These artists are definitely something you should keep your eye on!

[Mary B.]

Kid Cudi "Day and Night, the lonely loner seems to free his mind at night, at, at, at night". Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi also known as Kid Cudi was born in Cleveland, Ohio in the diverse upper class suburb of Shaker Heights on January 30, 1984. He is of African American descent with West African ancestry. His career took off after he moved to Brooklyn to pursue his music. He released his first mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, in collaboration with New York street wear brand 10. The mixtape quickly caught the attention of Kanye West, which in turn spawned his signing to GOOD Music later that year. Kid Cudi was later featured on Kanye West's 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak, singing with West on the track "Welcome to Heartbreak", and helping with songwriting on "Heartless" and "Paranoid". "Welcome to Heartbreak" peaked at #87 on the Pop 100, and a music video for the song has been released. However, despite this raising success, Kid Cudi announced on March 16, 2009 that he would be retiring from hip-hop after the release of his first solo album and album with Chip Tha Ripper, due to all the overwhelming stress in the music industry. On March 19, 2009, Cudi confirmed that he was not going to retire on stage at Austin's SXSW 2009 festival. Kid Cudi is currently finishing up his debut album Man on the Moon: the End of Day for an August 25, 2009 release on Universal Motown Records. Ryan Leslie Anthony Ryan Leslie also known as Ryan Leslie was born on September 25, 1978 in Washington, D.C. He is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and singer. Ryan Leslie was born into a multi-cultural family. Leslie is the oldest son of mother Mooi Leslie who is of Caribbean, Dutch, Chinese, and African descent, and father Clement Leslie who is from Barbados, raised in Trinidad. At an early age, Leslie taught himself how to play the piano. He developed the ability to recite music, as well as arrange chords to create songs. Founder of the media company NextSelection Lifestyle Group, Leslie has produced singles for a number of artists in a variety of genres ranging from R&B/Hip-Hop to Pop to Gospel. From 2005-2006 he had his most commercial success to date with NextSelection/Bad Boy/Atlantic recording artist Cassie and her single "Me & U". Under the management of Combs, Ryan worked on various Bad Boy projects including releases from Loon, Cheri Dennis, B5, New Edition and Danity Kane. During that time, Leslie also co-produced a record for Britney Spears. Diverse Media Group, LLC. Jazmine Sullivan "I'm not scared of lions, and tigers, and bears, but I'm scared of loving you". Jazmine Marie Sullivan was born on April 9th, 1987 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sullivan's exposure to secular music was initially limited, "I was doing solos in church and someone wanted me to sign to a gospel label when I was eleven but I wasn't ready to do that," she recalls. "Then when McDonald's had a competition for kids in major cities, I got a chance to perform 'Accept What God Allows' on It's Showtime at the Apollo and the audience responded really well. Sullivan was initially signed to Jive Records at the age 16, but the album was never released and Sullivan was dropped from the label. Instead of being defeated, Sullivan honed her songwriting abilities and wrote her debut album completely. Sullivan first appeared on the music mainstream with her single "Need U Bad", released in May of 2008. The song which featured ad-libs by Missy Elliot went to number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; it also peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sullivan followed up her successful debut single with the second single from Fearless, "Bust Your Windows", which went on to reach number four on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, at the same time achieving her best single peak on the Billboard Hot 100 so far, where it peaked at #31. "Bust Your Windows" was also nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Song. "Lions, Tigers & Bears" was the third and final U.S. single from Fearless. It scored her third consecutive top ten on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and also peaked at #74 on the Billboard Hot 100. Katy Perry "I kissed a girl, and I liked it". Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson also known as Katy Perry was born on October 25, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California. The second child of two pastors, she has an older sister and younger brother. Baptized a Christian, Perry was incorporated to her parents' ministry, and she started singing in their church from the age of nine; she continued singing in the church till she was sixteen. She grew up listening to gospel music and was not allowed to listen to what her mother called secular music. Perry signed to the Christian music label Red Hill, under which she recorded her first album at age 15. Using her real name, Katy Hudson, she released the self-titled Gospel-rock album in 2001. The album was unsuccessful, however, after the label ceased. She later changed her surname to Perry, her mother's maiden name, because "Katy Hudson" was too close to film actress Kate Hudson. After signing to Capitol Records, Perry began recording tracks for her official mainstream debut album, One of the Boys, and establishing her image was one of the immediate concerns of her management. A campaign was started in November 2007 with the release of the video to "Ur So Gay", aimed at introducing her to the music market. While the buzz over Perry was building, she went on the next step of promoting the album, undergoing a two-month tour of radio stations. The album's official lead single, "I Kissed a Girl", was released on May 6, 2008. With the song climbing atop the charts, Perry embarked on the annual Warped Tour music festival, which her management used to "establish her as a credible performer and make sure she wasn't seen as just a one-hit wonder." One of the Boys was released on June 17, 2008 to mixed critical reviews. The album has reached number nine on the Billboard 200, and, as of February 2009, has sold over 800,000 copies in the United States.