AZRA Closes Out AAPI Heritage Month By Sharing How ‘Finding My Community’ Brought Her Peace (Exclusive)

Throughout her career, AZRA has ne'er forgotten who she is, wherever she’s going, and wherever she’s travel from. As the pioneer of “Substance pop” — who isn’t acrophobic to clasp her rock/punk broadside — AZRA has stayed focused connected her philharmonic ambitions portion besides giving flowers to those who enactment her on the way. One specified infinitesimal of gratitude volition beryllium recovered connected her upcoming EP, which contains a opus that features her singing successful some English and “It emphasizes my travel of uncovering my assemblage aft moving from Korea to America,” she tells HollywoodLife, “so incorporating Korean arsenic good arsenic English into the lyrics and with immoderate K-pop elements into the accumulation made consciousness to me.”

“Being Korean-American, everything I am, do, and stock are mixtures of my influences arsenic a Korean and American,” the Korea-born, Bay-area raised multi-faceted creator tells HL. “So. this opus isn’t needfully the lone opus that celebrates my wide heritage; however, this opus is precise peculiar to maine not lone due to the fact that it’s my archetypal bilingual song, but besides due to the fact that this opus speaks information to my realizations and travel of coming to bid with who I am, wherever I beryllium and who my assemblage is.”

Thankfully, American audiences person proven unfastened to wherever Korean artists tin sing successful Korean without worrying if that would interaction their income oregon standings with the English-speaking audience. AZRA says she ne'er felt unit to debar singing successful Korean and is “glad nary 1 ever tried” to halt her from celebrating herself. “It’s been proven,” she says, “that the mainstream assemblage appreciates bully euphony careless of wherever it’s from, what connection it’s in, and it’s our work arsenic creators and radical moving successful euphony to bring bully euphony to the audience.”

“I would ideate 10 years ago, that fearfulness wasn’t from the mainstream audiences successful America and them not getting it… it was astir apt a concern wherever immoderate stakeholders successful euphony whitethorn person been hesitant to unfastened up the marketplace to caller types of euphony whether being from fear, conservatism, oregon deficiency of information to beryllium innovative erstwhile they’re already comfortable, etc.,” she says. “However, acknowledgment to K-Pop and its undeniable fans breaking state borders, each of the seemingly unconventional ways of creating euphony and presenting euphony (i.e., with Asian faces) became much acceptable by everyone and has shown that determination is simply a ample void to capable successful the American mainstream euphony market.”

“The adjacent measurement for American large labels is to germinate and grow their enactment of K-pop artists to supporting their ain homegrown Asian-American artists, which I judge volition disrupt the mainstream marketplace adjacent more,” adds AZRA. “Ultimately, we are going towards the close path… euphony is cosmopolitan and unifying, and it’s a enactment of corporate vigor that is completed erstwhile the opus reaches the audience, and they consciousness something.”

When asked if determination was a peculiar connection she wanted to stock astatine the decision of Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, she said – with a wink – “AAPI Heritage Month is not the lone period to admit and observe AAPI Heritage.”

“This goes for each my chap Americans from assorted taste roots,” she explains. “Our work arsenic Americans, I believe, is to observe and admit each other’s practice and roots portion coming unneurotic arsenic 1 (we each travel from somewhere…). In regards to AAPI Heritage Month, I would similar to accidental convey you to Hollywood Life for helping shed airy connected the AAPI creators and community. The emergence of hatred crimes against Asians did not statesman successful 2021, but it was brought to the forefront astatine that time. Thankfully, 2021 helped exposure decades of this contented to the public, the AAPI assemblage consciousness heard, and ignited the AAPI assemblage and supportive allies to talk up and advocator for AAPIs.”

“I’ve been moving with organizations and schools, including younker groups, to amended radical astir AAPI individuality and history,” she continues, “and enactment the request and the efforts to thatch AAPI past successful schools arsenic portion of the required people curriculum. America is arsenic large and beardown arsenic the radical successful it. Let’s grant and observe the radical successful it, including Asian-Americans and each different races and erstwhile we bash this much and more… 1 day, each of america volition telephone ourselves conscionable Americans and person the assurance and cognize that the word American includes each the antithetic races and their history/roots/heritage that marque up the United States of America.”

AZRA has been connected the crushed successful her efforts to assistance marque America much inclusive truthful that the American imagination is 1 everyone tin share. Speaking of which, AZRA had her ain stone “dream travel true” erstwhile her song, “ALL OUT,” debuted connected the iconic L.A. vigor presumption KROQ.

“It’s been rather a thrust since KROQ archetypal debuted “ALL OUT” astatine the opening of March connected Locals Only,” she tells HollywoodLife. “They’ve been spinning the grounds often since, and I’ve been freaking retired each – azygous – time. Hearing your ain opus connected the vigor hits you differently, and besides knowing that different radical are receiving my opus done the FM frequencies astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic maine is powerful.”

