Ruby Ibarra, JR Aquino and Kiana V performed at a special LIVE MYX taping during GRAMMY weekend. For the very first time, the annual GRAMMY awards will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fans and music industry professionals celebrated music's biggest week for the first time in Sin City. Our concert was held at 24 Oxford inside the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

The show was filmed to air on our MYX global TV network & multi-media platform for our “MYXtape” series that highlights the best in Filipino talent from around the world. Watch highlight videos of the performances this May, celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Catch Ruby Ibarra and Kiana V on the red carpet GRAMMY night:

More info on the performers below alongside videos of their performance:

RUBY IBARRA

Born in the Philippines, Ruby spent the first 4 years of her life in Tacloban City before her family eventually settled in San Lorenzo, California. Submerged in the melting pot of the Bay Area, Ruby’s adolescent years introduced her to a wide array of cultures, experiences, and most importantly: hip hop, which resonated at every corner of her neighborhood.
As a teenager, Ruby began crafting her own rhymes until she began to develop her own style and became comfortable with sharing her story. She quickly picked up music production shortly there after and eventually started performing publicly, starting in the college and local venue circuits.

Ruby's unmatched talent and work ethic has given her the opportunity to perform at large festivals such as Rock The Bells as well as at prestigious venues like the Smithsonian Museum and a headlining, sold-out two day residency at the Getty Museum. Three of her independently released videos even gained over 1M views in less than a week. Ruby's newly released EP Circa ’91 went on #29 on the iTunes rap/hip-hop album charts, next to the likes of Macklemore and Kendrick Lamar. Following a tour of the Philippines, Ruby was featured as part of the 60th annual Grammy Awards festivities in New York through a music collaboration and performance with Grammy nominee SZA. Ruby's music has been featured in several TV shows, films and documentaries (including the Sundance Film Festival premiered "A Thousand Cuts") and Ruby has even directed several of her music videos and behind-the-scenes documentaries.

In 2010, Ruby began releasing multiple videos on Youtube, which created a buzz after several of those videos were featured on XXL Magazine and Worldstar Hip Hop. Her videos, “Game Up” and “Dosey Doe”, each amassed over 100,000 views, eventually garnering the attention of DJ Kay Slay, who gave her the nickname, “Hip Hop”. On December 12, 2012, Ruby released her debut mixtape, Lost in Translation, hosted by DJ Kay Slay, which premiered that same night on Shade 45 Satellite Radio in New York City. Since its release, Lost in Translation has accumulated over 50,000 Soundcloud streams and nearly 100,000 digital downloads.

JR AQUINO

JRA pulled out his classics as well as covers that sounded better than the originals. For more, follow @JR Aquino .

ABOUT JR Aquino:

JR Aquino is a singer/songwriter born & raised in Anchorage, AK, who now resides in Las Vegas, NV. His love for music and performing has taken him all over the US and internationally in Asia and the UK. He has competed on singing shows such as season 3 of The Voice, where he was on Team Cee Lo, and on season 4 of American Idol, where he made it the “Top 44” out of over 100,000 contestants. He is on YouTube with over 550,000 subscribers and has gathered over 70 million views on his channel alone. With almost two decades in music, JR continues to write, perform, and share his story through song!

KIANA V

Kiana V is an R&B artist from Manila, currently based in Los Angeles. The successful release of her single "Does Show Know" in 2017 with currently 13M streams, debut EP “Grey” in 2018, "See Me" album in 2019, singles including "Corners" and "Safe Place" in 2020, "Dazed" EP in 2021 - and performances throughout Southeast Asia has paved the way to her current sound. The release of "Safe Place" in 2020 with Tarsier Records and 88Rising has generated over 2M streams. Kiana has been featured on SPIN, COMPLEX, Power 106 LA, Forbes, Earmilk, Acclaim Australia, HYPEBAE, PAPER, Grammy.com, American Songwriter, to name a few. She was awarded the People’s Choice Award for Best Female Performance at the 33rd Awit Awards in 2021 and this year has been selected to perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Kiana’s recent release "Heartbeat On Me", has is caught the attention of NME, The FADER, Beats Per Minute, The Forty-Five, and VOIR Magazine. Tune in to Kiana V’s single on all streaming digital platforms and music video on Youtube.

