Portland native CHINA-MARIE is certainly an artist to look out for this year. The free spirited “hippie” Neo-Soul inspired artist, backed by Too short began singing and song writing at the tender age of thirteen. Drawing most of her inspiration from the unfortunate grief due to the passing of her grandmother. How ever just a few years ago she began to turn her pain into success, taking the necessary steps towards moving forward in her career. With this came a huge leap of faith moving from her small town in Portland, Oregon to the big city of LA. During this time China certainly struggled sleeping in her car for a few weeks. While times were certainly tough for the rising star she always kept hope alive, eventually landing a job at LarraBee Studios. At Larrrbee, China was able to get a taste of what the music industry had to offer, becoming certain that creating music was her calling. While listening to China-Marie’s music I would describe her sound as soulful and sincere. Being sure to constantly relate to her audience, giving listeners the confidences to take risks and follow their dreams. ​