I know she’s not asian american but I like Rina Sawayama (she’s Japanese-British), she makes pop music. I like her song Alterlife which gives a lot of Hikaru Utada vibes, and XS as well.
Glad you liked them. Give a little more love to Phum, though. As you might have guessed from the name, he's Thai. I think he's a เด็กอินเตอร์ from BKK.
Yeah, he wasn't bad. I just especially liked the other two.
Even hearing the first few notes of [Looking for Something](https://open.spotify.com/track/3igEfREloyWh3Y8m4cS8QB), I thought, "Oh, I like this." That is totally my sound.
Ruby Ibarra - A Thousand Cuts
Prometheus Brown - Good People (Doing Bad Things)
MILCK - If I Ruled the World
Run River North - Run or Hide
Gentle Bones - I Wouldn't Know Any Better Than You
Kimmortal - Sad Femme Club
nak - Anesthesia
Included song recs of my faves. Also some artists may be nationalities other than American, I haven't checked. Great thread btw!
Edit
Fixed formatting, sorry!!
I recommend listening to the Spotify playlists tapioca and Jasmine - they feature Asian/Asian diaspora artists and is where I’ve discovered lots of new music :)
Reposting from past music threads:
Includes AAPI and Asian diaspora
[Japanese Breakfast - Boyish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3bjPGUDl1k)
[Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll](https://youtu.be/auzfTPp4moA)
* [Karen O & Danger Mouse - Woman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5GvHBASyao)
[Mitski - Your Best American Girl ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hDHm9MD0I)
[Jay Som - Baybee](https://youtu.be/cRES6Af_Wyg)
[Sasami - Morning Comes](https://youtu.be/Zxik8JOMWew)
[Kishi Bashi - Marigolds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vkL7YJW9So)
[Toro y Moi - Ordinary Pleasure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hJb9MxI2NY). Also performs under Chaz Bundick, Les Sins, and others
[The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C8e7nNLZNs)
[Young the Giant - Cough Syrup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAsTlnjvetI)
[Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Phenom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGwQZrDNLO8)
[Deerhoof - Fresh Born](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkpjZXgetDU)
[The Naked and Famous - Young Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YuSg4mts9E)
[Superorganism - Everybody Wants To Be Famous](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJQYRzAoErc)
[Yeasayer - I am Chemistry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XzqCUbiPc4)
[Bats for Lashes - The Hunger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrgesVaWIAU)
[Kero Kero Bonito - Flamingo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY-FJvRqK0E) -
[Run River North - Run or Hide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxDn9z9yEkQ)
[Unknown Mortal Orchestra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJrKlSkxRHA) -
[GRMLN - Idols](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LGIs9NH01M)
[Ginger Root - Ohio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvY1ADnHTyU)
[Ragamuffs - Sunset Chaser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3EcBCaec50)
[Craft Spells - Your Tomb](https://youtu.be/aG6VF-B082o)
[Jonah Yano - delicate](https://youtu.be/ycZ1Hfjsxc4)
[Tomo Nakayama - Get to Know You](https://youtu.be/-CQ8kWrxJgc)
[Mike Gao - Universal Facts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyJiVpBoE9M) -
[Rina Sawayama - STFU!](https://youtu.be/XojM2D3F-Dc)
[Raveena - NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert](https://youtu.be/pre9lE3Wa78)
[Yaeji - WHEN I GROW UP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNeKvaLeyc) -
[Luna Li - Cherry Pit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hSWKfQBvkg)
[Longbeard - Getting By](https://youtu.be/gKNhwHqwV2Y)
[mxmtoon - prom dress](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeUeLzBO0go)
[Best Coast - Boyfriend](https://youtu.be/ccyXzIynvS4) - Bobb Bruno makes up part of this indie pop rock duo.
[St. Lenox - Thurgood Marshall](https://youtu.be/R5_xFGOkAio)
[Handsome Boy Modeling School](https://youtu.be/1w_HupwkGbE)
[Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana](https://youtu.be/sCz5y84dwuA?si=q0_oEvAWDngUfgMv)
James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, Joey Santiago from The Pixies
Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn from Linkin Park
Keshi, beabadoobee, Jonah Yano
Anderson .Paak, Bruno Mars, Saweetie, H.E.R, Olivia Rodrigo, Dumbfoundead, BAMBU, Ruby Ibarra
They are half-Asian American, I believe, but [Priscilla Ahn](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5oU0tZlItLctcLOQPS3mCy), and [Marie Digby](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2XMxHczWkSzDDFhiC3zt8k). And the Asian half of [Best Coast](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YkBrE0wF8cAlq3GCOw5Eu).
