Tag: AAPIHM

Celebrate Filipino Heritage Month With Our First-Ever ‘Jasmine Presents’ Artist Showcase

October 6, 2023

Artists of Asian descent are not just thriving globally, they’re making a massive impact on the overall musical landscape. So in 2017, we launched Jasmine, a genreless flagship playlist that highlights Asian and Pacific Islander music communities around the world. Fans turn to Jasmine to discover artists from the United States, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia like Raveena, keshi, Higher Brothers, Anik Khan, Saweetie, and CHUNG HA. 

This Filipino Heritage Month, we’re leveraging Jasmine in a whole new way to celebrate the cultural heritage of artists and listeners emerging from the Philippines by hosting Jasmine Presents: Filipino Heritage Month, presented by Spotify Stages. This is our first-ever Jasmine artist showcase, and October 20-27, eight artists of Filipino descent—Mndsgn with No_4mat; Ez Mil with MBNel; Lyn Lapid with Ashley Mehta; RINI; and P-Lo—will be headlining shows at the legendary New York City venue SOB’s. The showcase is open to the public, and fans who want to attend can purchase tickets for each individual show by following the links below.

Jasmine Presents:

Filipino Heritage Month

October 20: RINI

October 23: Ez Mil w/ MBNel

October 24: Lyn Lapid w/ Ashley Mehta

October 26: P-Lo

October 27: Mndsgn w/ No_4mat 

“We are thrilled to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month this year through the first Jasmine showcase,” said Ronny Ho, Spotify Head of Dance and Electronic Development. “October is a special month to celebrate one of the first groups of Asian immigrants to immigrate to the United States. The vibrant and diverse Filipino community is highlighted in the breadth of our playlist and this year’s showcase, with talents in hip-hop, pop, electronic, and more.”

Ahead of the showcase, For the Record spoke with some of the featured artists to learn more about what makes Filipino culture unique and how their heritage has shaped them as artists and people.

How is your Filipino heritage reflected in your music?

EZ MIL: I can say that I’m very proud of my Filipino heritage and it’s evident with my songs I sing in the languages of the Philippines, like “Panalo.” I also try to incorporate Filipino sounds and tribal instruments in my music.

No_4mat: I try to make my music as organically as possible, so inevitably my life experiences as a Filipino have shaped my taste and creative inspiration. I have a few tracks, like “Manilla” and “Sisig,” that more directly reference trips back home and feelings I get from eating my favorite foods, like sisig. But beyond those, I think a lot of the sounds and melodies I’m drawn to are pulled from my childhood and Filipino culture. 

Ashley Mehta: Growing up in a Filipino household, I was always surrounded by music. Karaoke was always nonstop at family parties, and the love we all have for singing would always shine through. When I write music today I try to capture that same energy that feels very community. I like creating feel-good music that you can use as a sense of release!

Can you share some of your biggest Filipino influences growing up?

Lyn Lapid: Filipino singers such as Jessica Sanchez and 4TH IMPACT were huge inspirations for me. I’d watch them audition on international talent shows with my mom, and that inspired me to start singing for fun. Alex Wassabi and Roi from Wassabi Productions inspired me to start making my own videos and posting them online even if I thought nobody would be watching.  

Mndsgn: Growing up, I remember my parents renting a lot of Filipino movies from a nearby family-owned Filipino bakery. I wish I could remember some of the titles, but a lot of those films were really dark and dramatic, and some of them kind of freaked me out. In retrospect, I feel like watching those movies immediately brought me close to a deeper sense of the unknown. And ironically, the unknown is now something that I constantly search for in music.

Ashley Mehta: My biggest Filipino influences music-wise definitely include P-Lo, Jeremy Passion, and H.E.R. They all have an incredible energy that I take influence from! Aside from music, I would say Manny Pacquiao. Growing up we’d always watch Pacquiao fights and come together rooting for our culture. The representation really showed me how important it is to embrace who we are. 

Are there any Filipino artists that you’re excited about right now?

MBNel: Ez Mil, ParisPlayedYou, JoeMari, and Yatta Bandz, just to name a few.

Mndsgn: Nathan Bajar is a singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn that I’ve been a fan of for quite some time now. His songwriting is always so fresh and tasteful. There’s something in his music that really retains an honesty to his roots. The LA band Xinxin has also been resonating with me lately. The lead vocalist, Janize Ablaza, is Pinay, and the way she floats on each song is effortless. No skips on their records!

If there was one aspect of Filipino culture you could share with the entire world, what would it be?

Mndsgn: One of the most essential aspects in Filipino culture is the communion through food.  We love eating and we know everyone else does too. It’s such a centerpiece in our heritage and it’s probably our favorite way to gather and connect.

MBNel: Having respect for elders and taking family serious. I didn’t really realize or appreciate the value of that until I got older.

