Midnasty & Cookie$ have been putting on for Bisaya hip-hop and both acts have bene rightfully tapped by Spotify to promote Filipino hip hop as part of their new initiative. Their new collaboration "Wa Na Wa" is the first of three original hip-hop songs that will be released as part of KALYE X — Spotify’s latest initiative dedicated to collaborations between artists, fans, and the community, which serves as an extension of the KALYE Hip-Hop brand to further spotlight the genre.
Pride of Dumaguete Arkho, Makoy, and Nikko of Midnasty, and Cebu pride Cookie$ take listeners to the heart of Bisaya hip-hop through "Wa Na Wa." The lyrics is a powerful message of resilience, strength, and triumph over challenges, embodying the very essence of Bisaya pride. "Wa Na Wa" is also a testament to the artists' journey and success — as they inspire listeners through their music.
“I have been dedicating my music and craft to take Bisaya hip-hop beyond Visayas, and this collaboration with Midnasty is an important step in that direction. Working with Spotify allows us to transcend boundaries and share the vibrant Bisaya culture through our music. I hope this latest track not only empowers our fans, but also create a legacy that resonates far beyond our hometown,” shares Cookie$.
Sharing how they use hip-hop as a platform for good, Midnasty shares, “Hip-hop has been an avenue for us to channel our energy into something positive. Through this exciting collaboration with Spotify, we get to introduce our unique sound to a wider audience. We want to inspire more people to embrace their passions, just like we have, and keep supporting hip-hop."
Check out "Wa Na Wa" below!
On this episode of MYX Traks, R&B artist Shaina Rae dropped by the MYX Global Studios in Los Angeles for a live performance of her unreleased track, “Outta Control.” Take a peep at the exclusive performance only here on MYX Traks.
About Shaina Rae:
Shaina Rae is an R&B artist from Jamaica, Queens. She has opened up for Billboard charting artists Serani and Chief Keef, and has performed throughout New York City for over a decade. She now lives in Los Angeles songwriting with K-Pop, Hip-Hop, and R&B artists. Shaina Rae is currently working on her debut EP.
About MYX Traks:
MYX Traks features live and raw in-studio performances from up-and-coming artists co-produced with Traklife Media Group.
Follow Shaina Rae:
On this episode of MYX Traks, we have Tiana Kocher hitting the MYX Traks stage, setting the vibe with her track “Westside” live at the MYX Global studios in Los Angeles, California. The track is now available to stream on your favorite music streaming platforms. Check out her amazing live vocals below.
Also if you missed it, get to know Tiana even more and check out her MYXclusive interview below.
About Tiana Kocher:
Tiana Kocher is on a mission. She believes that everyone has the ability to create beautiful things, no matter who they are or where they come from. She aspires to motivate others to be unapologetically themselves.
Tiana has been on the rise ever since she dropped her first track, “Just My Type”, which hit the Top 40 Indie Chart in 2019. Adding to her resume, her music has appeared in a Cîroc commercial, the motion picture What Men Want, and led to a series of collaborations with some of music’s royalty, like T-Boz & Chili from TLC, Sage the Gemini and Faith Evans.
Growing up between her mother’s home in Manila and her father’s in Los Angeles, Tiana was determined to create something beautiful herself. Her interest in the arts led her to Cambridge where she studied acting, but the move helped reveal her true calling, music. Now, with her focus on writing and recording, Tiana is determined to hone her natural talents and share them with the world. It appears to be paying off.
What does Tiana think? Her number one lesson is “you’re put on this earth to be you.” And luckily for us, that’s exactly what she’s doing.
About MYX Traks:
MYX Traks features live and raw in-studio performances from up-and-coming artists co-produced with Traklife Media Group.
Follow Tiana Kocher:
Filipina R&B artist Kiana V continues her international crossover with a memorable trip to New York City to see her Spotify billboard in Times Square New York. Watch a recap of her trip that included a special dinner with friends to celebrate her journey at Tsismis NYC. Watch her journey here on the MYX original, The Crossover.
ABOUT KIANA V: @kianavee
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 11M streams, debut EP “Grey” in 2018, "See Me" album in 2019, singles including "Corners" in 2020 - and live performances throughout Southeast Asia has paved the way to her latest sound. The release of "Safe Place" in 2020 with Tarsier Records and 88Rising has generated over 1M streams and views on its music video, and continues to gain new listeners globally. Kiana has been featured on COMPLEX, Power 106 LA, SPIN, Forbes, Earmilk, Acclaim Australia, HYPEBAE, PAPER, American Songwriter, NME, to name a few. She was awarded the People’s Choice Award for Best Female Performance at the 33rd Awit Awards last year, and featured on Grammy.com for the release. Kiana was recently nominated for the 2021 Myx Awards for "Mellow Video of the Year."
ABOUT The Crossover:
The Crossover highlights the journey of popular artists crossing over to new, international markets for the first time like Inigo Pascual, Kiana V. KZ Tandingan, Moira Dela Torre & more.
