K. Flay

K.Flay is an alternative rock artist from Wilmette, Illinois who stumbled upon rapping after having a discussion about modern rap music during her freshman year at Stanford. To prove a point that most radio hits were formulaic compositions packed with simple rhymes and a fair dose of misogyny, she wrote a parody called "Blingity Blang Blang," and found she enjoyed the process. She continued to write songs, taking it more seriously each time, and released her debut album Suburban Rap Queen, during her junior year in 2004. With natural flow, clever wordplay and electric guitar flourishes, she captured a widespread audience that has only grown after each of her subsequent records. K.Flay dropped her debut mixtape, Mashed Potatoes, in 2009 and has since shared the stage with hip-hop heavyweights like Snoop Dogg and Ludacris.