Niykee Heaton - The Bedroom Tour Playlist (2016)

Niykee Heaton was discovered through her YouTube channel. In 2011, while still enrolled in high school, the suburban Chicago native began uploading clips of performances recorded in her bedroom -- covers of contemporary R&B, rap, and pop hits, along with occasional originals, for which she accompanied herself on acoustic guitar. Near the end of the following year, a version of Chief Keef's "Love Sosa" was featured on the website WorldStarHipHop -- the day before the singer turned 18 -- and she subsequently caught the attention of Steve Rifkind and Russell Simmons, who signed her to their Capitol affiliate All Def label. Bad Intentions, a six-track EP of alternately sleek and strummy pop-R&B hybrids, was released in September 2014. ~ Andy Kellman.