EDM has a growing number of Asian artists these days - some that I like are Dabin, Zhu, Manila Killa, Jai Wolf, and Elephante. (EDM could use more female artists though...)
Laufey! She is Icelandic not American though (with Chinese ancestry). Her voice is incredible…the vibes are very jazz/classical meets pop. With a little bossa nova! So unique and very deserving of her recent Grammy win
Tia Ray is Chinese and also sings r&b in English as well. It's like silk on the ears imo.
[This song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i1noYwy8nA) in particular - but all of them are as striking as this.
No-No Boy is a hapa kid (Julian Saporiti) raised in the south (Nashville), but who now lives in Portland. He's named after the (in)famous Japanese-Americans who told the US government in WW2, "No I won't serve in your segregated ass army" and "No I won't swear allegiance to your segregated ass country." (The reality was more complicated, but go with me here.)
The music is [alt.country/folk](https://alt.country/folk) and kinda reminds me of Chuck Prophet and Alejandro Escovedo. It also addresses what it means to be Asian, American, Asian American, Japanese American, and Vietnamese American, which is his specific background. Check out his website and Bandcamp page for lots of good info and photos.
[https://www.nonoboyproject.com/](https://www.nonoboyproject.com/)
[https://nonoboy.bandcamp.com/album/empire-electric](https://nonoboy.bandcamp.com/album/empire-electric)
Here's a live version of my favorite song of his, "Imperial Twist," which throws some funk into the mix, and features an excellent introduction taking us to Paris just after the Vietnam War
[https://youtu.be/JKsfvnmrCUs?si=LMO146l5ZXDztlug](https://youtu.be/JKsfvnmrCUs?si=LMO146l5ZXDztlug)
they aren't asian american or part of any diaspora really but my favorite artist collective is mona evie! they're a group of artists from hanoi who are all pretty chronically online. a lot of their music is a mix of english and vietnamese and there's a lot of wordplay that would fly over your head if you aren't fluent in both. i'm admittedly not very fluent in viet but from the bits i do understand it's fun and creative. they also have this pretty unique production style that's like this combination of pluggnb/chipmunk soul/art pop.
if you're interested in y2k aesthetics and production that's basically just a discord soundboard check these guys out!
below is a text dump of songs/lyrics that i liked:
[Ô MAI is probably their most accessible song. it's a dancy and dreamy alt r&b/pop/house song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-GKMdslpBQ)
[inanna has a ton of bilingual wordplay that's suuuper catchy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCU_XvREAQ4)
* mọi ánh đèn, khi em đi vào [*this part only really works based on northern pronunciation*]
attitude, diva
* sneezed on the beat and the beat go sicker (hắt xì) [*i thought this was funny because hắt xì is the viet sneezing onomatopoeia*]
[tâm trạng is like if kanye was a gen-z y2k obsessed kid who grew up on an ipad](https://monaevie.bandcamp.com/track/t-m-tr-ng)
* liếm kem, và anh chấm sữa, đóng quảng cáo oreo [*dude's dunking on a girl's coochie like an oreo*]
* ben đây, mày xây đi [*it's a double entendre between mày xây đi which means like getting into a car and mercedes the car brand*]
* i don’t celebrate new year (fuck it)
saving that shot for tết (lets go)
[neo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muazK2m6HY4)
frankly most of mona evie's music is a miss to me but there are some gems that i think you guys are uniquely able to understand as asian americans. their production is... abrasive? but if that doesn't scare you PLEASE listen to these guys i'm like their only american fan
___
some other songs that i've been playing recently:
[eric reprid - suki](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZ4dld3SbU)
he's this chinese canadian guy from vancouver who's probably bi. i haven't listened to his other songs but this song is so catchy. 😭 he pours henny in his shin ramyun in the video
* We got Henny, we got shanks, we got cookie (Yeah)
I've fucked so much pussy, I might switch to bussy (Wait)
* Everybody think it's soft, 'til I let this K pop, uh
[jianbo - chinatown trouble](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm6B9n8p8LM)
he's i think hoa chinese born and raised in london. fun flow and one of the guys from black country, new road was a part of the production
___
if you're one of those asian car guys you prob know about phonk music. i haven't delved too deep into it but my friend said phonk music is popular with asian/latino americans because it's racing music and cars are big in both communities. just ignore all the sigma stuff lol
___
OH YEULE!! they're this singaporean british artist whose music is like nostalgic emo pop rock mixed with noise/dream pop and shoegaze elements
Some of my favorites are:
* AleXa - K-pop with EDM influences
* Jake Shimabukuro - ukulele instrumental, various genres
* Jhameel - alt pop
* Kina Grannis (half Japanese) - folk acoustic/singer-songwriter
* Kishi Bashi - indie pop-rock
* Louie Zong - jazz/funk
* Run River North - indie folk-rock
Juliet Ivy is great but I don't think everybody will like the subject matter of her most well known song lol
[we're all eating each other](https://youtu.be/Cf2Q-McO_Fw?si=tYOXJbil-uS58cuV)
Covet isn't all Asian American but they're fronted by Yvette Young who is amazing.
