Far East Movement

Electronic pop-rap outfit Far East Movement stepped onto a major label in 2010. The act had formed back in 2003 when high school friends Kev Nish, Prohgress, and J-Splif, all raised in downtown Los Angeles, first banded together as a trio. A few years afterward, DJ Virman Coquia entered the lineup.

Their first recordings surfaced with the 2005 mixtape Audio-Bio and the 2006 full-length Folk Music. That same year, the track “Round Round” from Folk Music landed on the soundtrack for the hit movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, giving the group its initial widespread exposure. In 2008 they issued the independent follow-up Animal, which drew attention through singles such as “You’ve Got a Friend,” “Lowridin,” and “Girls on the Dancefloor,” the last reaching the Billboard charts. The momentum led to a contract with Cherrytree Records, an Interscope subsidiary.

After serving as opening act on Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball Tour abroad and collaborating in the studio with the Stereotypes—the production team behind “Girls on the Dancefloor”—Far East Movement unveiled their major-label single “Like a G6.” The song claimed the top spot on the U.S. charts in summer 2010, earned gold or platinum status in four countries, and marked the first time an Asian-American act had led the Billboard Hot 100. Both that hit and the Top Ten follow-up “Rocketeer,” featuring Ryan Tedder, appeared on the band’s major-label debut album Free Wired, issued later that year. Dirty Bass arrived in 2012, fronted by the lead single “Live My Life” that paired the group with Justin Bieber.

In subsequent years the members focused on their fifth album, shuttling between Asia and the United States while creating material alongside various Asian artists. By 2016 the act, now operating as a trio without J-Splif, delivered Identity. The globally flavored project showcased K-pop contributors including Chanyeol of EXO, Jay Park, and Tiffany from Girls’ Generation, alongside R&B voices such as Tinashe, MNEK, and Macy Gray, plus rappers Soulja Boy and Big K.R.I.T. In 2018 Far East Movement released the single “Bamboo,” which featured Jason Zhang and Kina Grannis.