Stay tuned for more info and watch previous MYXtapes featuring Albert Posis, AJ Rafael and more at www.myx.global/myxtape.

The 35th Annual Friendship Games is presented by myx, Kollective Hustle & KUMU featuring amazing headlining performers like Kolohe Kai, JR Aquino, Cedrice & Nieman. It is the largest student-run Pilipinx American annual event in the nation, hosted by @pasakaibigan of Cal State Fullerton, October 23-24, 2020 at 5 P.M LIVE on CSUFPASA on the KUMU live-streaming app & YouTube. Last year myx & Kollective Hustle helped bring social media superstars Ceraadi & Jeremy Passion to perform for the 5,000+ crowd and the tradition will continue with the best in Filipino talent.

Headlining Artist Schedule: 10/23: Kolohe Kai & Cedrice 8P PDT | 10/24: JR Aquino & Nieman 8P PDT

ABOUT FRIENDSHIP GAMES:

Friendship Games began in 1985 and features over 40 Pilipinx American student organizations from college campuses representing California, Nevada, and Arizona that participate in a day of friendly, but competitive picnic games, performances and to celebrate “S.P.U.F” - Spirit, Pride, Unity, and Friendship. Schools compete for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies. The school that shows the most S.P.U.F is awarded an 8-foot tall trophy!

The very first champion of the picnic games, Kasama, hailed from Mt. San Antonio College.

Thirty-five years later, Friendship Games has become the highlight event of the Pilipinx-American college experience.

Is your organization going to take home the 8-foot trophy this year?

THE PURPOSE

The purpose of Friendship Games is to dedicate a time and place where people of different backgrounds can come together to celebrate and learn about Pilipinx culture. Along with that, many of those who are already a part of the Pilipinx culture can come together to share their own experiences with the rest of the Pilipinx-American community. This is achieved by using many modern ways to integrate as many people possible such as visual arts, vendors, exhibitors, and special performances.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

1. Spirit, Pride, Unity, and Friendship (S.P.U.F) is a form of celebration derived from many indigenous tribes that are a part of the Philippines. Such tribes would use chant-like expressions to communicate with one another. Schools compete to have the most S.P.U.F and they are mimicking the expressions of these tribes by creating their own cheers. A special tradition that comes along with that is the exchange of gifts so that they can share their spirit, pride, unity, and friendship with everyone.
2. On the day of Friendship Games, the attendees will be able to enjoy and learn about the many aspects of Pilipinx culture. One of the main sources is the different vendors and exhibitors that are present at the event. Attendees will be able to enjoy food as they learn about the Pilipinx-American community at Friendship Games. Through this, attendees will have the option to learn more about Pilipinx culture both at a local and global level.
3. One of the main values in Pilipinx culture is being family-orientated. In our history, laborers were forced to work together to reach one common goal at the end of the day. All the organizations that come to participate help showcase this aspect since they uphold the family value of respecting one another and working together. Everyone is encouraged to participate or learn about the different family values surrounded by Pilipinx culture. This value is demonstrated by competing in S.P.U.F and the five unique picnic games we created.
4. Music and dance play a prominent role in Pilipinx culture. Dancing is a way to tell the story of our culture through various styles; however, at FG, we mostly focus on modern dance. Through roll call and Infinite PASAbilities, FG celebrates the modern style of dance through upbeat performances in a positive environment. In 2019, a cultural aspect was required for all roll call performances. For the halftime show, we do our best to select performances that are relevant to our community. Halftime performers are required to explain their cultural significance in their performer application. American culture has influenced traditional music and it is constantly evolving - just like how Friendship Games is evolving every year.

CSUF PASA Kaibigan’s Mission Statement

The Pilipinx-American Student Association at California State University, Fullerton, is a student based group set out on promoting Pilipinx unity through education, responsibility, and character. This is accomplished with good communication, organization, leadership, recruitment and retention. By teaching Pilipinx culture among the youth, we aim to build Integrity & Friendship, so that one day they themselves can make a difference.

Visit www.csufpasa.com for more information.