A month ahead of International Women’s Day, Clara Benin is the latest Filipino singer-songwriter to land on the Spotify billboard at Times Square in New York. She is another Filipina part of the EQUAL Campaign that aims to amplify the work of outstanding women and gender-nonconforming musicians.
She shares that being part of the campaign is exciting and "hopes our music (OPM) reaches and inspires more people from all over the world." As the current campaign's cover artist, two of her songs, "blink" and “Araw’t Gabi” are also featured in the playlist. "blink" was produced by acclaimed electronic/indie artist The Ringmaster, and features multi-instrumentalist Gabba Santiago on drums. The track finds refuge in reliving Benin’s past without any hint of regret.
I feel really humbled to be featured on a Times Square billboard in New York and to have my songs be part of Spotify’s EQUAL playlist alongside these lovely and talented women.”
CLARA BENIN
Having amassed more than 30 million streams on Spotify alone and just releasing "blink", Benin has more music on the way. "I’ve been writing a lot the past two years and very excited to work on them this year for an upcoming album." She is the first Filipino signed under Sony Music’s OFFMUTE— a Southeast Asian record label that’s entirely dedicated to giving artists a voice, an audience, and an opportunity for cross-collaboration within the region.
About Clara Benin
Clara Benin is the indie darling of the Philippines. One of the firsts under Sony’s new regional label OFFMUTE, her signature angelic voice and melodic acoustic guitar sound bring a kind of serenity to her music. She's collaborated with Singaporean artists Charlie Lim for a remake of her hit single, “Wine” and Gentle Bones for the pop track, “A Day At A Time”.
The acoustic-folk artist has performed her music at festivals like Wanderland Arts and Music Festival in the Philippines, Music Matters in Singapore, and Zandari Festa in Korea. She sold out her first solo concert in 2016 for her album “Coming Home” and had a back-to-back concert with fellow artist Ben&Ben in 2018.
Follow CLARA BENIN on socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarabeninmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarabeninmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarabeninmusic
Cover Photo Credit: Clara Benin
Filipina R&B artist Kiana V continues her international crossover with a memorable trip to New York City to see her Spotify billboard in Times Square New York. In this episode, she visits The Orchard HQ who helped secure the placement while also roams the concrete streets of the city she has grown to love and wants to live in one day - even if only for a period of time as she loves surfing and will miss the beach and the Valenciano family too much if gone for too long. Watch the full episode 1 below:
Follow along with @Kiana V journey here on The Crossover, a MYX original. Watch the trailer below:
Full episode coming soon, watch it here 2/12:
ABOUT KIANA V: @kianavee
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 11M streams, debut EP “Grey” in 2018, "See Me" album in 2019, singles including "Corners" in 2020 - and live performances throughout Southeast Asia has paved the way to her latest sound. The release of "Safe Place" in 2020 with Tarsier Records and 88Rising has generated over 1M streams and views on its music video, and continues to gain new listeners globally. Kiana has been featured on COMPLEX, Power 106 LA, SPIN, Forbes, Earmilk, Acclaim Australia, HYPEBAE, PAPER, American Songwriter, NME, to name a few. She was awarded the People’s Choice Award for Best Female Performance at the 33rd Awit Awards last year, and featured on Grammy.com for the release. Kiana was recently nominated for the 2021 Myx Awards for "Mellow Video of the Year."
ABOUT The Crossover:
The Crossover is a MYX original docuseries that documents the journey of popular artists crossing over to new, international markets for the first time like Inigo Pascual, Kiana V. KZ Tandingan, Moira Dela Torre & more.
On this episode of MYX Traks, we have the talented Dane Amar taking the stage! If you haven't heard this track at a coffee or boba shop yet it probably made its rounds with you on one of your streaming platforms. With over 45 million streams here is Dane Amar live with "Green Tea & Honey."
About Dane Amar:
Dane Amar is an international pop star in the making. In 2019, the LA-based artist burst into the scene when he released “Green Tea and Honey,” amassing over 45 million streams and becoming an instant earworm worldwide. With co-signs from international superstars such as Matthaios, JunoFlo, G Perico, and MEYOU, Dane has cemented his worldwide appeal in the states as well as Asia — and this is only scratching the surface of what Dane’s music can reach.
About MYX Traks:
MYX Traks is a part of MYX Global’s new Youtube content line-up. The show features a live in-studio performance from up-and-coming and established artists co-produced with Traklife Media Group.
Follow Dane:
Ben&Ben, the indie pop band is headed to Dubai for the rescheduled Expo 2020 Dubai. The new date of the event is January 27th, 2022 and they'll be taking on the Jubilee Stage. With a live audience allowed to the venue, the excitement is real.
The event is also being livestreamed on Facebook so you'll be able to catch their set and maybe a performance of the new track, "Comets."
