Ricki Monique

“Monique was a breakthrough into bold, SZA- and Kendrick-influenced hip-hop soul.” – Star Tribune

Ricki Monique is a Minnesota-based musician, organizer, and creative. As co-founder of Tangible Collective, her practice centers on improving the Black creative experience in MN. She uses art as a tool for expression and release. Finding beauty in the process, Ricki believes that creative expression can be used to heal, expose, and provide space for her community – specifically Black women.

A born storyteller, Ricki has written poetry, short stories, and songs for as long as she can remember. She finally shared this gift in 2018 with the drop of her first song on SoundCloud, “Always Knew,” featuring Thomasina Petrus – a local legend, actress, jazz singer, and playwright. The following year, Ricki began making music with @kwey_, which led to the drop of her two latest works, “No Time” (Freestyle) and “Garden of Better,” both on all streaming platforms.

Outside of music, Ricki Monique hosts events, draws, creative directs, plus whatever else she feels will best get her creative ideas out. Using art as a way to evolve and heal, the art form Ricki uses has — and always will — vary. The goal is to get the emotion out and hopefully create something that someone can feel. Stream her music on all streaming platforms!

XINA (rhymes with China) is a multi-disciplinary artist based in the Twin Cities. If you ask what she does, she’ll simply say “arts and crafts,” an umbrella term for her expansive roles as a singer/songwriter, dancer, choreographer, producer, director, designer, and entertainer. With both hands on every aspect of the process, she creates genre-bending music with intensity and vulnerability balanced with a sophisticated mystique. By exercising her intuitive finesse across a growing body of work and into rich, inventive live performances, XINA is proving impossible to ignore.

Recommended for Fans of SZA, Jorja Smith, H.E.R. and Tierra Whack.