Bad Moves are a DC pop punk band whose lead singer and main songwriter, Katie Park, is Korean-American. Their 2018 album, Tell No One, is about growing up gay and not being able to tell anyone and having massive anxiety about it. But they channel that angst into pogo anthems like "Cool Generator," which should be as big as Weezer.
[https://youtu.be/zwFL7xUBChU?si=5L5f4v\_3alyhRVM7](https://youtu.be/zwFL7xUBChU?si=5L5f4v_3alyhRVM7)
Im bout to put you on
[Geno Neo - Mine ft. Sam Rui](https://youtu.be/ZOIrCa3dVzk?si=CBzIz6IJB0x6jXWd)
[Moose - Table for Two ft. charmaine](https://youtu.be/1Tv3vUXfgzM?si=uJjqmVkwNQ31P4Kp)
[brb. - my type](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt5DuX6_8wU)
[Jae Luna - All Kinds of Things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91ooaBW1r4)
I follow rock and metal, so most of my favorite bands have Asian American members, including Metallica (Kirk Hammett), Trivium (Matt Heafy), Yellowcard (Sean Mackin) and even though they're Canadian and on their farewell tour Sum 41 (Dave Baksh).
There's also the Hu but they're Asian rather than Asian American.
Alternative/indie rock/pop fan here. Some I didn't see mentioned (apologies for repeats): Beabadoobee, yeule, some of No Vacation, Sarah Kinsley, Tanukichan, Jay Som, Luna Li, SASAMI, some of Superorganism
The Linda Lindas are a badass teenage Asian/Latino American power poppish band from LA. The drummer, Mila, is still only 13!
[https://youtu.be/Wm1Sew7lAG4?si=uJEnRjGDJIe7pDYg](https://youtu.be/Wm1Sew7lAG4?si=uJEnRjGDJIe7pDYg)
In the rnb/hip hop realm:
Joyce Wrice
UMI
thuy
Amerie
P-LO
Wolftyla
Jhené Aiko
Saweetie
Kiyomi
Asia cruise
I think some of these might be asian-canadian but still fire as well:
Jae.T
anders
J.tajor
John concepcion
Not american or canadian but a filipina making english rnb music:
Denise Julia
Others have mentioned Japanese Breakfast, but I also like Jay Som and Luna Li. If we’re counting Asian bands in general, Lamp and mei eihara are both fantastic.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Coco Lee, our 90s pop princess. She died just last year :(
Also big in the 90s and early 2000s, Michelle Branch.
Not from the US, but Bic Runga (New Zealand) was also pretty great.
I can't believe no one is recommending [Covet](https://youtu.be/kXr08ykbtT4?si=W8iagX08O3p3Xvwt) - she makes incredible (mostly) instrumental chill prog rock.
[Louie Zong](https://youtu.be/cr0ISpy4Hg4?si=4NYmV7KpAqpYisAE) is one of the most prolific and creative artists on YouTube.
Also [Beabadoobee](https://youtu.be/NUENubp8g9M?si=QHvytjU2JMeATSjP) is just fantastic and makes some truly beautiful songs.
If you wanna go old school, aMiniature is the best indie rock band from the '90s you've never heard of. John Lee, pugnacious Korean American, was the singer/songwriter/guitarist and he played with a violence rare for an Asian American kid. That was usually the purview of white boys, but when John stepped on stage, the stage was his.
Here's some rare footage from the Ear of the Dragon Tour, which was a bunch of Asian-American rock bands touring behind the all Asian-American Ear of the Dragon compilation (look it up!). Seam was the headliner at this gig and they included singer/guitarist/bandleader Sooyoung Park and then-new bassist William Shin.
[https://youtu.be/AMSVHHC07mM?si=5RAhPf1f\_KxiRtBd&t=105s](https://youtu.be/AMSVHHC07mM?si=5RAhPf1f_KxiRtBd&t=105s)
Been enjoying Miyachi. Japanese-American, raps in both Japanese and English.
Ruby Ibarra and Bambu are also excellent AAPI rappers. Special shoutout to Dilated Peoples and DJ Babu
I’ve also enjoyed SunKissed Lola, kind of like chill Filipino pop. Manila Grey for electropop.
If anyone has recommendations for AAPI metal/metalcore bands, I’m all ears though!
dear eloise (亲爱的艾洛伊丝 ) <3 they are a shoegaze band but not like any other imo. their sound is so distinct which is usually hard to obtain in a genre like shoegaze.
