Rye Rye

Rye Rye

WHO Baltimore's Rye Rye, 21, scored a local club hit with 2006's speaker-shredding "Shake It to the Ground" – which convinced M.I.A. to sign Rye Rye to her N.E.E.T. imprint and take her on tour as a hype girl. "M.I.A. taught me everything," says the MC, born Ryeisha Berrain. "She told me, 'Don't let nobody change you.' "

SOUND For her debut LP, Go! Pop! Bang!, Rye Rye recruited Swedish House Mafia's Steve Angello, Robyn and Akon to help create a blend of glow-stick-friendly dance beats and hip-hop attitude. "The bass better be hardhitting," she says. "I can't feel music if I don't feel the bass."

BABY STEPS Go! Pop! Bang! was originally planned to come out back in 2009 – but then Rye Rye got pregnant (her daughter, Kennedi, arrived later that year). "It was the peak of my career, and I had to take time off," she says. "It was stressful, but it gave me time to mature."

HELLO, HOLLYWOOD Rye Rye landed a part in this year's 21 Jump Street after flying to L.A. for an audition with star Jonah Hill. "They wanted to see if I could keep up with him talking shit," she says. "We argued for the longest time – and everybody loved it."