Far East Movement
Far East Movement gained stardom with their 2010 hit “Like a G6,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The crew consists of J-Splif, DJ Virman, Kev Nish and Prohgress (L-R)—all Asian-Americans who grew up in LA. As they ready for their gig in Macau, Kev Nish tells Andrea Lo about their beginnings in a parking lot, the story behind “Like a G6,” and who their ideal video vixen would be.
HK Magazine: How did you all get started?
Kev Nish: We were all friends in high school in LA. We met up in parking lots in Koreatown to freestyle to whatever beat was on the radio. We figured out how to record tracks on our computers and upload them online, and we slowly built a fan base that way. I started interning at Interscope Records and, slowly and surely, opportunities came. Now we’re doing it full-time.
HK: You’re all Asian American. Is that why you named the group Far East Movement?
KN: It was more of a shout out. We were freestyling and it just kinda came up in a rhyme. It was during the 50 Cent days when they were yelling out “G-Unit,” and so we were just like, “Far East Movement!” We decided to make a song about that, about growing up as Asian-American kids in LA. The whole lifestyle—from where we’re partying, to the music we’re listening to, to the clothes we’re rocking. The track came out terrible. But what we got from it was an identity. So we made it the name of our crew. It felt good, so we stuck with it.
HK: What’s it like working together and making music?
KN: I think we’re really lucky. It feels like we’re brothers. Being able to travel the world and do what we love in the studio and on stage—there’s nothing like it.
HK: Did you anticipate “Like a G6” becoming such a massive success?
KN: Not at all. We made it about partying and how we lived. A song like that can have the success it has? It’s like, wow—people must really like getting messed up and trashed. Man, the world’s gonna end soon.
HK: Why “Fly like a G6”?
KN: We wanted to make a song that was more hip-hop-centric. We started listening to Dev, a new artist [at the time], who had this track “Booty Bounce”. In the bridge, she was rapping about “poppin’ bottles in the ice.” When she said “G6,” I said, “That’s so fucking tight. We need to take that, chop it up and throw it in the hook.” We wanted the song to be purely about our lifestyle—bottlin’ it up at da club, no care in the world. By the time the night’s over, you’re smashed. That’s it. It’s pretty straightforward.
HK: Do you still freestyle?
KN: Once in a while, when we’re faded enough.