MALINA MOYE

HOMETOWN: Cleveland, Ohio
INFLUENCES: Prince, Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic
ALBUM: Rock & Roll Baby, due out in October
WEBSITE: malinamoye.com

Malina Moye boasts an impressive musical pedigree: Her father was a session bassist and her mother sang backing vocals for Tina Turner. Following in their footsteps, Moye began playing guitar at 9, and fronted the family R&B group Les Moye Ice as a teenager. With a distinctive upside-down playing style, Moye’s skills on her beloved Stratocaster have garnered notice—and she now serves as an endorsing artist for Fender. Handpicked to perform on the Experience Hendrix tour in 2012, Moye is often mentioned in the same breath as the legend. “I don’t feel pressure being compared to Jimi Hendrix,” she says. “I feel more pressure being a woman in a man’s game.” Currently Moye is prepping the release of her debut album, Rock & Roll Baby. She describes the music as “in-your-face, unapologetic, sexy, confident, and in-control. I think it’s important for women to speak up and voice their opinion.”