Moxie Raia

Moxie Raia, the pop-R&B vocalist born Laura Raia in Red Bank, New Jersey, first entered professional circles as a dancer and songwriter well before adolescence. She grew up surrounded by music in a household that favored constant radio play and Motown albums, then gravitated toward piano after the family settled into a house containing an instrument left by previous occupants. At 13 she entered New York City's Professional Children's School; following graduation she began jazz studies at Columbia University. Frustration over limited vocal opportunities prompted her to leave the program unfinished and relocate to Los Angeles with friends, where she joined the Brain House songwriting collective and attracted Capitol Records' interest. The label signed her promptly, resulting in a summer 2013 cover of Big Sean's "Beware" that spread rapidly online; she followed it late that year with her official debut single, the upbeat "Buffalo Bill."

Seeking an artistic path closer to her own instincts, she parted from Capitol and drew on her formal training to shape material for her R&B-inflected debut mixtape, 931, titled after her address. In the interim she issued the Steve Aoki collaboration "I Love When You Cry," which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart during spring 2015. The mixtape arrived in early 2016 with guest contributions from Wyclef Jean, Pusha T., and Post Malone. That year she also served as worldwide opener on Justin Bieber's Purpose tour. Raia resurfaced in 2017 with "Wheels," the first single from her debut album on Silent Records/Def Jam.