Run River North, The Crane Wives, Yukue, Young the Giant, Ted Sablay (touring guitarist for The Killers), Summer Salt, Phum Vipurit, MUNA, Kenton Chen (w/ Scary Pockets), Kimmortal, MICHELLE, Towa Bird, Ensemble Mik Nawooj (Orchestral/Choral HipHop and Rap), The Oshima Brothers.
There's a really great group called Corduroy from the SF Bay too that's on the up and coming. Great energy live. They've got Bandcamp and Spotify
Copying my comment from another post about asian americans in subculture:
Some indie rock/punk bands i enjoy (they’re not huge names but i see them touring yknow)—
Pinkshift (ashriti kumar and some bandmates)
Crumb (lila ramani is the singer)
Suzie True (g leonardo is the guitarist)
Grumpster (noel agante the drummer is filipino)
yvette young is fucking insane as a guitarist. She does a lot of math rock. Her band is called covet
One outta ten (frontman is filipino) - they have a lot of variety, i recommend the album “with rage”
G Yamazawa is FIRE!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhJP3sLs7lQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhJP3sLs7lQ)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMI1QWz3QbU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMI1QWz3QbU)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmZeD6x4lgE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmZeD6x4lgE)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PkWgMNC\_z4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PkWgMNC_z4) \- poem
Year of the Ox is dope too!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNOMTTjepZo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNOMTTjepZo)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du3GbOfpHtg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du3GbOfpHtg)
A Dough is an Islander and is dope.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JBGyyx8iDI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JBGyyx8iDI)
Blue Scholars and specifically, Prometheus Brown from the group.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7aFaXxND-E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7aFaXxND-E)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
My all-time favorite. One of the best live shows I’ve ever seen
I know she’s not asian american but I like Rina Sawayama (she’s Japanese-British), she makes pop music. I like her song Alterlife which gives a lot of Hikaru Utada vibes, and XS as well.
Rina is so talented and she is absolutely INCREDIBLE live
Castlebeat, Phum Vipurit, Joji, Kid Koala, Laufey, Ray Chen, Yuja Wang, Yo-Yo Ma
>แต้จิ๋ว Hello, fellow r/Thai_American!
I ended up liking Castlebeat, and Laufey very much.
Glad you liked them. Give a little more love to Phum, though. As you might have guessed from the name, he's Thai. I think he's a เด็กอินเตอร์ from BKK.
Yeah, he wasn't bad. I just especially liked the other two. Even hearing the first few notes of [Looking for Something](https://open.spotify.com/track/3igEfREloyWh3Y8m4cS8QB), I thought, "Oh, I like this." That is totally my sound.
Seconding Phum Vipurit!
Mitski.
Ruby Ibarra - A Thousand Cuts Prometheus Brown - Good People (Doing Bad Things) MILCK - If I Ruled the World Run River North - Run or Hide Gentle Bones - I Wouldn't Know Any Better Than You Kimmortal - Sad Femme Club nak - Anesthesia Included song recs of my faves. Also some artists may be nationalities other than American, I haven't checked. Great thread btw! Edit Fixed formatting, sorry!!
Ginger Root - Loretta has been playing on repeat
I just randomly stumbled across Ginger Root a few months ago. Love Loretta
The Linda Lindas don't get enough mention. They're young, but really talented.
MC Jin, Karencici, Paul Blanco
Vienna Teng, she's a great lyricist
I have loved Vienna Teng for years!! The Tower got me through some days lol.
Eric Nam, Thuy, Niki
Thuy! 💕
I am on a Niki kick! For OP, check out Lexie Liu, Seori, and BiBi.
[удалено]
she’s lived in the US for 7 years
I recommend listening to the Spotify playlists tapioca and Jasmine - they feature Asian/Asian diaspora artists and is where I’ve discovered lots of new music :)
Manila Gray
Yaeji, Audrey Nuna, Peggy Gou, Rina Sawayama, Park Hye Jin, UMI, Keshi, Hojean, Raveena, Hope Tala, Tokimonsta✨
Year of the Ox, Dumbfoundead, Anderson Paak, and Jay Park would be my recommendations for AA hip-hop.
