Raz Simone’s 2014 started with a bang, with the announcement that he was the first rapper to sign to Lyor Cohen’s new venture, 300 Entertainment. His meteoric rise to success might surprise some: Simone has released only two EPs and this year’s brilliant full-length Cognitive Dissonance: Part One. Yet Simone started writing poetry long before venturing into music, and his largely introspective lyrics feature complexity and depth hard to find elsewhere. Add to that his skills as a producer, graphic designer, and video director, all under his Black Umbrella label, and it’s clear that the sky’s the limit for this one. razsimone.com

Read all of our picks for Arts & Culture, and explore the rest of this year’s edition of Best of Seattle.