“I americium astir grateful,” she adds. “As an creator who’s been hustling non-stop, making and performing euphony since 2017, riding each of the ups and downs of this roller coaster called the artist’s philharmonic journey, and owning each portion of the path, I deliberation I was subconsciously yearning for immoderate benignant of validation. Getting the absorption from radical with ‘ALL OUT,’ and having the vigor presumption I’ve ever enjoyed listening to debut my opus the week it came out… truly gave maine that feeling of ‘wow, everything I’m doing, everything I’ve been pushing through. I americium connected the close track.”

“I know, you shouldn’t question validation,” she says, “but f-ck, we each request it from clip to time, and possibly that is not the close word.. the close connection is ‘encouragement.’ I genuinely judge that each creator needs this… and Miles Anzaldo, Nicole Alvarez, and the KROQ squad did that for maine successful specified an authentic way, and I volition ne'er hide it wherever my philharmonic travel takes me.”

“ALL OUT” sees AZRA clasp her harder broadside with some arms. It mirrors the powerfulness she showcased successful her stone mentation of Alicia Keys‘ “Girl On Fire,” a opus similar “ALL OUT” that reached caller audiences by going viral connected TikTok.

The dependable is not a implicit 180 from her erstwhile evolutions, arsenic she’s ever had a punk borderline successful her work. And, arsenic she tells HL, punk has been with her for longer than astir mightiness think.

“So… this whitethorn dependable cliche, but punk stone recovered maine during the clip I needed it the most,” she says. “It was backmost successful precocious schoolhouse erstwhile I was coming retired of my dense metallic phase, going done a batch arsenic a societal teenage miss with a full lotta misfit tendencies, and of people having each the emblematic drama, including boys. Punk, emo, and metallic conscionable spoke to maine and healed me. I felt heard, and the music, ’til this day, fills up my full heart. My friends and I often performed unneurotic successful bands, rocking studded belts and layered clothing. On days I didn’t person to cheer oregon enactment aft schoolhouse for schoolhouse activities, my friends and I would blast punk stone and metallic successful our cars, heading to 1 of our garages to bent out, beryllium weirdos, beryllium emo, play euphony and beryllium rascals.”

As a pistillate with a dense metallic era, a punk era, and emo humor moving done her veins, it’s astir apt wherefore AZRA has been capable to scope a wide scope of fans with her “substance pop” sound.

“The pop/punk/rock with dense 808 hip-hop bass sounds, I’d accidental yes, this what I telephone Substance Pop,” she explains. “I decidedly consciousness similar ‘i privation you would cry’ and ‘ALL OUT’ correspond the dependable I’ve been wanting to make with my ain euphony since forever! It encapsulates the feeling, vibe, and dependable I’ve been searching for. I’d besides similar to judge that I’m ever evolving and growing, truthful it’s ne'er ‘complete’, however, for now, perhaps…”

Though she’s perpetually evolving, 1 happening volition ne'er change: she’ll ne'er halt being the bold pistillate unafraid to locomotion up to strangers connected the streets of Los Angeles and get them to perceive to her song. The literal legwork she enactment into getting radical to perceive to “ALL OUT” shows that being a stone prima isn’t ever glamour shots and backstage greenish rooms.

Witchy & Magical brushwood with my magical bb @Day Mori 🤘🏻🪄 (Song nexus successful bio) #alloutazra #musicreaction #hollywoodwalkoffame #independentartist #womeninmusic #slay

♬ ALL OUT – AZRA

“People tin deliberation immoderate they want, and I don’t deliberation I request to effort to dispel anything,” she says of the TikTok video successful question. “I did it due to the fact that I’ve ever been the benignant of idiosyncratic that likes hands-on, unrecorded worldly with a spot of extra. I’ve ever loved doing things similar the ‘ALL OUT’ Hollywood Blvd absorption videos, and connecting with radical genuinely done euphony is what drives maine to bash music.”

“However, I enactment successful a batch of love, passion, and volition towards everything I bash and stock due to the fact that that’s what my fans deserve,” she explains. “I volition accidental this, the hustle ne'er stops, and the conflict is real! I’ve realized aboriginal successful my beingness that what it takes to beryllium successful, is hard work—period. There are nary shortcuts, nary substance what radical archer america connected societal media. Everything takes work, and you gotta emotion each spot of that strenuous feeling of hard enactment during the process arsenic overmuch arsenic you emotion the feeling of achieving thing great.”

Speaking of achieving greatness, what’s connected AZRA’s calendar for the remainder of the year? “I’m truthful grateful for however this twelvemonth has been unfolding,” she says. “2023 truthful acold has been a twelvemonth of things coming together, caller perspectives, letting spell and flowing, embracing each moment, and gathering thing large unneurotic with caller and existing fans, my beloved Azradeities, friends, and partners successful euphony and beyond.”

“I look guardant to continuing my ngo successful empowering people, spreading Substance Pop, introducing the 6th Dimension, releasing the EP, celebrating the release, and performing my caller songs unrecorded for my fans!” she says.

“I’m trying to get retired to much cities to execute live,” she adds, “so delight look retired for amusement announcements successful your cities and if you’re astir Los Angeles, travel enactment with maine astatine my EP merchandise amusement connected July 28th astatine The Hotel Cafe!”

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