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We Are The Far East Movement - AMA!
Hey Reddit, we're the Far East Movement
We're a group of friends born and raised in downtown Los Angeles. We've always been big music fans trying to pursue our dreams. It started out with working at record shops, to dj'ing clubs, and writing and producing mash up style tracks from our friend's bedroom. We love that classic party hip hop from the Beastie Boys, Run DMC to 2 Live Crew... we also love house. A few songs we've done are "Like a G6", "Rocketeer", "Girls on the Dance Floor", "Live My Life" and "Turn Up The Love". Our online fam was really what made the dream come true, so we recently put together a music video featuring fan submissions from all around the world for "Turn Up The Love": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ97_vcsKuM
And oh yeah, we love that Dirty Bass
We've got the whole crew in the house - Kev Nish, Proghress, J-Splif and DJ Virman. We're going to be popping in and out throughout the day and answer as many questions as we can. AMA!
EDIT: we're back from dinner. will answer some questions from the studio
**EDIT 2: was great chatting with yall. this community is amazing. thanks to everyone that contributed. now its time to get back to work in the studio. love n respect
beckers_wolfman433 karma
‘Like A G6’ was everywhere two years ago. I can’t hear the song anymore without thinking of a friend of mine who insisted that the lyric was ‘Like a Cheese Stick’. She had no clue what a cheese stick would have to do with a night of raucous partying, though.
I don’t really have a question; I just wanted to share that little anecdote. But since this is an AMA, do you like cats?
FMisFarEastMovement351 karma
love cats, but allergic haha. we've stumbled upon some awesome parodies
deciphermusic192 karma
What's up FM! This is Decipher, not sure if you remember me but just wanted to say keep doing yall thing.
zorcdestroyerofworld175 karma
Was it hard to break into rap because of your race? Do you feel like you had a harder time getting successful because of your race?
FMisFarEastMovement299 karma
i think we're lucky to be living in an age when people are more open minded to new things, new stories, new faces... so we had to work as hard as anyone else in the music industry but we don't think it was more difficult
funfungiguy156 karma
If you had only primitive weapons, and had to fight a dinosaur to the death in a "Dinosaur Death Match", what is the biggest dinosaur you think you could defeat? You don't have to give a specific dinosaur, just give us a general size. Also you can't set traps.
kidbom112 karma
Your style has changed from the songs you made in Folk Music. Why the shift to a more electric dance hip-hop sound in Free Wired and Dirty Bass?
FMisFarEastMovement192 karma
thx for listening since then!!!!!!!!! as music fans ourselves, we grew up in the DJ community from working at record shops back when vinyl was hot to djing clubs... so our musical style is always changing with whatever inspires us. Beastie Boys have always been a huge inspiration to us, one thing we loved about them was how they always re-invent their sound and brand.
shanghaistunna99 karma
I just wanted to give a shout out to Kev Nish, apparently we're related. His grandma Mable is my grandpa Jimmie's older sister which makes us second cousins. I guess my question for you is, when are we having a family reunion?!
mikenotreally99 karma
You guys are awesome, and are one of the first to let me see that asians could make it in the mainstream, without doing kung fu or being emasculated. My question, is do you feel a lot of pressure from the asian community (like me and countless others) to "represent" for your people? How do you deal with it?
FMisFarEastMovement102 karma
thank you fam! we feel so embedded into the community that we don't feel the pressure from the community, but instead we feel the community nurtures our growth and gives us the confidence to always experiment and try crazy things
DrunkeNinja84 karma
What are your favorite cartoons?
If you could be a piece of clothing for any celebrity, what would you be?
KFC or popeyes?
Metalgrowler71 karma
Do you feel like gulfstream should give you a free g6 for promoting their product so well? Also if you ever need some metal vocals hit me up.
FMisFarEastMovement86 karma
YES. there was a petition out trying to at least get us a free ride but no luck. And love metal so thanks for the offer fam
MrRoyalScotsman65 karma
Did you guys genuinely enjoy performing at Arizona State? You guys seemed to have a ton of energy and you put on a great show. I ask this because it seemed like B.o.B. just wanted to show up, get paid, and bounced. You topped B.o.B.
FMisFarEastMovement108 karma
we LOVED performing at ASU. yall know how to party and could feel your energy from the stage so it was an honor to rock with the Sun Devils
FMisFarEastMovement67 karma
thank you. much love to Bruno Mars who co-wrote that with us. we wanted to write a song about following our dreams and never looking back
virgin_thx_2_reddit40 karma
You guys are awesome! 2 quick questions...
