET Hip Hop Awards. Time listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. Three of his works were included in Rolling Stone's 2020 revision of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2025, he headlined the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history, while his Grand National Tour with SZA became the highest-grossing co-headlining tour of all time. Outside of music, Lamar co-founded the creative company PGLang and ventured into film with his longtime creative partner, Dave Free.
Christopher Brent Wood (born September 19, 1995), known professionally as Brent Faiyaz, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Faiyaz rose to prominence with his guest performance alongside Shy Glizzy on GoldLink's 2016 single "Crew". The song peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100, received octuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. The following year, Faiyaz released his debut studio album, Sonder Son (2017). He is noted for his "sly vocals" and "atmospheric slow jam productions," along with occasional rapping.
He first embarked on his musical career in 2013 with the release of his debut extended play (EP), Black Child followed by his second, A.M. Paradox (2016). In 2016, Faiyaz formed the R&B trio Sonder, for which he serves as lead vocalist. In February 2020, Faiyaz released his fourth EP, Fuck the World, which marked his first entry on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 20. His second studio album, Wasteland (2022) peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-charting singles, "Gravity" (with DJ Dahi featuring Tyler, the Creator), "Wasting Time" (featuring Drake and the Neptunes), and "Price of Fame", as well as the TikTok viral single "Dead Man Walking". His debut mixtape, Larger than Life (2023), debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 and was met with continued critical praise.
Along with a Grammy Award nomination, his other nominations include Favorite Male R&B Artist at the American Music Awards in 2022 and Best Male R&B/Pop Artist at the BET Awards in 2023 and 2024. Faiyaz founded the independent creative agency and record label ISO Supremacy in 2023, which has signed fellow DMV native, Tommy Richman.
Giveon Dezmann Evans (US: /ˈɡɪviɑːn/; born February 21, 1995), mononymously known as Giveon (stylized as GIVĒON), is an American R&B singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with his 2019 song "Like I Want You", which peaked at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2020, Giveon signed with Epic Records to release two extended plays: the Grammy Award-nominated Take Time and When It's All Said and Done; the former was preceded by the single "Heartbreak Anniversary", which peaked at number 16 on the chart and received quintuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Evans guest performed alongside Daniel Caesar on Justin Bieber's 2021 hit single "Peaches", which debuted atop the Billboard Global 200, Billboard Hot 100, and Canadian Hot 100, and received four Grammy Award nominations. That same year, his two EPs were bundled into the compilation album When It's All Said and Done.... Take Time (2021), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200. In 2021, he guest performed alongside Lil Durk on Drake's song "In the Bible" which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his second top ten song on the chart. His debut studio album, Give or Take (2022), peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200, while his second studio album, Beloved (2025), peaked at number 8.
Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian singer and rapper. Known for his versatility and blending R&B and hip-hop in his music, he was first discovered by Sean Kingston. He came to initial recognition with his mixtape Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story, released in August 2013. In 2015, Lanez signed with record producer Benny Blanco's Mad Love Records, an imprint of Interscope Records.
Lanez's debut studio album, I Told You (2016) explored alternative R&B and was commercially successful. Its two lead singles, "Say It" and "Luv", peaked at numbers 23 and 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both released in 2018, Lanez's second and third albums, Memories Don't Die and Love Me Now? delved further into hip-hop and were met with continued commercial success despite mixed reviews; the former became his first album to peak atop the Canadian Albums Chart, while the latter spawned the double platinum-certified single "Talk to Me" (with Rich the Kid). His fourth album and final major label release, Chixtape 5 (2019) peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200, while his fifth album, Daystar (2020), peaked at number ten. He then released his 1980s-inspired sixth album, Alone at Prom (2021), followed by his seventh, Sorry 4 What (2022) until his incarceration. His eighth album, Peterson (2025), entered the Billboard 200 at number 25.
On August 8, 2023, Lanez was sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020. He was found guilty of first-degree assault with a firearm, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, and having a concealed firearm in a vehicle.