88Rising has announced their Head in the Clouds Music and Arts Festival Lineup, with the biggest lineup of Asian artists!
88Rising has announced the comeback of Head In The Clouds (HITC) Festival, following its cancellation in 2020. The event is set to take place on the weekend of November 6th, in Pasadena CA. While the festival will be mainly headlined by American-based artists, overseas acts will also be featured. Overseas acts include DPR Ian, DPR Live, Atarashii Gakko, and Eaj. More artists are yet to be announced.
While the festival only started in 2018, it has gained much traction for its featuring of large Asian artists. Examples include the feature of K-pop group IKON in 2019.
What is 88Rising?
Founded by Sean Miyashiro, 88Rising is a music label based in Los Angeles. They mainly represent artists of Asian descent and heritage. In an interview wih Paper, he told them about how badly he wanted to be able to represent Asian creative voices and help them cross over into unfamiliar markets, all whilst allowing them to represent and display their culture.
“A few years ago, I had dinner with a group of friends. I looked around the table and everyone was a dope Asian motherfucker — the best Asian designer, a next-level Asian chef, a rapper. There were all these fucking incredible Asian creatives killing it in their own fields, and I realized we didn’t have a home to tell our stories. Something sparked and it just felt like the right time to build something.”
Miyashiro described the first HITC festival as allowing him to fully realise what his label has been able to do. “Being on stage with all the artists for the finale and looking into the sea of people — I knew we were doing something important for culture.”
Who is in 88Rising?
One of their most prominent artists is Joji, a Japanese-born singer signed with the label since 2018. The release of his debut album Ballads 1 was received with high regard, debuting as number 1 on the R&B/ Hip-Hop Billboard Albums Chart. His sophomore album Nectar was released in 2020, and was also highly praised. It debuted as number 1 on the Australian Aria Charts, and number 3 on the US Billboards. The album contains features from Diplo, Lil Yachty, and BENEE. The songs will be performed live for the first time at HITC, since his The Extravaganza Live Stream.
NIKI and Rich Brian are also prominent artists in the label, both hailing from Indonesia. NIKI had won a contest in Jakarta that allowed her to be the opening act for Taylor Swift’s Red Tour, before opening a YouTube channel for her singing. She then signed to 88Rising in 2017, and has since released several EP’s and Albums. Her latest album release is her debut album Moonchild (2020), with her latest feature being on “California” with Warren Hue and label mate Rich Brian.
Fellow Indonesian Rich Brian released Dat $tick in 2016, under the name Rich Chigga. He was then signed to 88Rising, releasing several singles under the label. His debut album Amen (2018) was the first album by an Asian artist to reach number 1 on the iTunes Hip Hop charts and number 18 on Billboard. His latest album release is 1999 (2020), with several singles released through 2021.
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