Asian-Central.com presents you with our first artist interview with Far*East Movement. These are direct responses from Kev Nish and they were not edited in any way. For those who would like to quote anything from this interview, please link Asian-Central.com, the Asian-Central Buzz and give us credit.

1. How did you come up with the name Far*East Movement?

When we first started recording together we couldn’t think of a cool group name so we decided to go by Emcee’s Anonymous, because we didn’t want anyone making judgements on our music because we were Asian. Then one day we recorded a song called “THE FAR EAST MOVEMENT” and saying that name in the hook was so power and an eye opener to us that we need to have a name that represents us well so we have to freedom to make any type of song that we feel and know that we’re representing through our name.

2. How did you guys meet and where did you get the idea to start a group?

We all met in Koreatown, Los Angeles in highschool and would just rap for fun in parking lots because we all loved hip hop and music in general. After seeing Jin on BET’s 106 and Park get signed to Ruff Ryders in 2003 we decided there was an actual chance for us to make some noise and we decided to get serious and learn to record tracks on our home computer and post them up on the internet on sites like aznraps.com where there’s a large community of up an coming asian rappers. Through that site and community we were able to get to motivation and critiques to push the Far East Movement further and further.

3. How did you come up with the FM hand sign (the a-ok sign)?

hahah every cool rapper throws up a fresh hand sign that means something and we’re no exception. One of our close friends told us that 3 fingers up closed is the letter “F” in sign language, so we decided it would be cool to open it up like the “A-OK” because we represent we’re that we’re all good all day and night through our music…not to be confused with a gang sign.. just positivity all day.

4. Has being Asian-American created some obstacles for you during your musical journey?

Yes, while working song’s like You’ve Got A Friend and Lowridin on major radio stations, we’ve seen artists around us with less spins get major record deals right away, but since many companies are un aware of how to market and reach the Asian youth and they’re uncertainty that other races will accept us, they havent stepped to the plate and took the risk in signing us. “Lowridin” has been a top requested song on major stations in major cities by all races as an indie record and we’re still working hard to get that major stamp. But at the same time, being Asian was able to open doors for us as well… with this new generation people are interested in seeing a different perspective and hearing a new sound which has allowed us to work with many great people and companies in this industry.

5. How long have you been together as a group?

since 2001, so around 7 or 8 years.. wow time flies by hahhaha.

6. Why have you chosen the underground hip-hop scene? Are you planning on rising from it anytime soon?

We’ve grown and respected underground hip hop since we’ve first decided to become rappers. i think we might only be considered ‘underground’ because still more people need to find out about us.. but the music we work to make is aimed at mainstream and pop. Our latest single “Lowridin” was on major rotation on LA’s Power 106 next to Neyo, Chris Brown and Young Jeezy and was able to get spins on Top 40 stations in Atlanta, Florida, Utah and other states. Our Latest internet release “Dance Like Michael Jackson” is also aim at mainstream and pop.. hopefully the tribute to pop culture will catch on like we want it to. A large part of our inspirations will always be rooted from underground legends like the living legends, freestyle fellowship, atmosphere and even the pharcyde tho they broke into mainstream.

7. You’ve worked with Se7en. What was that like?

Definitely cool… he’s a humble and extremely talented artist. Its motivating to us to hear he was platinum in Korea and learned the japanese language in less than a year and became a platinum selling artist out there as well. The track we worked on with him was produced by Rich Harrision who’s produced for Beyonce and Amerie as well…its a smooth song. Cant wait for Se7en to drop his English album.

8. Who else have you worked with? Who would you like to work with in the future?

As indie artist.. we’ve been blessed to work with and produce Jin’s ABC album, collaborate with latino hip hop legends such as Baby Bash and Lil Rob, the Bay Area’s Lyrics Born, Warner Records artist Wiz Khalifa, the Stereotypes who have produced for Omarion and Bow wow, Joe, Danity Kane’s Damage and much more. In the future we’d love to work with the Muse, Kanye, Timbaland, Akon and countless others.

9. What do you think makes your music unique from others?

Our goal has been to make music that can break through to mainstream and top 40.. so hopefully when you hear it on the radio and on mtv it fits right in with the hits and doesnt strike you as too different. And if it does sound different its just cuz its coming from a new perspective.

10. How do people overseas react when they hear your hip-hop music?

The reaction has been good.. we’ve been able to link a deal with Avex out in japan and the label on our first album “Round Round” (title in japan) was listed as one of the top hip hop album’s released in 2008. At first when people in asia see us, they expect to hear music in they’re native toungue since we look like them.. but after they hear the beats and tracks they understand what we’re doin and vibe with it… we’ll be looking to release our next album called “ANIMAL” on October 28th, 2008 in all countries.. and we’re hoping it will do even better internationally.

On behalf of Asian-Central and the Stuff Asian People Like blog, we would like to thank Kev Nish and Far*East Movement for giving us great feedback despite their hectic schedule and we will continue to show our support for them in their future endeavors.

Far*East Movement will be performing at the International Secret Agents Concert in San Gabriel, CA along with Wong Fu Productions, Quest Dance Crew, and others. The event will take place on September 7 so if you’re nearby, be sure to check it out and support Far*East Movement!

More info here: http://www.wongfuproductions.com/isa

Also the new Far*East Movement album “ANIMAL” will have its international release on October 28th, 2008. Some of the songs included in the upcoming album are “You’ve Got a Friend,” and “DANCE LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON”. Wong Fu Productions and Far*East Movement have also collaborated with Quest Dance Team for their latest music video.

Speaking of Wong Fu Productions (Phil, Ted, and Wes), the AC Buzz will be publishing an article about them later this week so be on the lookout for that.
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Links:
Official Website: http://www.fareastmovement.com
Official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fareastmovement
MTV Page: http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/far_east_movement/artist.jhtml
Youtube: http://youtube.com/fmonyourdial
Official Soompi Thread: http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=104939

Related Articles:
Artist of the Week: Far*East Movement
Special Feature: Se7en

Written by: Sophia (solong2010), Brenda (jiamei) and Nancy (kvietgrl)
Featuring: Kev Nish (Far*East Movement)

Check it out! We’re on their official blog =]:
http://www.fareastmovement.com/st/artist-of-the-the-week/
http://www.fareastmovement.com/st/artist-of-the-month-pt-2/