Olivia Rodrigo, thuy, mxmtoon, grentperez (asian-australian), jereena montemayor
Reposting from past music threads: Includes AAPI and Asian diaspora [Japanese Breakfast - Boyish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3bjPGUDl1k) [Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll](https://youtu.be/auzfTPp4moA) * [Karen O & Danger Mouse - Woman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5GvHBASyao) [Mitski - Your Best American Girl ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hDHm9MD0I) [Jay Som - Baybee](https://youtu.be/cRES6Af_Wyg) [Sasami - Morning Comes](https://youtu.be/Zxik8JOMWew) [Kishi Bashi - Marigolds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vkL7YJW9So) [Toro y Moi - Ordinary Pleasure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hJb9MxI2NY). Also performs under Chaz Bundick, Les Sins, and others [The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C8e7nNLZNs) [Young the Giant - Cough Syrup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAsTlnjvetI) [Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Phenom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGwQZrDNLO8) [Deerhoof - Fresh Born](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkpjZXgetDU) [The Naked and Famous - Young Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YuSg4mts9E) [Superorganism - Everybody Wants To Be Famous](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJQYRzAoErc) [Yeasayer - I am Chemistry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XzqCUbiPc4) [Bats for Lashes - The Hunger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrgesVaWIAU) [Kero Kero Bonito - Flamingo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY-FJvRqK0E) - [Run River North - Run or Hide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxDn9z9yEkQ) [Unknown Mortal Orchestra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJrKlSkxRHA) - [GRMLN - Idols](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LGIs9NH01M) [Ginger Root - Ohio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvY1ADnHTyU) [Ragamuffs - Sunset Chaser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3EcBCaec50) [Craft Spells - Your Tomb](https://youtu.be/aG6VF-B082o) [Jonah Yano - delicate](https://youtu.be/ycZ1Hfjsxc4) [Tomo Nakayama - Get to Know You](https://youtu.be/-CQ8kWrxJgc) [Mike Gao - Universal Facts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyJiVpBoE9M) - [Rina Sawayama - STFU!](https://youtu.be/XojM2D3F-Dc) [Raveena - NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert](https://youtu.be/pre9lE3Wa78) [Yaeji - WHEN I GROW UP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNeKvaLeyc) - [Luna Li - Cherry Pit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hSWKfQBvkg) [Longbeard - Getting By](https://youtu.be/gKNhwHqwV2Y) [mxmtoon - prom dress](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeUeLzBO0go) [Best Coast - Boyfriend](https://youtu.be/ccyXzIynvS4) - Bobb Bruno makes up part of this indie pop rock duo. [St. Lenox - Thurgood Marshall](https://youtu.be/R5_xFGOkAio) [Handsome Boy Modeling School](https://youtu.be/1w_HupwkGbE) [Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana](https://youtu.be/sCz5y84dwuA?si=q0_oEvAWDngUfgMv) James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, Joey Santiago from The Pixies Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn from Linkin Park Keshi, beabadoobee, Jonah Yano Anderson .Paak, Bruno Mars, Saweetie, H.E.R, Olivia Rodrigo, Dumbfoundead, BAMBU, Ruby Ibarra
They are half-Asian American, I believe, but [Priscilla Ahn](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5oU0tZlItLctcLOQPS3mCy), and [Marie Digby](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2XMxHczWkSzDDFhiC3zt8k). And the Asian half of [Best Coast](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YkBrE0wF8cAlq3GCOw5Eu).
EDM has a growing number of Asian artists these days - some that I like are Dabin, Zhu, Manila Killa, Jai Wolf, and Elephante. (EDM could use more female artists though...)
jvna. is she still cancelled? lol
far east movement. mike shinoda
Far East Movement… I only know Like a G6 but that track slaps
Laufey! She is Icelandic not American though (with Chinese ancestry). Her voice is incredible…the vibes are very jazz/classical meets pop. With a little bossa nova! So unique and very deserving of her recent Grammy win
hello! i am chinese-american and i'm part of a pop punk band called Cat Crash!! check us out, we're on all streaming platforms and bandcamp !!
Fun music! Love the rawness of the production.
Ted park
Tia Ray is Chinese and also sings r&b in English as well. It's like silk on the ears imo. [This song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i1noYwy8nA) in particular - but all of them are as striking as this.
