ROZZI CRANE HOMETOWN: San Francisco, Calif. INFLUENCES: Lauryn Hill, Outkast,Destiny’s Child ALBUM: Rozzi Crane EP, out now WEBSITE: rozzicrane.com Rozzi Crane began performing while she pursued her degree at University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music in L.A. “I’d play anywhere they’d let me,” she says. “Whether it was a dorm Christmas party or a formal USC event, I’d do it, because I love performing.” After earning... 

NAS   The enduring hip-hop storyteller’s latest title becomes his mantra    Several months after releasing his 10th studio album, Life Is Good, Nas is revisiting the title. “I was watching TV the other night and saw this woman had survived pancreatic cancer,” he says. “I was barely listening, because my mom passed from breast cancer, and sometimes it’s just too hard to watch. But I heard her say, ‘Life is good,’ and I thought, ‘If... 

SHANNON LABRIE HOMETOWN: Lincoln, Neb. INFLUENCES: Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill, James Taylor ALBUM: Shannon Labrie EP, out now WEBSITE: shannonlabrie.com The daughter of an opera-singing mother and guitar-playing father, Shannon Labrie took to music early—she astounded her first vocal coach with her four-octave range, and began writing classical piano pieces as a child. She got her first guitar at around 10 and began learning chords from her dad, who...