With Ben&Ben as the most streamed Filipino artist with one billion streams so far on Spotify, the event is a huge accomplishment as they take their music global.
Cover Photo Credit: Ben&Ben Facebook
It's no question that Belle Mariano is a rising star in the industry. She just released her album Daylight and "Tanging Dahilan" is the latest song to be accompanied by a music video. The fourth track off the album is a happy ballad that talks about experiencing the first stage of a relationship.
In the video, Belle is like princess fairy with the dreamy production and set up filled with lots of flowers as she's surrounded by nature. To say she's glowing is an understatement. Check out the video if you're in need of a chill vibe.
This week, not only did Belle also reached a new milestone with her latest film, Love is Colorblind, she's making her mark in the Big City. She made Spotify's EQUAL playlist and was featured on a Billboard in the middle of New York City's Time Square. EQUAL Philippines features her tracks "Sigurado" and "Tanging Dahilan." We're sure this won't be her last time to be featured on the playlist or on a major billboard.
Cover Photo Credit: Star Pop PH Twitter
Huge congratulations to girl group, Boys World for 1 million streams on Spotify with their song "Something in the Water." If you haven't heard it yet, check out a snippet of an a cappella version below!
The group was formed by KYN Entertainment after the company directors contacted each of the members on social media, having seen their singing videos online. The group was kept a secret until January 2020, when they began posting on social media. They released their debut single "Girlfriends" in October 2020, which was followed by an extended play, While You Were Out, in April 2021.
If you didn't know, one of the members Queenie Mae Villaluz is Filipino. She was born in Manilla, but grew up in California and was the first member of the group to be chosen. Her favorite genre of music is R&B.
Keep a lookout for more from Boys World coming soon!
Cover Photo Credit: Boys World Facbeook
BGYO's debut album "The Light" has hit over 5 million Spotify streams to date and continues to climb. The news of the achievement hit Twitter with an announcement from Star Music that trended with the hashtag #BGYOx1stAlbum_5mStreams. Their fandom, the ACEs, have played a significant contribution to this milestone, and from the looks of all social platforms, they continue to push through to see the boys reach the top.
Along with the drop of their debut album, BGYO also released their music video for their latest single, "When I'm With You," and the global reactor community on Youtube has taken notice. Take a look at these fun reactions!
And of course, we have to add in BGYO's own fun and hilarious reaction to the video themselves!
Lalisa Manobal aka Lisa from the global phenomenon girl group BLACKPINK recently took over Spotify's Dope AF Playlist and shared some of her favorite songs. She's been pretty busy with the release of her solo songs "Lalisa" and "Money," Lisa still had time to curate a surprising playlist.
According to NYLON Manila, the playlist contains a bunch of female artists and a handful of them are Filipinas. With Lisa being a global superstar, we weren't totally sure what kind of music we'd see on the playlist but we definitely love her wide range of taste in music. Each track shows a side of Lisa's style as an artist. She can do pop, hip-hop, and R&B. Check out which of your favorite Filipina artists Lisa included who are Dope AF!
"When You Love Someone" ft. H.E.R. - Tone Stith
"We Made It" - H.E.R.
"deja vu" and "good 4 u" - Olivia Rodrigo
"Selfish" and "How We Used To" - Stephanie Poetri
"Chatter" - Jess Connelly
"Best Friend" ft. Doja Cat - Saweetie
"Sublime" - Jolianne, CARELESS
"GOR!LLAZ" - Karencitta
"Build a B*tch" - Bella Poarch
"You Like the Chase" - Marian Carmel
Dope AF is a playlist on Spotify that regularly highlights female Asian musicians. The description goes, “Dope, Asian, and Femme” and these ladies are killing it in the game. The songs all span from rap, hip-hop, R&B, pop, and slow jams giving everyone a track and artist for every mood. Lisa does a great job of mixing up the playlist with artists we all know while also introducing us to rising musicians.
We love to see female artists supporting other female artists! Which of the tracks above have you already heard and which ones are your new go-to? Tell us on @myxnews!
Lalisa Manoban is better known by her stage name, Lisa. Currently based in South Korea, she is a Thai rapper, singer, dancer, model, and member of BLACKPINK. Her career began in 2010, when she auditioned to join South Korean record label YG Entertainment in Thailand. Among the 4,000 applicants, she was the only individual to qualify and was offered a chance to become a YG Entertainment trainee.
In 2011, Lisa moved to South Korea to begin her formal training as a trainee, which lasted five years. She officially joined the label as their first non-ethnically Korean trainee later that year. In November 2013, she appeared in Taeyang's music video "Ringa Linga," where she was one of the background dancers. From 2015-2016, Lisa ventured into modeling for street-wear and cosmetic brands. K-Pop group BLACKPINK debuted in 2016, and she became the main dancer, lead rapper, a supporting vocalist. Lisa is also the first non-Korean YG Entertainment artist/The first foreign YG Entertainment artist.
Cover Photo Credit: Lisa Instagram