Are you guys ever gonna play in the Ultra Music Festival?
When are you planning to visit South Florida again? :)
Thank you for your time!
random5guy36 karma
Do you feel Asian people are represented well enough in the American media?
FMisFarEastMovement67 karma
love you. jsplif and prohgress are korean, kev nish is half japanese and chinese. dj virman is filipino
IMAHORSIE25 karma
What influenced your genre and how did you guys get together as a group? What tips do you have for aspiring artists?
FMisFarEastMovement36 karma
influenced by a lot of old school party hip hop from the the late 80's like the Beastie Boys, Run DMC, 2 Live Crew... mashed with current dance and pop. Tips for aspiring artists: have faith, keep your world positive and enjoy this!!!!
FMisFarEastMovement32 karma
we've experienced it growing up just like any minority for sure. the best thing is to keep the world around you positive, and channel that into what you love.. the result was the far east movement
asaetern24 karma
What happen to the old FM I use to listen to on Aznraps.com? Where they had more meaningful lyrics/songs than the FM today? Freewire was a step in the right direction to get into mainstream music, but Dirtybass was 10 steps backwards and imho was pure garbage.
I understand the need to stay relevant and attract the young crowd, but what does it tell you when you show up on the billboard with only 3,000 album sells for first week of release of Dirtybass?
FMisFarEastMovement71 karma
lol we've been answering this question a lot. to re-state... we're always changing... from our musical tastes, to the clothes we like to the tv shows we watch.. and when you are creating music you create off what influences you. "meaningful' is all in the eyes of the beholder... to us our music represents our mood and we enjoy life so we want our music to reflect that and hopefully others feel the same when hearing it.
regarding our album release in the US, we havent promoted it yet out here. with our touring schedule we knew we would be spending our first half of the year overseas so we made the decision to launch our album promotion in Europe and Asia first and a huge thanks to the fans out there for the success the songs have seen. now we're working on promoting the album in the US and taking a tour out here... to be continued.. haha
Demotic23 karma
Another song like "Fetish". When can we expect one?
Also why doesn't J-Splif get on the mic a bit more?
FMisFarEastMovement20 karma
got a fetish for these kicks! will possibly do a song like that. thx for bumping it. J been writing different style parts as a songwriter now
FMisFarEastMovement25 karma
congrats on your wedding, wish we could have been there to see it. the MAMA's were unforgettable since we almost didn't make the show due to last minute flight delays. but we made it, goood times!
ChampionMantis21 karma
How did you guys end up collaborating with Quest Crew for the first time? and how did you team up with Wong Fu productions to create the awesome ISA concerts? (Hopefully they are going to be rescheduled this year!)
FMisFarEastMovement23 karma
we met Ryan C from Quest on myspace hahah. he messaged us saying he dug the music and we hit them back saying we loved their choreo. ended up asking them to do a music video with us shot by Wong Fu Productions called "Dance Like MJ". Through this music video it inspired the creation of ISA. glad to see an ISA fan on here thx
Edwardian18 karma
So why the "fake" names? Why not use your real names or names that at least sound like they COULD be real names if it's for privacy. . . I doubt anyone has a birth certificate that says "J-splif" for example.
FMisFarEastMovement13 karma
first time seeing that hahah awesome. food on the road is tough to find a good selection so frozen white castle, white bread and salami is a staple in our tour bus fridge
FMisFarEastMovement30 karma
being Asian American is how we were born and raised, and how we grew up influences our music for sure... but our perspective is also representative of growing up in LA
[deleted]14 karma
What up Far East Movement. Do you guys remember playing a Margaritaville theme party at a frat at SDSU about 2 and a half years ago? Well that was my houses theme party and it also happened to be my 20th birthday party. Dancing with you guys on stage, smoking a blunt with shwayze and you guys raging with my friends and I after, so legit! I have to say that was one of my best birthdays ever. So thank you guys again.
FMisFarEastMovement18 karma
wow that event was rockin, yall had sand brought in and everything!!! hahah. totally remember, we got traaashed with yall hahahha
[deleted]13 karma
Do you get sick of hearing drunk chicks play "Like A G6" as much as i do?
amimimi12 karma
Boxers or briefs?
And what's y'alls favorite Ramen noodle flavor?
