Photo credit: Forbidden Paradise
[ØZI](https://www.instagram.com/ozifp/?igshid=1okzdhhwt4aa6) is a rising star who’s ready to break through to the US market. Gaining a tremendous amount of momentum in Asia, winning Best New Artist of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards and Chinese CMA Awards, the Taiwanese-American singer, songwriter, producer, and director likes to push boundaries and experiment with different genres of art— from his visuals to his music to his everyday life.
According to ØZI, Chinese music (unlike Korean K-pop) isn’t really heard on the planet. Having performed with the likes of Jay Park and Tiffany Young of the legendary K-pop group Girls’ Generation, he states, “I'm trying to put Chinese music on the map. Not just Chinese, I'm trying to put this whole entire culture on the map by any means. People listen to K-pop or American hip-hop—me being on this side of the world, being raised in Taipei, there's a lot to offer. But people have to hear it.”
Now, he returns with his newest single and visual for “LAVA!” His music is the perfect blend of Asian and American culture, fusing influences from his roots in Taiwan with the hip-hop we all know and love. Additionally, he’s had the pleasure of working with notable fashion brands from Burberry to Valentino to Fendi—the latter of which caught the attention of Nicki Minaj.
Flaunt caught up with ØZI via FaceTime who was located in Taipei, discussing everything from his upbringing in music, “B.O.” going viral,” Nicki shouting him out on the Gram, and his own label Forbidden Paradise.
**“B.O.” has over 11 million views on Youtube alone, what did that do for your career?**
A lot actually, that’s the song that got me the Taiwanese Grammys. I wrote that song 3 years ago. I was an underground rapper out here, producing my album. That song wasn’t something I thought would hit. I put it in with hopes of it doing good, but didn't think too much about it. I shot it with 9m88, she's a very good friend of mine and a great jazz musician. I said "hey, you'll sound amazing on this record!" She hopped on it. I shot the music video in L, came back. I dropped and it took off. It caught me off guard. During that time, I had some sort of buzz underground. 2 or 3 songs had hit before “B.O.” so I had a little bit of noise, tut that song really took me to a different level. That song brought me mainstream. I got nominated for Golden Melody, which is the Grammys. I got Best New Artist, that changed my career.
**Being from Taipei, what was the household like growing up?**
I'm a third culture kid. My parents don't know how to speak English at all. I went to an international school. This is a common thing for international school kids: I go to school speaking only English, then I come home watching Chinese TV and talking in Chinese. Taipei is a small place so everybody knows each other. I go back and forth because I was born in LA, in Pasadena. Every summer and winter, I’d go back to visit my godparents. But we sold our house in Pasadena.
**When did music come into play?**
I was born in it. My parents are both in the entertainment industry. My mom’s a pop diva, artist, singer-songwriter in Taiwan. My dad’s a photographer, he did photoshoots for all the fashion magazines from 10 to 30 years ago. He retired. All my life, I was a part of this. I played classical piano since I was 4, I'm sure all the Asian kids can relate. \[laughs\] I had a rock band when I was 7, which is interesting because my mom’s like "aye, you should start a rock band with your first grade classmates." In middle school, I started really listening to music. It started with 50 Cent’s “Disco Inferno," I thought "what the fuck is this?!" I was 11, then it went to Eminem. Started with _Marshall Mathers_ LP, went back to the _Slim Shady_ LP, then to _Encore_. I also fell in love with Linkin Park.
**You just released your new visual for “LAVA!” Who or what inspired this one?**
I started collaborating with Transparent Arts (Far East Movement). I met them last year, started working in July. I went to LA, they arranged me with a couple of producers. One of them I particularly fucked with was Ian Thomas, he's done songs with Bryson Tiller. That’s the first song we worked on. I'm putting it on my album but that whole project got delayed because of COVID. It’s a feel-good, summer track like like “aye, I vibe with this."
**How’s it feel to have a co-sign from Nicki Minaj?**
That's hard. That's the biggest thing to ever happen to me. \[laughs\] I had a photoshoot and tagged Fendi. Nicki had a collab, a capsule thing with Fendi. I do a lot of fashion stuff, that was one of my gigs. I didn't think too much of it. I went to an event, took photos and did some press. Afterward, I woke up to Nick Minaj putting me on her feed. So surreal, she’s like “big shouts to OZI in Taiwan, wassup?”
**You have your own hip-hop label named Forbidden Paradise, what’s the significance in the name?**
We started it 3 years ago with my colleagues Razor and MCKY, they're OGs producers in hip-hop and pop. We all saw how Mandarin pop music is so stagnant, we wanted to change that and bring something fresh to the game. R&B and hip hop wasn't big in Asia at all. Mandarin pop was all slow songs, we weren’t fucking with that. We had to do something. The world’s been listening to hip-hop for the longest time. At that time, Drake popped. The 3 of us are gamers, so we're really into medieval times and dragons. We like anything super poetic and epic, Forbidden Paradise came from that. The classic Adam and Eve story, we're the forbidden fruit. We're here to give the rest of the world the apple, particularly in Taiwan. After you’re introduced to our culture, you gain wisdom. We’re opening the Forbidden Paradise for you guys to listen.
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