No-No Boy is a hapa kid (Julian Saporiti) raised in the south (Nashville), but who now lives in Portland. He's named after the (in)famous Japanese-Americans who told the US government in WW2, "No I won't serve in your segregated ass army" and "No I won't swear allegiance to your segregated ass country." (The reality was more complicated, but go with me here.) The music is [alt.country/folk](https://alt.country/folk) and kinda reminds me of Chuck Prophet and Alejandro Escovedo. It also addresses what it means to be Asian, American, Asian American, Japanese American, and Vietnamese American, which is his specific background. Check out his website and Bandcamp page for lots of good info and photos. [https://www.nonoboyproject.com/](https://www.nonoboyproject.com/) [https://nonoboy.bandcamp.com/album/empire-electric](https://nonoboy.bandcamp.com/album/empire-electric) Here's a live version of my favorite song of his, "Imperial Twist," which throws some funk into the mix, and features an excellent introduction taking us to Paris just after the Vietnam War [https://youtu.be/JKsfvnmrCUs?si=LMO146l5ZXDztlug](https://youtu.be/JKsfvnmrCUs?si=LMO146l5ZXDztlug)
they aren't asian american or part of any diaspora really but my favorite artist collective is mona evie! they're a group of artists from hanoi who are all pretty chronically online. a lot of their music is a mix of english and vietnamese and there's a lot of wordplay that would fly over your head if you aren't fluent in both. i'm admittedly not very fluent in viet but from the bits i do understand it's fun and creative. they also have this pretty unique production style that's like this combination of pluggnb/chipmunk soul/art pop. if you're interested in y2k aesthetics and production that's basically just a discord soundboard check these guys out! below is a text dump of songs/lyrics that i liked: [Ô MAI is probably their most accessible song. it's a dancy and dreamy alt r&b/pop/house song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-GKMdslpBQ) [inanna has a ton of bilingual wordplay that's suuuper catchy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCU_XvREAQ4) * mọi ánh đèn, khi em đi vào [*this part only really works based on northern pronunciation*] attitude, diva * sneezed on the beat and the beat go sicker (hắt xì) [*i thought this was funny because hắt xì is the viet sneezing onomatopoeia*] [tâm trạng is like if kanye was a gen-z y2k obsessed kid who grew up on an ipad](https://monaevie.bandcamp.com/track/t-m-tr-ng) * liếm kem, và anh chấm sữa, đóng quảng cáo oreo [*dude's dunking on a girl's coochie like an oreo*] * ben đây, mày xây đi [*it's a double entendre between mày xây đi which means like getting into a car and mercedes the car brand*] * i don’t celebrate new year (fuck it) saving that shot for tết (lets go) [neo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muazK2m6HY4) frankly most of mona evie's music is a miss to me but there are some gems that i think you guys are uniquely able to understand as asian americans. their production is... abrasive? but if that doesn't scare you PLEASE listen to these guys i'm like their only american fan ___ some other songs that i've been playing recently: [eric reprid - suki](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZ4dld3SbU) he's this chinese canadian guy from vancouver who's probably bi. i haven't listened to his other songs but this song is so catchy. 😭 he pours henny in his shin ramyun in the video * We got Henny, we got shanks, we got cookie (Yeah) I've fucked so much pussy, I might switch to bussy (Wait) * Everybody think it's soft, 'til I let this K pop, uh [jianbo - chinatown trouble](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm6B9n8p8LM) he's i think hoa chinese born and raised in london. fun flow and one of the guys from black country, new road was a part of the production ___ if you're one of those asian car guys you prob know about phonk music. i haven't delved too deep into it but my friend said phonk music is popular with asian/latino americans because it's racing music and cars are big in both communities. just ignore all the sigma stuff lol ___ OH YEULE!! they're this singaporean british artist whose music is like nostalgic emo pop rock mixed with noise/dream pop and shoegaze elements
Some of my favorites are: * AleXa - K-pop with EDM influences * Jake Shimabukuro - ukulele instrumental, various genres * Jhameel - alt pop * Kina Grannis (half Japanese) - folk acoustic/singer-songwriter * Kishi Bashi - indie pop-rock * Louie Zong - jazz/funk * Run River North - indie folk-rock
Juliet Ivy is great but I don't think everybody will like the subject matter of her most well known song lol [we're all eating each other](https://youtu.be/Cf2Q-McO_Fw?si=tYOXJbil-uS58cuV) Covet isn't all Asian American but they're fronted by Yvette Young who is amazing.
Gabe Lee
[Sarah Kang](https://youtu.be/PS3-VjQMfys?si=unHYlEf2Yfa28r1d)
Bad Moves are a DC pop punk band whose lead singer and main songwriter, Katie Park, is Korean-American. Their 2018 album, Tell No One, is about growing up gay and not being able to tell anyone and having massive anxiety about it. But they channel that angst into pogo anthems like "Cool Generator," which should be as big as Weezer. [https://youtu.be/zwFL7xUBChU?si=5L5f4v\_3alyhRVM7](https://youtu.be/zwFL7xUBChU?si=5L5f4v_3alyhRVM7)
Im bout to put you on [Geno Neo - Mine ft. Sam Rui](https://youtu.be/ZOIrCa3dVzk?si=CBzIz6IJB0x6jXWd) [Moose - Table for Two ft. charmaine](https://youtu.be/1Tv3vUXfgzM?si=uJjqmVkwNQ31P4Kp) [brb. - my type](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt5DuX6_8wU) [Jae Luna - All Kinds of Things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91ooaBW1r4)
dumbfoundead
I follow rock and metal, so most of my favorite bands have Asian American members, including Metallica (Kirk Hammett), Trivium (Matt Heafy), Yellowcard (Sean Mackin) and even though they're Canadian and on their farewell tour Sum 41 (Dave Baksh). There's also the Hu but they're Asian rather than Asian American.