PLEASE come to Georgia!
Mehverick10 karma
How was it working with Rye Rye, and are there any other artists you plan to collab with, or really want to work with?
Love your music you guys and I hope you continue to come out with great stuff.
FMisFarEastMovement9 karma
rye rye is a ball of energy. loved working with her and tried to learn how to booty shake from her haha. would love to work with the Beastie Boys (RIP MCA), Daft Punk, Janet Jackson.. too many to list
oniontomato10 karma
The first time I saw you guys on stage was during an LMFAO concert in IOWA. Any collaborations in the near future?
FMisFarEastMovement9 karma
nice thx, loved that Iowa show. Just did a collaboration with the Bingo Players and Wiley in the UK
joinedforFM10 karma
Hey guys,
I'm from Monterey Park and been with you guys the whole way since the small concert days at Alhambra and I still remember the flyers that were passed out. Was wondering if you guys had any opportunity for me to intern/work with you guys just for some experience.
I go to USC now and will still be here for the next few years. Let me know, thanks!
FMisFarEastMovement10 karma
mad love to monterey park and alhambra!
yes, hit up info@transparentagency.com
khaoskyle10 karma
Have you ever experimented with classical music or symphonic music in your music style? I believe working with different genres of music will help your fans and non fans learn more about you as music artist.
FMisFarEastMovement12 karma
prohgress here, my parents both work in classical music so i was surrounded with it, probably to the point where i didn't want to be around it!! haha i agree though, we experiment mashing up all different genres
equilizer9 karma
How did you guys get started with your music?
EDIT: Also who is your biggest inspiration?
FMisFarEastMovement16 karma
started as fans. figured out how to record over instrumentals from our bed rooms and pressed up cds. we would walk around the streets of LA and hit all the clubs with these cds with our phone numbers written on them hoping anyone would listen
FMisFarEastMovement42 karma
probably our cherrytree brothers LMFAO. every day on tour was an insane party haha. one of the most memorable would probably be the day Snoop Dogg asked us on stage and Warren G, Daz and Kurupt handed us their mics before we went on stage
gangnam_style_9 karma
I don't really know what to ask you. I just want to say that you guys are amazing and thank you for breaking every asian stereotype that makes us uncool or nerdy.
FMisFarEastMovement21 karma
beastie boys, snoop dogg, sidney samson, michael jackson, bingo players
jaaaaake8 karma
Far East Movement, I'm going to have my first EP finished soon, and I'm going to collaborate with you early next year. Together we are going to release a single that redefines electronic pop music. It's going to change the way people groove, and bring forth the new era of audio. Might I request a tour of your recording facilities, so that we may become acquainted? I'm in San Diego.
I will be in touch with you presently.
olivaw_another8 karma
1) What are your favorite albums of all time?
2) If you were on your (collective) death beds, what would be your last meals?
3) Do you have any cool stories about your early days as a hip hop group?
THANKS!
FMisFarEastMovement12 karma
- Doggystyle and Thriller and Ill Communication
- El Taurino carne asada tacos
- will have to think about that one
poophead77 karma
Yo guys, thanks for doing this AMA. All I really have to say is that I once handled some of your equipment while you were shipping it through fedex. Sooo... I've touched your stuff.
whereismybeer6 karma
If you could chose 2 historical or current music legends to fight each other, who would they be and who would win?
FMisFarEastMovement18 karma
Barbara Streisand vs Celine Dion ... Barbara wins in an arm bar
Flowsion6 karma
The first K-POP / Korean Convention is happening in North America. Would you guys be interested in going? I think it'd be pretty awesome to have the first super successful Korean guys in the US be there.
FMisFarEastMovement6 karma
heard about it, if it works with our tour schedule would love to
Soliduok6 karma
Your new music sounds great and I'm sure it's going to take off well. You've worked with lots of different artists now, who has been the most enjoyable to work with? The most difficult to work with?
FMisFarEastMovement10 karma
hard to choose, one of the most memorable would be Snoop Dogg since we grew up in Los Angeles and are such huge fans. Difficult?? to be continued hahhaa
Mountainmantom4 karma
Lowridin, My favorite song from you guys, have you ever thought about doing anything back to your roots?
FMisFarEastMovement5 karma
our song "Flossy" off our new album dirty bass was inspired by Lowridin. always referencing our roots in our new music
anandora539 karma
Have you ever actually been in a G6 plane?
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