September 22nd, 2020
Asian MUSIC ARTISTS YOU SHOULD GET INTO: PART 1
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Credits
Author: Jane Lui
Editor: Aparna Sivaraman
Layout: Hope Walborn
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Credits
Author: Jane Lui
Editor: Aparna Sivaraman
Layout: Hope Walborn
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Representing: Vietnamese Roots
Musical Genre: Lo-Fi, R&B, Rap, Alternative Pop, Alternative Also known as Casey Luong, Keshi has made a name for himself with distant falsetto vocals, mixed lo-fi hip hop beats, and nostalgic lyrics. In multiple interviews, he has said despite living in an ethnically diverse community with a large Asian population, he felt out of place and disconnected with his heritage growing up. His parents initially discouraged him from the music scene and he went to college to become a registered nurse. He then started a SoundCloud under the moniker “Keshi” and his songs gained traction, so he quit nursing and began pursuing music full-time. You can find his music on Spotify and Apple Music, and he is signed to Island Records. Want to get into keshi Start with:
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Representing: Thai Roots
Musical Genre: Indie Folk, Neo Soul Phum was born in Bangkok, and moved to New Zealand when he was 9. He was given a drum as his first instrument, something he had taken interest in since he was little, but he had to stop playing the drum as he was disturbing the neighbors. Because of this, he turned to guitar. He studied at Mahidol University International College. In Thailand, he became a YouTube sensation for his original and cover songs. You can find his music on Spotify and Apple Music, and he is signed to Rats Records, an indie label. He has collabed with 88Rising. Want to get into Phum Viphurit? Start with:
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Representing: Filipina Roots
Musical Genre: Indie Rock, Space Rock, Alternative Rock, Indie Pop, Lo-Fi Music, Folk Pop, Bedroom Pop Born in the Philippines and raised in London, Beatrice Laus grew up listening to traditional pinoy music as well as pop and rock from the 80s. She was expelled from one of her high schools, but she did end up graduating at Hammersmith Academy. beabadoobe spent seven years classically learning to play the violin and got her first guitar at the age of 17, in which she self-taught with YouTube tutorials. You can find her music on Spotify and Apple Music, and she is signed to Dirty Hit, a British indie label. She has collabed with No Rome, among other artists. Want to get into beabadoobe? Start with:
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Representing: Japanese Roots
Music Genre: Pop, R&B, Electropop, Alternative Pop Rina Sawayama was born in Japan and moved with her family to London at the age of 5. She studied at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge and graduated with a degree in political science, despite also studying psychology and sociology during her time there. She also was in a hip hop group called Lazy Lion. Rina has been signed to Anti Agency and Elite Model Management and has had a successful career in modeling. She discusses consumerism, sexuality, and other socially conscious opinions in her lyrics. In August 2018, she identified as both bisexual and pansexual. You can find her music on Spotify and Apple Music, and she is also signed to Dirty Hit. Want to get into Rina Sawayama? Start with:
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Representing: South Korean Roots
Musical Genre: R&B, Pop, Soul, KPop A Korean-Canadian singer with a smaller following, suggi rose to fame from his YouTube channel, where he initially posts covers of KPop and other popular songs. Not much else is known about this artist, other than his soft image, which he reflects on in the song “uwu”. You can find his music on Spotify and Apple Music. Want to get into suggi? Start with:
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Representing: Indian Roots
Musical Genre: Rap, Hip-hop Born in California to Indian parents, Raja was actually an Indian classical dancer before discovering hip hop. At the age of 14, she was a freestyle MC known as “Indian Princess” or just Raja Kumari. She is best known for her collaborations with Gwen Stefani, Iggy Azalea, Fifth Harmony, Knife Party, and Fall Out Boy and notably has written hits for those artists. Even though she is known primarily as a songwriter, she released two EP’s, one in 2016 and one in 2019. Raja also holds a degree in religious studies with an emphasis on South Asian Religions. You can find her music on Spotify and Apple Music, and she is signed to Epic Records. Want to get into Raja Kumari? Start with:
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Representing: South Korean Roots
Musical Genre: Rap, Hip-hop Jonathan Park was born in Argentina to South Korean immigrants. When he was three years old, the Park family immigrated to the US and crossed the Mexico-United States border without green cards. They settled down in Koreatown of Los Angeles, California. He began rapping when he was 14 years old, and dropped out of high school his sophomore year. He became a US citizen at the age of 19. He grew a large fan base online after video clips of his rap battles were posted onto YouTube. He is known for rapping about the Asian American experience and social constructs. You can find his music on Spotify and Apple Music, and he is known for collaborating with Drake. He is signed to 88Rising and BORN CTZN. Want to get into Dumbfoundead? Start with:
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Representing: Filipino and Iranian roots
Musical Genre: Hip-hop George Quibuyen and Alexei Saba Mohajerjasbi were students at the University of Washington when they wrote their first song together. MC Geologic, or Prometheous Brown, as George liked to be called, was the son of Filipino immigrants who constantly moved as he was growing up. He is known as a spoken word poet and crafted his lyrics around experience, his connection to community, and advocating for the Filipino community all around the world. He is also a known critic of US foreign policies. Alexei, also known as DJ Sabzi, is rooted in his own Iranian culture and practices Bahá’i faith. He is a Seattle area native who believes in organizing communities to create change, and mentions multiple times in his music that he is inspired by today’s youth. Blue Scholars is a known Seattle hip hop staple, and they launched their own music label in 2006, MassLine Media. You can find their music on Spotify and Apple Music. Want to get into Blue Scholars? Start with:
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Representing: Indonesian, Chinese, South Korean, Japanese roots, among others
Musical Genre: R&B, Indie Folk, Rap, Hip-hop, Lo-Fi, Pop, among others An American mass media company founded by Sean Miyashiro, 88Rising employs well known artists such as Rich Brian (Indonesia), Joji (Japanese), NIKI (Indonesia), Keith Ape (South Korea), Jackson Wang (China), Dumbfoundead (South Korean), Higher Brothers (China), Lexie Liu (China), and Stephanie Poetri (Indonesia). It gained popularity as a label primarily for Asian American and Asian artists who release music in the United States and began gaining traction around 2018 and 2019. Outside of the signed artists, the company has collaborated with Ghostface Killah, 21 Savage, XXXTentacion, Swae Lee, Major Lazer, Yaeji, Phum Viphurit, and Chung-ha. You can find their music on Spotify and Apple Music. Want to get into 88Rising? Start with:
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