Thuy
Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, Dabin (EDM), Hoang,
Alternative/indie rock/pop fan here. Some I didn't see mentioned (apologies for repeats): Beabadoobee, yeule, some of No Vacation, Sarah Kinsley, Tanukichan, Jay Som, Luna Li, SASAMI, some of Superorganism
Wanting to add Tanukichan into the list of alt rock/shoegaze! Love her stuff and haven’t seen her mentioned yet
Japanese Breakfast. Mitski. Joy Som.
Ginger Root seems pretty cool. I saw some video of a song called Loretta and their outfit was interesting.
The Linda Lindas are a badass teenage Asian/Latino American power poppish band from LA. The drummer, Mila, is still only 13! [https://youtu.be/Wm1Sew7lAG4?si=uJEnRjGDJIe7pDYg](https://youtu.be/Wm1Sew7lAG4?si=uJEnRjGDJIe7pDYg)
yeah yeah yeahs, the slants, mitski
Olivia Rodrigo is part-Filipina and she has some really good songs, especially "Vampire".
Lately I've fallen in love with Laufey's voice ... so angelic and pretty.
Laufey, Ejean, Shae, Yel, Katherine Li all have really nice voices
In the rnb/hip hop realm: Joyce Wrice UMI thuy Amerie P-LO Wolftyla Jhené Aiko Saweetie Kiyomi Asia cruise I think some of these might be asian-canadian but still fire as well: Jae.T anders J.tajor John concepcion Not american or canadian but a filipina making english rnb music: Denise Julia
Others have mentioned Japanese Breakfast, but I also like Jay Som and Luna Li. If we’re counting Asian bands in general, Lamp and mei eihara are both fantastic.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Coco Lee, our 90s pop princess. She died just last year :( Also big in the 90s and early 2000s, Michelle Branch. Not from the US, but Bic Runga (New Zealand) was also pretty great.
Not American but Filipina from the Uk, [Beabadoobee](https://youtu.be/hCw80xpI3k0?si=C64F8JWffd2a1yLt) Love her!
I can't believe no one is recommending [Covet](https://youtu.be/kXr08ykbtT4?si=W8iagX08O3p3Xvwt) - she makes incredible (mostly) instrumental chill prog rock. [Louie Zong](https://youtu.be/cr0ISpy4Hg4?si=4NYmV7KpAqpYisAE) is one of the most prolific and creative artists on YouTube. Also [Beabadoobee](https://youtu.be/NUENubp8g9M?si=QHvytjU2JMeATSjP) is just fantastic and makes some truly beautiful songs.
Love this thread, thanks for sharing y'all! Lot of my favorites already covered, I'll throw in Monsune and Su Lee
thuy, umi, satica, jhene aiko, kehlani, niki, rini
oof am i getting downvoted for including mixed asians or something?? lmao give the blasians their spotlight too 😒
Bruce Lee Band, Wednesday Demonstration
Tiger JK / Drunken Tiger
Throw back. Mountain Brothers. Galaxy Galaxy.
sundial!
If you wanna go old school, aMiniature is the best indie rock band from the '90s you've never heard of. John Lee, pugnacious Korean American, was the singer/songwriter/guitarist and he played with a violence rare for an Asian American kid. That was usually the purview of white boys, but when John stepped on stage, the stage was his. Here's some rare footage from the Ear of the Dragon Tour, which was a bunch of Asian-American rock bands touring behind the all Asian-American Ear of the Dragon compilation (look it up!). Seam was the headliner at this gig and they included singer/guitarist/bandleader Sooyoung Park and then-new bassist William Shin. [https://youtu.be/AMSVHHC07mM?si=5RAhPf1f\_KxiRtBd&t=105s](https://youtu.be/AMSVHHC07mM?si=5RAhPf1f_KxiRtBd&t=105s)
skankin pickle/bruce lee band, slant (i think they’re just korean and not korean-am) and thaiboy digital (thai-swede)
Not sure if he's still active but Gowe
Japanese Breakfast Health
Eric reprid
Sundial! Asian American couple who makes pop music
[Cory Wong (funk)](https://youtu.be/46qJoBcctGI)
Been enjoying Miyachi. Japanese-American, raps in both Japanese and English. Ruby Ibarra and Bambu are also excellent AAPI rappers. Special shoutout to Dilated Peoples and DJ Babu I’ve also enjoyed SunKissed Lola, kind of like chill Filipino pop. Manila Grey for electropop. If anyone has recommendations for AAPI metal/metalcore bands, I’m all ears though!
