Chaz French
D.C.
Chaz French spent most of his early years in D.C. before his family moved to Texas. After his parents split, his mom moved back to D.C. while French stuck around Texas, going through bouts of homelessness until eventually returning to D.C. as well. Things have gone his way since, dropping his debut, Happy Belated, in 2014, followed by These Things Take Time in 2015. He recently moved to Hanover, Md., though D.C. is always home. "The rap scene is growing," he says. "Give us five years and we'll be like Atlanta, New York, or L.A."