Tag: pacific islander

Make Way for A.GIRL, the Australian Rapper Emerging From Western Sydney’s Underground Hip-Hop Scene

June 21, 2022

A.GIRL at Spotify AU's BUTTER event in Sydney

One of the universal qualities of hip-hop is how artists use the genre to express where they come from and the needs, fears, frustrations, and successes they experience along the way. This has set the stage for Australia’s A.GIRL—real name Hinenuiterangi Tairua—a 22-year-old rapper who is putting western Sydney on the map. 

Over the last two years, she has gained national recognition thanks to her raw style and distinct sing-rap mix that yields attention-grabbing moments of musical brilliance. 

On the strength of tracks like “We Them Boyz” (featuring Jaecy)—her first to be featured on Spotify’s flagship A1 hip-hop playlist—A.GIRL has enjoyed a rapid rise. She’s won both the Next Big Thing award at the FBi SMAC Awards and triple j’s Unearthed competition, which netted her a slot at the dance music festival Listen Out. She’s even been tipped as a rising star by U.K. publication Wonderland Mag and was named one to watch by Ticketmaster. Building on this momentum, she’s since joined Aussie grime icon Chillinit on his sold-out national tour, has shows coming up with the billion-stream rapper Masked Wolf, and will headline Sydney’s Spilt Milk festival in September. 

Most recently, Spotify’s A1 playlist brought A.GIRL together with Chillinit and another homegrown hip-hop artist, Day1, to launch a limited-edition menu with BUTTER, a hybrid fried chicken, hip-hop, champagne, and sneaker venue. (Fans can indulge in the custom menu’s offerings through the end of June at BUTTER’s four Sydney locations.) A.GIRL’s creation for this menu is the “A.GIRL Nashville Sandwich,” a spicy fried chicken sandwich with buttermilk ranch, a fried runny egg, and lettuce. 

“I had a long think about it, and I was like, what is missing from burgers that I always add when I go home?” she told For the Record. “Like, how do I personalize? The runny egg. I don’t know if it’s a Maori thing, a Pacific Islander thing, but we always put runny eggs on everything. So I was just like, chicken sandwich with a runny egg—that’s a wrap!” 

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.