MARIA is a female rapper who is apart of the hip-hop group SIMI LAB and is currently signed under SUMMIT. She joined SIMI LAB in 2009 when they first formed and as part of the group, each member released their own work separately. All members in SIMI LAB are either half or mixed, which includes MARIA. She released her first solo album Detox in 2013, followed by Pieces in 2017. Her music is heavily influenced by Western-styled hip-hop and lyrics. MARIA mixes both languages flawlessly and goes between Japanese and English so smoothly that you don’t even realize the switch happened.

The composition in MARIA’s tracks shows the laid back hip-hop vibe that gives off a 90s Western flavor such as “Set Me Free”, “A.W.A.R.E”, “Hip Hop’s Ma” and “Far Away (feat. LUVRAW). Her latest track “Like That feat. Frankie” switches between Japanese and English so perfectly and has a great combination of rap and vocals. She also released some harder rap tracks that scream Western Hip-hop such as “Helpless Hoe”, “Tired”, and “Cold”. MARIA shows off her rap skills and smooth vocals in all her tracks and shows that she is no one-trick pony when it comes to hip-hop.

MARIA has two studio albums (Detox and Pieces), five digital singles, and one EP titled Deep Float that just released September 30th. All are currently available on digital platforms. Check out her official website, Twitter, and Instagram accounts along with the music video for “Far Away (feat. LUVRAW) below!