Nivea B. Hamilton, better known by her mononym Nivea, is an American R&B singer. She is notably known for her Grammy-nominated hit "Don't Mess with My Man" as well as "Laundromat" and "Okay" featuring YoungbloodZ & Lil' Jon. She has released three studio albums: her self-titled debut (2001), followed up by Complicated (2005), Animalistic (2006), and an independently released extended play Nivea: Undercover (2011). In 2019, she released her album Mirrors, including the single, "Circles".
Taalib Johnson, better known by the stage name Musiq Soulchild or simply Musiq is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and gospel influences fused with hip hop. Soulchild has released several successful studio albums that went platinum in the United States.
Kerry Brothers Jr., also known as Krucial, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper. Both natives of New York City, he and singer-songwriter Alicia Keys began a musical partnership in 1998, with songwriting and production work in tandem on several of the latter's earlier releases—Songs in A Minor (2001), The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), As I Am (2007), and The Element of Freedom (2009). He has won two Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album for his contributions to Songs in A Minor, and Best R&B Song for Keys' 2007 single, "No One".
Gerald Maxwell Rivera, known mononymously as Maxwell, is an American singer-songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence following the release of his debut studio album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996), which received widespread acclaim and spawned the hit singles "Ascension " and "Sumthin' Sumthin'". Through the album and its follow ups, Maxwell has been cited—along with Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, and Erykah Badu—for ushering in the neo soul movement and its sensibilities into mainstream popular music during the late 1990s.
Jacquelyn Suzette Wright-Johnson is an American singer and songwriter. She has released five studio albums and is part of the Okayplayer collective. Wright has performed and collaborated alongside rap acts such as The Roots, Jay-Z, and Blackalicious.
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American R&B singer-songwriter and rapper from Los Angeles, California. Aiko embarked on her musical career in 2002, as a backing vocalist and music video performer for the R&B group B2K. She was signed by their record label, The Ultimate Group that same year and was marketed as the "cousin" of B2K member Lil' Fizz to cultivate her own following, although they are not related. Her debut album, slated for a 2003 release through the label with Epic Records, was shelved due to Aiko instead further pursuing her education.
Iman Jordan formerly known by his stage name Mateo, is an American pop/R&B singer-songwriter from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was formerly signed to the Krucial Noise imprint on Interscope Records, label imprint of Alicia Keys producer Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.
Kaseem Ryan, better known by his stage name Ka, was an American rapper, producer, and firefighter from Brooklyn, New York City. His solo work achieved critical acclaim, and he was often noted for his focused concept albums, skilled lyricism, and hushed vocal delivery.
Tyler Woods is an American singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Born in Pleasantville, New Jersey, and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Woods was involved in music from an early age, participating in church choirs, studying piano and forming his own group, Devoted. After graduating from high school, Woods immediately began touring Europe with N-Trigue. His first album, The R&B Sensation, produced by the Grammy Award-winning producer 9th Wonder, was released in 2009. Woods has also been featured with many artists including Styles P, Talib Kweli, Buckshot, Chink Santana, Lloyd, Marc Dorsey, Living Color, Bink and The Lox.
Douglas Jack Agu, better known by his stage name Runtown, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and producer. His music is a blend of Afrobeats, hip-hop, R&B, and reggae. He gained initial recognition with his song "Gallardo (2014)" featuring Davido. He achieved international recognition with his 2016 single "Mad Over You", The song's success led to a remix by Nigerian-Bajan artist Mr Eazi, further expanding its reach.
Sunflower Bean is an American rock band from Glen Head, New York and Brooklyn founded in 2013. The band consists of Julia Cumming, Nick Kivlen, and Olive Faber (drums). Their most recent album Headful of Sugar was released in May 2022.
Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds, 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. He released his second studio album, Case Study 01, in 2019. Caesar featured alongside Giveon on Justin Bieber's 2021 single "Peaches", his first number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100. Caesar's third studio album, Never Enough (2023), is his first release under Republic Records.
Josiah Wise, known professionally as serpentwithfeet, is an R&B musician based in Brooklyn, New York City. Wise released the EP Blisters in 2016, his debut studio album soil in 2018, his second EP Apparition in 2020, and his second studio album Deacon in 2021. His third studio album, Grip, was released in 2024.
David Debrandon Brown, professionally known as Lucky Daye, is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans. He is signed to Keep Cool Records and RCA Records. He released his first EP, I on November 9, 2018, and his second EP, II on February 6, 2019. The EPs were part of a series leading up to his debut studio album Painted which was released on May 24, 2019. His third EP, Table for Two, won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album. His second album, Candydrip, was released on March 10, 2022, preceded by the commercially successful single "Over". His third and latest album, Algorithm, was released on June 28, 2024. The album is currently nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
The following musical events and releases that happened in 2020 in Canada.
Giveon Dezmann Evans, known mononymously as Giveon, is an American R&B singer. He rose to prominence with his collaboration with Drake on their 2020 single, "Chicago Freestyle". In the same year, Giveon released the EPs, Take Time and When It's All Said and Done, the former was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and the latter reaching the Top 10 on the US Top R&B Albums chart. He released "Heartbreak Anniversary", as the second single from Take Time, which reached the Top 40 in the US and was certified Platinum by RIAA. In 2021, Giveon was featured alongside Daniel Caesar on the Justin Bieber single "Peaches", which debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 and US Billboard Hot 100 charts. In 2022, he released his debut studio album Give or Take.
Chakeiya Camille Richmond, known professionally as Keiyaa, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and a record producer. She independently released her debut album Forever, Ya Girl in 2020.
Emanuel Assefa, credited as Emanuel, is a Canadian R&B singer, whose debut EP Alt Therapy Session 1: Disillusion was a Juno Award nominee for Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.
Leven Kali is a Dutch-born American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work on Beyoncé's Renaissance, Drake's More Life and Playboi Carti's self titled mixtape Playboi Carti.
Joyce Wrice is an American singer and songwriter from San Diego, known for her blend of R&B and soul music. She gained recognition with her debut album, Overgrown (2021). In 2023, Wrice earned a nomination alongside Canadian music producer Kaytranada at the Juno Awards.
