Seeking to stand apart from what they felt was a far too homogenous phase of hip-hop, North Carolina duo Jae Mansa looked beyond the trends of the day for their old school-tinged sound. Focusing on complex and thoughtful lyrics as well as careful selection of creative beats, the two rappers developed something unique and quickly caught the attention of Jay-Z's Roc Nation. The group signed a deal with the label in 2018 and released their debut mixtape, Yung Kings, early the next year. Jae Mansa was formed in 2016 by cousins Daron Jaelon Johnson and Brandon Boone. They came up with their band name by taking "Jae" from Johnson's middle name and adding it to Mansa, a reference to 14th century emperor Mansa Musa, one of the most wealthy men to ever live. The duo dove into their music, quickly releasing music online just months after forming. The politically themed mixtape F**k Trump arrived in early 2017, hosted by DJ Drama. The charged mixtape was a somewhat awkward introduction to the group, but later that year, the single "Living Better Now" was released and the hard-edged beat and meticulous flows were a far more impressive showcase of Jae Mansa's skills. That single was followed by the aspirational trap anthem "Greatness" in April 2018, and the group signed with Roc Nation a few months later. The buzz grew around the group as singles like "Fate" and "I Swear" preceded debut mixtape Yung Kings, which was released in February 2019. ~ Fred Thomas