Roots of Estelle
The artists and genres Estelle came out of — one hop back on the influence tree.
Di Geniusartist
MusiqartistTaalib Hassan Johnson, better known by his stage name Musiq Soulchild is an American singer-songwriter. His music blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and gospel influences fused with hip hop.
Sampa the GreatartistSampa Tembo, known professionally as Sampa the Great, is a Zambian singer, rapper, and songwriter. Between 2014 and 2020, she was based in Australia. Her debut solo album, The Return, peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the 2019 ARIA Music Awards she won Best Hip Hop Release for her second single, "Final Form". In the following year she won the same category for The Return, as well as Best Female Artist and Best Independent Release. In March 2020 Sampa became the first artist to win the Australian Music Prize twice: for Birds and the Bee9 and The Return. The artist was based back in Zambia from late 2020, where she issued her second studio album, As Above, So Below.
- Reflection Eternalartist
RapsodyartistMarlanna Evans, better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collaborated with Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. Soon afterwards Rapsody released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful (2012). She would attain further prominence when she was featured on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, on the track "Complexion ".
Akonartist
Sean Paulartist
Janelle Monáeartist- Gym Class Heroesartist
Kool G RapartistNathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known by his stage name Kool G Rap, is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time, and a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content and multisyllabic rhyming. On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the "G" in his name stands for "Giancana", but on other occasions he has stated that it stands for "Genius".
Big Daddy Kaneartist
Todd Rundgrenartist
Lauryn Hillartist
Kanye Westartist
Nasartist
Jill Scottartist
JAY-ZartistShawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. In 2023, Billboard and Vibe ranked him as the greatest rapper of all time. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, Jay-Z is known for his complex lyricism that often uses double entendres, wordplay, and braggadocio. His music is built on a rags to riches narrative. According to Forbes, he is the wealthiest music artist in history, worth an estimated US$2.8 billion as of 2026.
Mary J. Bligeartist- Ella Fitzgeraldartist
Slick Rickartist
AutumnartistAutumn Rowe is an American singer-songwriter, TV personality, DJ, and activist from New York, NY. In 2010, she helped write the song "Happiness" by Alexis Jordan, with producers Stargate and Deadmau5, which FIFA named the official song of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. In 2015, Rowe signed an artist deal with Ultra Records, and in 2018, she began performing publicly as the DJ, dubbed AFTR PRTY. In early 2020, she wrote and performed vocals on the drum and bass song "Good To Me", by British DJ Friction. In 2020, Rowe began to use her platform for activism and co-wrote the song "We Are" with Jon Batiste, which was used on the "Mask Up America" campaign.
Salaam Remiartist
The Rhythm of the Nightartist"The Rhythm of the Night" is a song by Italian Eurodance group Corona. It was released as their debut single in 1993 in Italy, then elsewhere the following year. The song is the title track of the group's debut studio album of the same name (1995), and was written by Francesco Bontempi, Annerley Emma Gordon, Giorgio Spagna, Pete Glenister and Mike Gaffey. It was produced by Bontempi, and the vocals were performed by Italian singer Giovanna Bersola, who is not credited on the single and does not appear in the music video due to her stage fright. The woman who appears in the video is the group's frontwoman Olga Souza. It was directed by Giacomo de Simone and received heavy rotation on European music TV-channels.
Althea & Donnaartist