Ez Mil: I would say hospitality, and specifically, our ability to make people feel welcome or feel “at home” regardless of their background or nationality. I believe the world could benefit from fostering a culture of inclusivity and warmth. It promotes the idea of being interconnected and it celebrates diversity.

Lyn Lapid: If there’s one aspect of Filipino culture I’d share with the world, it’d be the incredible music that so many Filipino artists make. When I visited the Philippines earlier this year, I was blessed to meet the insanely talented dia maté and Elise Huang, a couple of local Filipino artists who make music on a whole other level.

No_4mat: If there was one aspect I’d share, it would be the hospitality via food and our open-arms mentality. We want everyone to eat and have a seat at the same table, which is the attitude I try to bring to my own life.

Don’t forget to grab your tickets for the Jasmine Presents showcase here. And to get hyped for the showcase, you can discover the diverse sounds of the Asian diaspora on Jasmine. 

Spotify Celebrates Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by Spotlighting Creators and Activists

May 5, 2022

Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month banner

Each May on our platform, Spotify has amplified and honored the cultures and traditions of the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This year, our campaign expands from an American observance to a global celebration and highlights the full Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora. We’re proud to now mark May as Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Spotify.  

To celebrate, we’ve refreshed our Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month content hub with new activist-created playlists and a spotlight on up-and-coming artists. With Asian and Pacific Islander artists representing every genre and in all stages of audio creation, this campaign continues our ongoing efforts to create awareness and expand the API community’s presence on Spotify. Read on to learn more about our plans. 

Turning the volume up on API voices

Our API content hub is a space dedicated to the API community that showcases the work of activists while also highlighting fresh new releases from creators across the audio landscape. This year’s hub is adorned with new cover art and features a variety of audio content, from Punjabi and K-Pop playlists to podcasts from API creators around the globe. It’s also home to a variety of specially curated playlist takeovers. 

 

Letting activists take the lead 

This year, we worked with prominent API activists Malavika Kannan, Amanda Nguyen, and ALOK to create a series of playlists, each with a special theme and message. 

Malavika’s playlist is a musical love letter to fearless immigrant daughters, strong diaspora children, the proud queer community, and multilingual Asian Pacific Islanders. Amanda’s playlist includes music that celebrates API culture year-round. And ALOK’s playlist is a curated collection of API musicians across a wide array of genres and geographies. 

Amplifying Voices for Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

April 26, 2021

Now more than ever, it’s important we celebrate and support our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Artists, influencers, creators, celebrities, and more have spent 2021 making their voices heard, and we stand with them in solidarity. In honor of AAPI Heritage Month this May, Spotify is continuing our ongoing efforts to amplify and lift up this community. Through this year’s campaign, we are spotlighting AAPI creators on Spotify, as well as inviting them to share their stories of pride.

Read on to learn more about our efforts to elevate AAPI stories. 

An on-platform hub for reflection and pride

To amplify the voices of our AAPI creators around the world, Spotify has created the AAPI content hub. The dedicated space houses leading AAPI voices alongside fresh new releases from creatives across the audio landscape.

Representation in singles, playlists, and art

To lift up our artists, Spotify is partnering with Audrey Nuna to cover “That XX” by G-DRAGON, a track that pays homage to her AAPI heritage. 

We’re also refreshing a number of playlists with updated covers highlighting AAPI and mixed-race artists, as well as adding new songs for listeners to enjoy. These playlists include Dope AF, a collection of work from leading cool Asian, femme women across the diaspora; .ORG, which shares the latest indie sounds from Asia; Desi Hits, a curated list of Desi hits from South Asia and around the world; and AAPI Pride, which celebrates artists who are queer Asian American or Pacific Islanders. 

Spotify Launches New Campaign to Celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 4, 2020

Over the last year, media from across Asia has had several notable moments—from the groundbreaking blockbuster Parasite, to the rise of artists like BTS and Riz Ahmed. In the U.S. in particular, Asian American artists like Anik Khan and Yaeji are also finding their ways into the spotlight. To celebrate the work of these and other creators during Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re introducing the “Our Roots. Our Sound.” campaign. 

“I’m so honored to be a part of Spotify’s campaign and help share my story as an Asian American with people across the world,” says singer-songwriter mxmtoon. “It means a lot to me to think about how I could tell my five-year-old self she would eventually see her story reflected in the media.” 

To amplify voices like mxmtoon’s across the world, we’re also launching the Amplify: Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month hub, which is filled with a mix of music and podcasts. Here, you’ll find playlists featuring Asian American artists, flagship playlists directly out of Asia, This Is artist playlists, and so much more. By working alongside artists, content creators, and influencers, such as Eric Nam, Jai Wolf, Stephanie Poetri, Yuna, Rich Brian, and Steve Aoki, we built a hub to  showcase the diversity and talent from across Asia and its diaspora.