'Iâm all about [K-pop], but I canât help but to feel a little bit of like, damn. If itâs foreign it seems to get more accepted than artists over here who are American,' David Lee, a rapper from Queens, New York, who performs under the name Rekstizzy, told me.
Splinter News, âAmerica Is in Love With Asian Music, but Asian American Artists Still Can't Catch a Breakâ (March 2018)
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Indie pop artist CLARA (fka Clara C) releases her new music video for single âRose Red,â a visual accompaniment to âreflect virtues and concepts in the lyrics: patience, deficit, desire, passion, need, urgency, satisfaction, fragility, tension, frustration, chance, etc. Eventually, there is gratification.â
Get the song and support Clara by purchasing at https://claramusic.bandcamp.com.
Congratulations to Jay Park, âan Asian American originally from Seattle, Washington, who entrepreneured his music & business globallyâ (h/t Traktivist) on signing with RocNation.
It's Official @RocNation
This is a win for the Town
This is a win for Korea
This is a win for Asian Americans
This is a win for the overlooked and underappreciated
This is a win for genuine ppl who look out for their ppls
This is a win for hard work and dedication
This is a win for honesty and authenticity
Thank you for the acknowledgement and recognitionđđ Just gettin' started
10ë ě°¨ę°ěě¸ë° ě´ě ëśí°ěěě´ë¤ đ đđ#RocFam #RocNation
-- via Parkâs Official Instagram @jparkitrighthere
From artists as wide and varied as Jai Wolf to Yuna to Run River North, some of your favorite AAPI artist are here with ther top picks of the moment.
h/t to @traktivist:
In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, @spotify has partnered with Asian and Asian American artists who have curated awesome playlists!
MILCK (fka Connie Lim) signs to Atlantic Records, joining the major label that is home to such artists as Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson and Ed Sheeran.
Milck Announces New Music and Atlantic Records Deal in Letter to Fans
âA couple months after our hike, Lim calls to confirm news she wasnât ready to divulge earlier: MILCK has inked a deal with Atlantic Records. She plans to announce this development to her fans via a handwritten letter (which you can read here).â
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
LOS ANGELES â Catch âyour fav black & Japanese singerâ R&B artist Julian King, visiting from Philadelphia to play at Romanov in Studio City tonight. Details below.
Udell acknowledges that race played a role in Zhuâs faceless rollout.
'Some of us donât even know the limitations of our own prejudice [...] Rather than put those limitations to the test, weâve created an engaging way for fans to focus on the music rather than whoâs behind it.'
"How Dance-Pop Act ZHU Scored a Major-Label Deal Using Just His Logo and His Musicâ (via Billboard)
>>VIEW: Peter Su on his music video debut, magic musician ju-ju and his journey around the world
Before boarding the plane that would take him on his two-month sojourn across the world, L.A. based pop/folk artist Peter Su took a second to share with us the details on his first official music video for the single âSanta Barbaraâ (you can watch it here).
Read on to find out how it felt to sacrifice his magic musician ju-ju, where this accomplishment falls in his journey and his growing perspective on marginalized voices.
"Santa Barbara" is your first official music video. Is there a particular reason you chose this track to represent and kick off your album, visually?
Two reasons.Â
1: The beachy folk sound and bittersweet vibe of the recording really summarizes the sound I've gotten to with Lions on the Beach.Â
2: Personally, it's my favorite track off the album. Â Song-wise, the melody is one of the most beautiful melodies I've written (imo hehe) and lyrically it's a Pet Sounds kind of coming-of-age lyric with that saudade I can't get enough of!Â
The video looks great, and... you shaved! We got to see the face behind the signature scruff. How did it feel seeing that face again, and how long did it take to grow the beard back?
Haha I felt naked, and cold. Â Not alone though. Â After the last take on the beach at Del Playa, I busted out this rusty razor I hadn't used in years and went at it with the whole crew watching and pouring water out of bottles for me. Â I used the camera as my mirror. Â Turns out shaving medium-length facial hair on a beach without running water is really hard.
Being shaved was not cool. Â The scruff is like my magic musician-juju! Â I actually acted in Ryan Fung's short film the next week and he required all the male escorts to be shaved. Â After that, I waited about 2 weeks to regain my juju again.
It seems like since the release of your EP and the last time I got to talk to you, you've not only continued to develop as an artist but have grown even more into the community. How involved were you in the process and creation of the music video, and how did it feel working with friends from #weownthe8th to create this music video? Any special anecdotes from the music-video-making process in general you're up for sharing?
Our Mic and #weownthe8th were the best thing that happened to me last year (if you're a creative in LA, you really should do yourself a favor and check it out). Â That's how I met the whole cast and crew.Â
Stanley Wong and Travis Ash were Directors, and I was sort of a third co-director as the artist. Â They were really good at asking questions to get to the essence of the song. Â From that, we wrote the visual story together to bring it out. Â Directing-wise, it was pretty impressive to see them go from Hand Fart (an absurdist comedy) to a more sentimental romantic music video. Â Super creative and structured at the same time. Â They've got something special, those two.
Vivian Ngo, she is such a talented actor.  She's one of few people I've met whose emotional range is both so limitless and so in control. Watching her slip into a moment â of dejection, hope, joy, etc.â was like watching a year's worth of acting masterclasses.
Nate Elegino (DP). Â Man, that guy seriously is a beast behind the camera. Â Every shot I saw on playback looked like a postcard â on the PCH, in Isla Vista, even looking out of the office high rise in downtown LA. Â Plus, he's really good at working with actors. Â I still remember how it felt when he told me to stick my hand out the window, and reach for the sun, and how it felt filling me up. Â Work it, baby!
