аÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û

10 Iconic US Musicians from New York

New York features diverse genres that play an important role in the world of music. Some of the genres that consider New York its birthplace are doo-wop, bebop, boogaloo, garage house punk rock, hip hop and new wave. The music scene also has popular genres like R&B, jazz, rock, urban blues and soul.

Therefore, the availability of different genres means that the city features a lot of artists who have risen to fame and are part of the group that is revolutionising the music industry. This article will look at the ten iconic artists that come from New York.

1. Jay Z

Shawn Corey Carter famously known as Jay Z was born in Brooklyn New York in 1969. The American rapper is one of the most influential people in the hip-hop scene. His career in the music industry started around 1980 and in 1996, he released his debut album the garnered him a lot of fans and thus solidified his standing in the music industry. He has released 18 albums to date. Additionally, he is the husband of the legendary Beyoncé and thus makes them a formidable team in the music industry.

2. Lady Gaga

The American singer and songwriter were born in New York in March 1986. She began her music career at a young age as she used to sing at open mics while she was a teenager. Her music versatility and great reinventions are what have made her popular in the music industry. Her debut album known as ‘The Fame’ and singles ‘Poker Face’ and ‘Just Dance’ were on top of the billboard charts. She has been nominated for 842 awards and won 358 of them.

3. Alicia Keys

Her real name is Alicia Augello Cook. She is an American singer and songstress and is also a classically trained pianist. She has been in the music industry since 1996 to date. Some of the songs that have hit the billboard charts include ‘Unthinkable ‘, ‘Try sleeping with a broken heart’ and ‘As I Am’. Having sold more than 90 million records globally,  she is one of the most influential artists in the R&B, soul and pop scenes.

4. Christina Aguilera

The American singer and songwriter are famous for her four-octave which is the ability to hit and sustain high notes. She was born in 1980 in New York and she started her career in 1992 specializing in pop, RnB, dance-pop and soul. Three singles in her debut album topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998 with one earning her a Grammy award for the best new artist. She has released more songs that have topped the charts and garnered her fans all over the world. She was also the coach of the talent reality show ‘ The Voice’.

Additionally, she is described as a triple threat entertainer being a pop culture icon.

5. Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amir Shakur was an American rapper that was considered to be the most influential rapper of all time. He was notable for producing songs that addressed the social issues that affected the inner cities and all forms of inequality. His conscious rap lyrics made him likeable by the public as they could relate to what he was saying and thus make his music sell.

Having advocated for social change makes him an iconic artist as most musicians do not venture into that path.

6. Ashanti

The 41-year-old was born in Glencove, New York. She started her music career early as a teenager after she was discovered and signed into Murder Records Inc. In 2002, she was featured on a song named ‘What’s Luv’ by Fat Joe and ‘Always on Time’ by Jah Rule. These two singles were hits and thus made her a household name as she was the first female artist to occupy the top two positions in the chart.

Ashanti has since grown and has won many awards including a Grammy Award in 2003 for the best contemporary RnB album. She has sold over 15 million records throughout the course of her career.

7. Mary Jane Blige

Mary Jane Blige professionally known as the queen of hip hop is a singer, songwriter, rapper and actress who was born in 1971 in New York City, US. She started her music career in 1988 specialising in R&B and hip hop soul.

Having been in the music industry for a long, she has won many awards that including ten Billboard Music Awards, four American Music Awards and nine Grammy Awards.  She was also nominated for two academy awards and a golden globe award. She even performed the song ‘Just Fine’ during the Neighbourhood Inaugural Ball in 2007 after Barrack Obama was sworn in as the president of the United States of America.

8. Paul Simon

The American singer comes from New York, US. Specialising in folk, pop, rock and world genres, he has had a successful career that spanned six decades. He first started singing in 1956 while he was a teenager with his friend Garfunkel. They came together later and released ‘The sound of silence’ which was a major hit.

Simon has won 16 Grammys for both his solo and collaborative work. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two times.

9. Ezra Koenig

The musician is the lead vocalist, primary songwriter and guitarist of the indie rock band known as Vampire Weekend. He started his music career in 2006 and has won 5 Grammy Awards for the work he was doing in the band. Additionally, Beyoncé’s album Lemonade which he did the production work was nominated for album of the year in 2016.

10. 50 Cent

His real name is Curtis James Jackson. He is one of the most influential artists in the hip-hop scene and is even considered to be the master of nuanced art of lyrical brevity. He started his career in 1996 and has been nominated for 136 awards and won 73 awards during his career.