Kamaiyah

MC Kamaiyah—an Oakland, CA, native who was raised in Sacramento and returned to the East Bay—has been rapping, singing, and writing since the mid-2010s. ∙ Kamaiyah made waves with her first single, “How Does It Feel,” which appeared on NPR’s Best Music of 2015 playlist. ∙ Rolling Stone named her debut, A Good Night in the Ghetto, one of the 40 Best Rap Albums of 2016, while Pitchfork crowned it one of the year’s 50 Best Albums. ∙ She’s collaborated with fellow Bay Area natives E-40 (“Petty”) and Keyshia Cole (“Ride”) as well as with YG. ∙ XXL initiated her into its 2017 Freshman Class, alongside such other rising stars as Playboi Carti, XXXTentacion, and A Boogie wit da Hoodie. ∙ In 2018, she played a catcher in a national baseball-themed soft drink commercial that starred NBA superstar LeBron James as the relief pitcher.