MEET WARREN HUE
Warren Hue is a rap artist and vocalist of Indonesian-Chinese background. He was born in 2002 in Jakarta, Indonesia, and was given the name "Warren Hui" by his parents. However, he later changed it to Warren Hue in 2021. Warren has been creating and releasing his own music in his bedroom on media consumption platforms such as YouTube since the age of 14. Like hundreds of other artists worldwide, Hue began producing music in his bedroom.
Warren Hue is presently based in the United States. He didn't have any culture shock because he had fallen in love with hip-hop and American culture over the internet. As an only child, he idolized Odd Future, who made music and established their own visual universe through music videos and skits. When making his way into hip-hop, he was influenced by various big artists such as Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Tyler The Creator.
Rich Brian, who Hue describes as an "Asian rap icon," is another Indonesian rapper Warren Hue liked when he was younger. They originally met at a Jakarta mall when Hue was fourteen years old, and their meeting was immortalized in Hue's very first post on his Instagram account.
Warren Hue made his solo debut with the effervescent track "Omomo Punk" in 2021 after signing with 88rising. He then joined NIKI and Rich Brian on the single "California," completing an Indonesian power three, and also sang vocals over 88rising's soundtrack for Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
On "Omomo Punk," which features a glitching rhythm created by LIOHN and Klahr (collaborators on Lady Gaga's song "Chromatica)," Hue drags the listener into a joyride through this frantic new era in his life. Domination and drip and call, as Hue worries about working things out with the lady he loves. "Omomo Punk" was nominated at the BandLab NME Awards in 2022 and won the award for the Best Song By An Asian Artist.
Warren Hue hammered the Asian representation drum hard on the Shang-Chi soundtrack, as 88rising co-founder Sean Miyashiro advised him approximately a month after signing with the label. On the track "California," he got a little more breathing room. Speaking about the song, NIKI, Brain, and Hue reflect on being transplants in California, where early Covid-19 anti-Asian violence overshadows everything.
According to Warren, his Instagram hand "Boy of the Year," also his first album, is about doing new things and not staying stuck in his comfort zone. Looking back on Warren's career, the inclusion of the term "boy" in his album title makes sense. He believes that 'Boy' mostly explains his journey from Jakarta to Los Angeles. He felt that the word 'Boy' was the most appropriate because he was still fairly young and early in his music career.
Hue, who now has access to different producers and studios, is relishing his newfound freedom from the constraints he had as a beginner with only a MacBook Pro, Apple headphones, and GarageBand and performing music as a full-time job/passion.
