Asian artists are topping charts in the United States for the first time. Much of their success leads back to one group on the rise in the American mainstream—88rising.
Japanese Youtube-sensation-turned-musician Joji (pictured left from Facebook) is part of the increasingly popular media company, 88rising, which was founded by former VICE producer Sean Miyashiro.
Joji, whose real name is George Miller, recently released his latest album “BALLADS 1” and became the first Asian-born artist to debut at No.1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart reports Billboard. Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, who became the first Asian to top the iTunes hip-hop chart in February, also belongs to 88rising.
This New York-based rap collective, 88rising, is a nexus between a record label, a creative agency, a production company, and an artist-management group. They are home to other rising Asian artists like Chinese hip-hop group Higher Brothers, Korean Rapper Keith Ape, and Chinese TV star and singer-rapper Kris Wu.
When Miyashiro of 88rising is asked how he would describe this company in a conversation with Business Insider, he says that he always answers differently. In this interview, he said, “We’re really focused on creating superstars and creating heroes and creating something that people can really believe in and be excited about.”
There is one major distinction between this music entity and others music groups though—they’re Asian.
In a Rollingstone interview, Miyashiro bluntly says, “Death Row, G.O.O.D. Music, other rap collectives, they’re all dope. But the huge differentiation for us is: Dude, we’re f*cking obviously Asian.”
From his conversation with Business Insider, Miyashiro added that 88rising is “a global media company that focuses on celebrating Asian talent and Asian stories and Asian culture”.
They have fostered major music achievements for their artists, including collaborating on tracks with well-known rap heads like Travis Scott, 21 Savage, and A$AP Ferg as well as catching the eye of huge music stream platform Spotify. When Joji’s album came out, Spotify pushed it on their platform similar to the way they promote other big-name artists like Drake.
Miyashiro said to Pitchfork that Skrillex, a prominent and pivotal figurehead in electronic music, contacted the collective to create music. So, they brought him to Korea. At the end of the Pitchfork interview, Miyashiro shared more about how he and 88collective facilitate this one-of-a-kind creative environment with a wide range of artists.
“That’s a good testament to where we play into this whole creative kingdom—we help facilitate, as well as create ourselves. That’s why I think in the past, no Asian company or crew has been successful globally unless it was part of a large corporate company, like Psy or some sh*t like that—some gimmick. It didn’t last, and it was obviously because it was funny. In terms of real culture, there’s been no crew doing what we’re doing, period. Now we have a responsibility to make this something that is tangible and long-lasting.”
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