17 Female Artists You Should Be Early On

With this month being Women's History Month, we figured there was no better time than now to debut our list of 17 female artists to be early on. These artists have done a lot to differentiate themselves from the crowd, whether musically or in other ways. Every artist has earned their place on this list, and is at a point in their career where near-term growth is imminent. Take a look for yourself:

If you haven’t heard of PinkPantheress yet, it’s okay, you’re right on time. She had a wildly explosive 2021, and has entered 2022 with grace. Not only is her solo work blowing up, she’s even been featured on a Mura Masa song with Lil Uzi Vert and Shygirl, called “bbycakes.” TikTok played a huge role in her come-up; her process with releasing music began as she made snippets to show her growing fanbase, and built out songs for the ones they reacted to the most excitedly. She introduced an element of consumer feedback into her process, which has proven to be a recipe for success. Her debut album ‘to hell with it’ contains 10 songs with no features, and the least listened-to song on it has 4M streams on Spotify alone. Impressive is an understatement.

This past week, DOECHII said she “couldn’t confirm nor deny” being signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), the label most famously known for Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q. Regardless of her label status, DOECHII has had a massive year in 2021, and is rolling into 2022 with a trademark swagger. After featuring on Isaiah Rashad’s ‘The House Is Burning’ project and dropping a 7-song project of her own with no features, it’s clear she’s making a statement with her latest approach of music-making. We’re very optimistic about DOECHII and her unique take on modern songwriting.

1of1sis is a rapper from Atlanta who’s become most well-known for her song, “Rowdy Rebel”, which was originally written and performed by RealYungPhil, and is produced by Evil Giane. You’ve probably heard of 1of1sis through TikTok, “Rowdy Rebel” has been making a huge impact on the platform ever since its release. It’s looking like a bright future for the young ATL talent.

Millie Go Lightly is a rapper from the UK, and has made multiple appearances recently on our Monday To Monday playlist. She bodies all types of Hip-Hop subgenres, and her soothing voice is proving to be a useful tool in building an enduringly successful career. You’ve gotta hear it for yourself, her song “Jealousy” with Rylo Rodriguez and Lil Keed is everything you need to hear to get hip.

LULÚ is another artist who’s been making recent appearances in Monday To Monday. There’s not much on her online yet (well, most of it is in Spanish), which is a telling sign that it’s very early for her. Her electro-pop fusion is an absolute gem of a subgenre, and it gives her music a character that outshines a lot of competing pop artists. You need to hear her song, “Angel” featuring Adrian Be; it’s very reflective of her general sonic approach.

Lola Brooke is one of the hardest female rappers out of NYC right now. She’s been steadily building for a while, but one particular thing that helped her gain acclaim was her #fromtheblockNYC freestyle. This video of her performing outside, not only showed off how impressive her bars were, but also showed just how energetic she gets while recording. The song Lola performed was “Don’t Play With It” (featuring Billy B). All around, it was insanely impressive, so lo and behold:

Out of Buffalo, NY is the multi-talented Keisha Plum. She is more than a rapper, she’s a poet (and much more). You may recognize her name from timeless Griselda Records albums like ‘WWCD’ (Griselda), ‘Pray For Haiti’ (Mach-Hommy), ‘Pray For Paris’ (Westside Gunn), or Conway The Machine’s most recent album, ‘God Don’t Make Mistakes.’ Her voice and poetry has a tranquilizing effect that works in perfect harmony with her Griselda cohorts, who are known to spit eloquently sinister lyrics in original fashion. Keisha Plum is an artist who breathes life into her unmistakable work. It’s the perfect time for you to get familiar with her.

Blue DeTiger recently made an appearance in Budweiser’s NFT collab with notable upcoming artists; and in the same week, she joined the Bleachers on SNL as their bassist. You might’ve heard her on Monday To Monday. Blue is incredibly talented, and her music clearly delivers that message. Her top releases on Spotify are all in the millions when it comes to plays, and her monthly listener count is edging closer and closer to the coveted 1M mark. She’s earned every bit of progress she’s had so far, and she’s got plenty of more to come.