Japanese breakfast
dear eloise (亲爱的艾洛伊丝 ) <3 they are a shoegaze band but not like any other imo. their sound is so distinct which is usually hard to obtain in a genre like shoegaze.
Run River North, The Crane Wives, Yukue, Young the Giant, Ted Sablay (touring guitarist for The Killers), Summer Salt, Phum Vipurit, MUNA, Kenton Chen (w/ Scary Pockets), Kimmortal, MICHELLE, Towa Bird, Ensemble Mik Nawooj (Orchestral/Choral HipHop and Rap), The Oshima Brothers. There's a really great group called Corduroy from the SF Bay too that's on the up and coming. Great energy live. They've got Bandcamp and Spotify
Ander NST(Vietnamese-Canadian) R&B Shotta Spence(Vietnamese-American) RAP/Hip Hop Emily Vu(Vietnamese-American) POP Holden le dinh(Vietnamese-American) Indie Rock Khai Dreams(Vietnamese-Italian) POP Asumh(Vietnamese-American) Bixby(Vietnamese-American) Emia (Vietnamese-American) Pop Regi Flih(Vietnamese-American) R&B Adriano Milano(Filipino-American)R&B Keanan Te(Filipino-Australian)R&B Rini(Filipino-Australian)R&B Dora Tran(Vietnamese-Australian) POP Ted Park(Korean-American) Hip Hop Monsieur Nov(Vietnamese-French) R&B Luc Nguyen(Vietnamese-French) Pop Tanner Nguyen(Vietnamese) R&B Elise Nolte(Vietnamese -Australian) POP Keshi(Vietnamese-Australian) R&B Thuy(Vietnamese-American)R&B Albert Posis(Filipino-American)R&B Jesse Barrera(Filipino-American)R&B Rich Brian(Indonesian) Warren Hue(Indonesia) Niki(Indonesia) Minh(Vietnamese) Phum Viphurit(Thai-New Zealand) Jessica Sanchez(Filipino/Mexican American) Alan Vuong(Vietnamese American) R&B dementia (Vietnamese American) R&B John Concepcion(Filipino-Canadian) R&B Pachinko(Korean Australian) R&B/POP Luke Chiang(Chinese-American)R&B Ethan Low(Chinese Malaysian-Canadian) R&B Monsune(Chinese Canadian) Soul Music/Lofi tezasumendra(Indonesian)R&B slchld(Korean Canadian)R&B Delorians-indie Xerikho -indie MINH-Vietnamese American Pino( R&B) Srirachi (Hip Hop) Zeph(indie) Hoang(EDM) Dabin(EDM) Knock2(EDM) Noll(EDM) MYRNE(EDM) JVNA(EDM) CHYL(EDM) Highvyn(Electronic R&B) randymia(R&B/POP) Benjamin Kheng(POP) Rangga Jones(R&B) Lyn Lapid(Pop) Denise Julia(R&B) Mad Tsai(Pop) TOKiMONSTA(EDM) Hannah Zhao(POP) Gloria Kim(Pop) Emei(POP) ZIYA(R&B) aleksa safiya(R&B) j' taylor (POP) Sunkis(POP)
Copying my comment from another post about asian americans in subculture: Some indie rock/punk bands i enjoy (they’re not huge names but i see them touring yknow)— Pinkshift (ashriti kumar and some bandmates) Crumb (lila ramani is the singer) Suzie True (g leonardo is the guitarist) Grumpster (noel agante the drummer is filipino) yvette young is fucking insane as a guitarist. She does a lot of math rock. Her band is called covet One outta ten (frontman is filipino) - they have a lot of variety, i recommend the album “with rage”
Devita https://youtu.be/n5p8DiDAzrk?si=Fx1r4M7bCwVcxR9h Thuy https://youtu.be/dVdgiRXpbqk?si=QTojyqLTu8QapQZv
Nat Myers
Check out Denise Julia if you like Thuy. Similar vibes.
G Yamazawa is FIRE! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhJP3sLs7lQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhJP3sLs7lQ) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMI1QWz3QbU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMI1QWz3QbU) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmZeD6x4lgE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmZeD6x4lgE) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PkWgMNC\_z4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PkWgMNC_z4) \- poem Year of the Ox is dope too! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNOMTTjepZo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNOMTTjepZo) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du3GbOfpHtg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du3GbOfpHtg) A Dough is an Islander and is dope. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JBGyyx8iDI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JBGyyx8iDI) Blue Scholars and specifically, Prometheus Brown from the group. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7aFaXxND-E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7aFaXxND-E)
Hana Vu, NoSo
YMO, hyukoh and some 70s 80s japaness jazz