Jes Vu (Producer). Â So organized and top of things, with boundless energy. Â Her breakdown on the script, she turned over in like a day and kept looking to see how we could run everything smoother.
Oscar Ho (BTS). Â Hardcore, the man behind the cam. Â He shot the BTS footage while we were in Isla Vista. Â He's got a great eye and was always down to help out wherever he could on set.
Lianne Lin (Hair). Â It was just fun to chat with a friend about the live music scene, hair thinning techniques, and good restaurants in the SGV. Â And oh yeah, getting the best haircut I've gotten in 3 years was pretty confidence-boosting too.
I noticed in the middle of "Santa Barbara," there's a shot with a growing stack of books. Are these books you actually read? If so, what, in any of them, especially impacted you?
I love books! Â These were important books to me that I've read, minus some of the business books are in my queue. Â The first book in the stack is Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. Â It was one of the first books I read for inspiration after I decided to leave my job to pursue a creative path. Â Connie Lim actually recommended it to me when I asked her for advice when I was first starting out. Â One takeaway was that you have to love writing so much, that you'll still do it even if nothing external ever comes from it.Â
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, my old VC Partner gave that to me and I still turn to it whenever I feel stuck. Â It's a metaphorical story about a kid in search of his personal treasure and all the lessons he learns along the way. Â It's always cool to check-in and see what part of the journey I'm at, especially when my will gets weak to keep exploring.
So far, a lot of inspiration in your music has been taken from your journey and experience of "going off the safe path" and forging into the unknown, unpredictable lands of being a musician and artist. Your first EP is done, you're putting out your first official music video -- where do you see yourself in that journey now and how does it feel to be in this place?
Yup! Â I finished the tour out to Nashville, released this music video. Â I'm close to wrapping up the album cycle and I'd say I'm in transition now. Â It's kind of scary but exciting too. Â I'll be headed to India next week to study yoga and travel solo for 2 months - definitely a lot of reflection and contemplation about what's next.
The tour in November out to SF, Austin, New Orleans, Nashville, Denver; playing at Sappho in Taipei; and now studying yoga in India - I've been filling the inspiration well, that's for sure. Â Can't wait to get back into creating mode!
Just wondering -- in the very first interview you did with us, we talked a little bit about being an artist in conjunction with Asian American identity. In your recent article with the Huffington Post premiering your music video, you had something to say about that, and it seemed more definitive and of a stronger opinion than before. Have your thoughts on this changed or gone down any certain pathways?
It's still weird to me when people label you as an Asian American musician vs. just a musician. Â But I now know the only thing to do is to just tell my story. Â The more I've been a part of the Asian American creative community in L.A., the more I want to support other marginalized voices in telling their stories.Â
"The Godfather" is a good model of marginalized voices producing work so good that mainstream media had to take notice. Â Our Mic, #weownthe8th, TNC, Sunday Jump, Kollaboration, the whole API creative community in LA, we're telling our stories in increasing numbers, at higher and higher levels of quality. Â I'm very encouraged by the movement and hope that my kids will have a generation of creative role models to look up to.
Final question. In our last conversation, you left us with this lesson learned: "Instead of asking what the world can do to fulfill you, ask what you can give to the world." How has that perspective and value been shaping what you've been up to? And do tell what's next for you and anything else you want to share with your listeners.
I've learned I'm pretty good at bringing people together for a cause bigger than ourselves, and with collaborating. Â So my next step, will probably be less going solo and more collaborative, and more audience-first. Â I'm sure India will give me some good inspiration, and I feel a lot of new songs coming on. Â I've already got a few creative buns in the oven, with Dion Leon and Jenyi Lee - so stay tuned!Â
The best way to follow along on my journey will be to follow my instagram stories (@petersumusic) while I'm in India or signup for my newsletter!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
âMust be someone whoâll understand/Let it out Let it out/Let it out now/Thereâll be someone who understands/Let it out Let it out/Let it out now/I canât ...
If youâre out and about in DC, you might catch MILCK and her 26-strong all-female choir performing on the streets in solidarity with the Womenâs March on Washington today. Theyâll be singing the artistâs new single âQuietâ and spreading #ICANTKEEPQUIETâs message of âbreak[ing] the cycles of oppression.â
If youâre not in DC, you can still catch the livestream on Facebook starting at 9 AM EST.
More information at https://www.facebook.com/MILCKMUSIC.
More about community project #ICANTKEEPQUIET and ways to participate and support here.
Pop/R&B artist Matt Almodiel releases his first online single, âCheers to Us.â Produced by DionLeon, the track is currently up on CD Baby will soon be available on all other online retailers.
Support Almodiel in creating his debut EP by joining his just-launched Indie Gogo campaign.
More at https://www.youtube.com/user/MattAlmodiel.
Rapper and comedian collaborate for a NSFW anthem in celebration of womanhood and AAPI Heritage Month.
#ICYMI, NYC rapper Awkwafina and comedian Margaret Cho combined forces a few months ago to create this feminist, AAPI-reppin track, âGreen Tea,â still relevant as recent events have shown.
Awkwafina, nĂŠe Nora Lum, says it's an anthem for young women of color "to embrace their quirkiness, their sexuality, their inner-child and their creativity with passion."
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
âHeart Seesâ, the latest from beach pop-folk artist Peter Su, is a âyoga goes electronicâ track in collaboration with Kevin Paris & Oscar Del Amor and now available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Amazon.
BOSTON, MA â  This past weekendâs Hindie Rock Fest was a âtwo-day music festival celebrating the sights and sounds of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi culturesâ and featured live sets from acts like Trandcention, Awaaz Do, Raavi Lucia, the Shadow Notes, Hunter Music and Solaradicals.
Check out the official Facebook event page for more information on each of the acts that played the festival and links to their music.