CLIP is an NYC-based artist who has continued to demonstrate a propensity to make addicting music. CLIP’s top performing song “Sad B!tch” has scored millions of streams on each individual DSPs, and is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to high quality drops. She’s got plenty more, which means an awfully entertaining rabbit hole for you to go down. Enjoy.

Kelow LaTesha is a dynamic DMV-bred artist who’s growing by the day. With collabs from other notable DMV artists like Rico Nasty and Black Fortune, it’s clear that her local community in the music world has taken notice of her ability and growth. Her song with Rico Nasty is an amazing look into the type of style she operates with; take a listen to “PowerPuff Girls” in the link below.

Over the summer, Sean Millea interviewed Bktherula at Rolling Loud on behalf of ONE37pm. The video was a glance at the dazzling personality behind the innovative music of Bktherula: when asked about if the Illuminati has approached her yet, she said “yes the Illuminati has approached me, and I told them to f*** off.” This answer definitely aligns with the energy she carries in her music. She comes across as superiorly confident and innovative, varying from her contemporaries while seeming more sure of herself in her delivery than just about anybody else. BK is definitely one of the top artists to pay attention to within this list. Her song “LEFT RIGHT” has skyrocketed in streams thanks to TikTok, as the rest of her catalog follows suit.

A year ago, Isabel LaRosa was in Maryland diligently working on her music, as she is now. Only difference is that in just a year’s time, she’s grown a cult-like following for her perfectly-timed spin on Hyperpop, and now it’s only up. Isabel LaRosa has set the stage for a groundbreaking 2022, and her music is continuing to impress. Her top song, “Haunted” sits atop over a million streams on Spotify alone, and is the perfect intro to Isabel. In addition to the massive TikTok growth she’s had, she’s been featured on Spotify playlists like New Music Friday, New Pop Picks and SALT, to name a few.

Nina Cobham spent much of her time growing up in Spain, while she’s currently based in Manchester, UK. This has amounted to a bilingual touch for her music, paralleling its R&B and Jazz essence. Her top song “Sola” is at 17M streams on Spotify, and makes the outspoken support she’s received from fans as apparent as can be. Nina Cobham is growing at an astounding rate, and is showing a ton of promise for the future. You might’ve crossed paths with her music on Spotify editorial playlists like Chill Vibes or Chill Latino, and if you haven’t, you should definitely get familiar with the young female talent in the link below.

Known for her rambunctious energy, BigKlit has made quite the name for herself. Her relationship with her fans is unlike any other we’ve seen. It’s safe to say that the rapper always seems comfortable being herself, while pushing the limits of her audience’s comfort levels. In her music, in-person performances, and digital presence, she maintains the same edgy, anarchic brand effortlessly. Her song “Liar” is currently her top performing song, at 21M streams on Spotify. Her emergence was timed perfectly with that of TikTok, and her music has proven to be a perfect fit for the platform, translating to a ridiculous amount of streams.

Meluchis is a Colombian vocalist who lives in NYC. Her modern approach to Latin music is breathtaking. She makes distinct music that embodies where technology and culture have met at this point in time. Her voice and songwriting skills are proving to be the driving forces behind her success, and her social media and DSP presence is expanding day by day. Even though some of her music is in the millions of streams, it’s still super early for Meluchis, so get yourself up to speed.

From Riverside, California, Hook (aka ilyhook) is a wildly talented artist who’s applied a thorough understanding of music and the internet to formulate a successful career. She’s received support from artists such as Zack Fox and Father, and is said to be working on a duo with BKTHERULA called ‘HULA.’ Her one-of-a-kind style is something that’s well-worth your attention.

Mariah The Scientist emerged out of Southwest Atlanta in 2018 with a sweet voice and thought-provoking lyrics. It didn’t take long for her to garner attention with her rare combination of talent; soon after her entrance into the music scene, Tory Lanez took her on his tour and began to mentor her, resulting in her signing to RCA Records. After dropping out of St. John’s University in New York, she’s been on a straight path upwards.