From SoundCloud to the Grammys — Congrats to Lil Uzi Vert, Khalid, Kehlani and more on their 2017 Grammy noms

It’s no question that 2017 has been an exciting year in music, especially for the huge crop of artists who kickstarted their careers by uploading their first tracks to SoundCloud.

Today, seven artists you’ve known for years on SoundCloud — 6lack, Kehlani, K.Flay, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Mura Masa and Odesza — all received their first Grammy nominations. Alongside these newcomers, SoundCloud pioneer Lorde landed her fifth career nomination for her latest release, Melodrama.

Spanning hip-hop, dance, electronic and R&B, these artists epitomize SoundCloud’s massive global community, a place where artists come first.

Huge congrats to everyone!

The 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place at New York’s Madison Square Garden on January 28th, 2017.

Learn more about some of this year’s nominees, their SoundCloud stories and their music below.

6lack is nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Free 6LACK and Best Rap/Sung Performance for “PRBLMS”. Kicking off his musical career as a battle rapper, 6lack uploaded his first tracks to SoundCloud in 2013. The Atlanta singer achieved breakthrough success just three years later with a series of SoundCloud releases that culminated in his debut album, Free 6LACK.

Listen to Free 6LACK here.

 

 

Kehlani, nominated for Best R&B Performance for “Distraction” and Best Remixed Recording for her song “Undercover”, joined SoundCloud in 2013 and uploaded her song “ANTISUMMERLUV” on the platform that same year. Just last month, her latest single, “Honey”, amassed nearly 200,000 plays on SoundCloud in less than 24 hours.

Listen to the Grammy-nominated track “Distraction” here.

 

 

K.Flay is nominated for Best Rock Song with “Blood In The Cut” and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Every Where is Some Where. She joined SoundCloud in 2009 and uploaded her first track in 2010, kicking off the songwriter’s career. K.Flay quickly caught the attention of the industry and fans alike with her genre-defying sound that touches pop, hip-hop and most recently, rock. Along with receiving two Grammy noms in 2017, she collaborated with Imagine Dragons and was a special guest on the group’s Evolve tour.

                                          Listen to K.Flay’s Every Where is Some Where here.

Khalid, a five-time nominee including Song Of The Year, Best New Artist, Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best R&B Song, and Best Music Video, joined SoundCloud in 2015. It only took a few months for the singer to prove he was a force to be reckoned with — his very first upload, a self-described ‘rough draft’ of “Saved”, garnered over 6K plays in about 24 hours. Two years later, Khalid’s recognized in the industry as one of 2017’s top emerging artists. Recently he paid homage to his early days on the platform by uploading another ‘rough draft’ track – the acoustic song, “Perfect”.

Listen to Khalid’s American Teen here.

Lil Uzi Vert, nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance with Migos for “Bad and Boujee”, joined SoundCloud in 2012. Although the rapper didn’t upload his first track until 2014, he quickly gained a large and loyal following, ultimately snagging the title of SoundCloud’s Most Followed Artist in 2016. In 2017, Lil Uzi Vert released his debut album, Luv is Rage 2, and found mainstream success, reaching number one on the Billboard 200 chart.

Listen to Lil Uzi’s Luv is Rage 2 here.

 

Lorde, whose Melodrama scored a coveted Album Of The Year nomination, joined SoundCloud in 2011. A year later, she self-released The Love Club EP on SoundCloud as a free download. After amassing more than 60,000 downloads, she signed to Universal Music Group, who commercially released the EP in March 2013. And the rest is history.  

Listen to Lorde’s Melodrama here.

 

Mura Masa, nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album, joined and uploaded his first track to SoundCloud in 2013. A prolific uploader to the platform, he immediately attracted listeners with his signature sound that flawlessly combines vocals and percussion with electronic beats. In 2017 he dropped his self-titled debut on SoundCloud.

Listen to Mura Masa’s self-titled debut here.

 

Odesza, nominated for Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album, joined and uploaded their first track to SoundCloud in June 2012. Their deep involvement with the platform helped them to grow a loyal fan base in a matter of years. Since their debut, the Seattle duo has distinguished themselves as one of the biggest stars in the new electronic scene, standing above the fray with their heavily-textured, shoegaze-influenced sound. In 2017 they released A Moment Apart and embarked on their first world tour.

Listen to A Moment Apart here.