Female Emcee's You Should Know by Time Magazine

At 16 years-old the Sudanese-Canadian emcee Reema Major was signed to Interscope Records, thanks to both her considerable rap skills as well as, oddly enough, the help of KISS frontman Gene Simmons. The self-proclaimed “Illest Kid” has a vocal style that draws well-deserved comparisons to such heavy-hitters as Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill. The bilingual artist has a versatile style that vacillates from quasi-punk beats to Arab-inflected tunes as her smooth flow rolls over them in a rapid-fire attack that belies her age. After becoming the first Canadian female to participate in a hip-hop cypher at 2010’s BET Hip-Hop Awards, she released the well-received I Am Legendmixtape in October 2011. She is reportedly working on her debut album and, we’re guessing, her high school diploma.