Acid house to trip hop, futuristic soul to rap, female artists today are transforming the very definition of alternative R&B. Departing from the over-sexualized and misogynistic image of women in the music industry, these artistic voices stray from the pack by harnessing messages of empowerment. These artists redefine creative boundaries, not only through innovation of lyrical verse and experimentation in electronica, but in the perception of femininity itself.

Here are 8 incredibly talented female artists you should check out:

1. Jean Grae

Formerly known as What? What?, Jean Grae is a woefully underrated rapper from Brooklyn, New York City. A child of the underground hip-hop scene of '90s, Grae's lyricism is inherently philosophical as she raps about the struggles of being a black woman. Depicting brutally authentic accounts of her abortions, multiple addictions and suicidal tendencies in her album Jeanius, Grae invokes a sort of spirituality in her music and establishes herself as a contender against the biggest names in the hip-hop industry. Her collaborations in the past have included the likes of Immortal Technique and The Roots. Her next anticipated work, announced in 2012, is to be named Cake or Death.

2. Jorja Smith

A newcomer to the R&B scene, Jorja Smith is a 19-year-old British singer who recently released her debut single, "Blue Lights," in January 2016. The track rose to significant recognition amongst A-list music producers like Skrillex and Stormzy, doubling as an introduction for the young artist and as a emblem of post-colonialistic black grime culture. Drawing from old-school jungle and reggae influences, Smith creates an intriguing new artistic direction, paired with her classic voice.

3. Jhené Aiko

Jhené Aiko is an R&B and neo-soul singer/songwriter from Ladera Heights, California. After rising to fame as Lil' Fizz's little cousin in the hip-hop group B2K, Aiko was offered a label deal at Epic but eventually released her first mixtape Sailing Soul(s) independently in 2011, years after asking to be freed from her contract. Sailing Soul(s), featuring collaborations from high-profile artists such as Drake and Kanye West, soon led to Aiko's debut album Souled Out (2014), which includes the Grammy-nominated song, "The Worst." Aiko has recently collaborated with rapper Big Sean under the name Twenty88, garnering positive approval of her new hip-hop image. Aiko cites Aaliyah and Kendrick Lamar as her musical influences.

4. FKA twigs

Known as one of the most versatile artists of our generation, FKA twigs, or Tahliah Debrett Barnett, continues to bend musical genres in her work, eliciting elements of trip hop, electronica, R&B, and avant-pop. When asked about her artistry, she reportedly said "I am not restricted by any musical genre. I like to experiment with sounds, generating emotions while putting my voice on certain atmospheres [...] I found my own way of playing punk. I like industrial sounds and incorporating everyday life's sounds like a car alarm." FKA twigs also has a keen eye for aesthetics, as she directs and produces her own music videos with intense visuals.

5. BANKS

Jillian Rose Banks, better known as BANKS, is an American singer and songwriter originating from Orange County, California. Her style is best described as '"dark R&B" and is often compared to The Weeknd and Erykah Badu. BANKS' debut album, Goddess, was released in September 2014 and rose to number 12 on the Billboard 200. Her second album, The Altar, is a rhapsodic extension of Goddess, spotlighting BANKS as a songwriter of notable artistry, her music being so carefully constructed to exude a sense of vulnerability and resoluteness.

6. Noname

Formerly known as Noname gypsy, Noname grew up as Fatimah Warner on the South Side of Chicago, where she honed her lyricism as a slam poet and later competed in Louder Than a Bomb, finishing third. Noname rose to wider recognition as a female rapper after appearing on Chance's track "Lost" on his second mixtape Acid Rap. Noname released her first mixtape Telefone in July this year, amassing generally positive feedback, as one critic points out, "[Noname] presents an introvert’s path to adulthood in careful detail and emotional intelligence." Her lyrics center around black feminism and the struggles of black women in Chicago while her musical style is strongly influenced by gospel scores and the neo-soul of her contemporary, Lauryn Hill.

7. Princess Nokia

Destiny Frasqueri had once described herself as suspended between two different realms, considering that she grew up between the Spanish Harlem and the Lower East Side of New York City. First performing as Wavy Spice and later on as the mononym "Destiny," Frasqueri is currently appearing in a collaborative duo marketed as Princess Nokia. Dropping her first EP "1992" this past September, Princess Nokia defied the conventional music bureaucracy and its heavily syndicated process of label management by releasing her ode to Harlem independently. Speaking upon intersectional feminism and brown girl power, Princess Nokia draws inspiration from her Afro-Nuyorican background and promotes positivity with a cool-ass vibe, her rapping style reminiscent to that of the Wu-Tang Clan.

8. SEVDALIZA

Based in the Netherlands, indie R&B singer SEVDALIZA has left a remarkable impression on the American music industry solely based on her debut EP, The Suspended Kid. In her songs, soulful vocals are executed over backbeats and heightened basslines, adding dramatic flair to what would otherwise be monotonous synths. Carving her own spot in the future of electronica R&B, SEVDALIZA couples intense tracks with equally profound graphics in her music videos, gaining her much respect as a visual artist.