Software Engineer, Employee #1 at Dropbox Aston Motes grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, a small town with plenty of computers to keep him occupied. “I always had computers around me," Motes says in an interview with Fast Company, "...and that’s due to my dad, who I think earlier than most people not in Silicon Valley realized the power of personal computation.” He began learning about code in middle school, and by high school

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We are so excited to introduce you to Nezi Momodu, this Nigerian American MC and artist came to our attention with a video of her performing at a Texas Tech Cypher and immediately took the internet by storm. Talented, stylish and beautiful, Nezi has it all and we are on the edge of our seat for what this talent will create next! Pay attention guys because Nezi Momodu is definitely the Next Big

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Khafre Jay is a musician and activist who has taken his love of hip hop and transformed it into an organizing tool for young talented people across the Bay Area. Unsatisfied with the direction he saw mainstream hip-hop going, he founded the organization, “Hip Hop for Change,” to diversify the image of hip hop culture. His own music references the commercialism and materialism that has kept him unsatisfied, making this inspiring artist someone we think

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Musician Kev Choice is able to seamlessly switch between a club banger to a classical piano piece and feel 100% authentic performing either. Performing at the 15th annual Art & Soul festival in Oakland, this artist made us stand up and take notice. A seasoned artist, he's been the musical director for Ms. Lauryn Hill and has performed with Mos Def, Digable Planets, DJ Quik and others. According to Choice’s website, his artistic vision is

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Chinaka Hodge is a writer, artist, activist and educator, originally from Oakland, CA, Chinaka’s talent has taken her around the country. From performing poetry on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam to appearing in rapper Atmosphere’s video for “Kanye West”, Chinaka is extremely talented and shows no signs of stopping. We definitely think Chinaka Hodge should be on your radar, let everyone know that you’ve been hip to this star since the jump. Chinaka Hodge is without

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In anticipation of the new season of “The Next Big Thing,” we are counting down by sharing with you some creators and influential people who we think will be the next big thing in culture! Bay Area based band Antique Naked Soul set themselves and their music apart by only using their voices for instrumentation. Great harmonies led by Candice “Antique” Davis and backed by N’gala McCoy and Jamie Brown are backed by beatboxer Tommy

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