HOMETOWN: Pasadena, Calif. INFLUENCES: N.W.A., Tupac Shakur, Outkast ALBUM: Awake, 2016 WEBSITE: delonmusic.com No stranger to the stage, rapper-producer DeLon has been a fixture on the underground hip-hop scene—and now he hopes to move into the mainstream with his latest release Awake. The 28-year-old cut his teeth in the clubs of L.A., but what sets him apart are his Sri Lankan roots and straightedge ways. “It’s hard to get away from drugs... 

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... 

NORAH JONES How she made the most unexpected music of her career with some help from Danger Mouse.  In June 2009, Norah Jones was somewhere not many people would expect her to be: in a small Los Angeles studio, cooking up new music with producer Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton. Ten years ago, Jones’ diamond-selling debut, Come Away With Me, established her as a pop icon with a soft, jazzy touch. Each of her follow-up solo albums—all of which...