SOME artistes are just born with the music bug and would often – as Joshua Chin did – have polished their inborn flair by a certain age.
However, the New York-based rapper did not seriously consider a performing career until he left the country for further studies.
“After I moved away from my family and friends, music became something I held on to very dearly. It became an outlet for me. From there, the ambition to become a professional rapper grew.”
With a newly released EP, Bagtivity, Joshua – who goes by Babybluebenzo – hopes to become the next Southeast Asian international hip-hop artist to make it big in the United States.
What is the story behind your stage name, Babybluebenzo?
It was kind of random but also not.
I used to go by the name – Mad Bunk. It was a random thing that my friend and I came up with. But at some point, I was really feeling like the colour baby blue because I met this Korean girl named Bak Bo Bay.
So I thought of matching my stage name with it. And baby blue was one of the first words I thought about. And Benz was because it was one of my father’s first cars and I am also a big fan of the brand.
I quickly came up with the name and it has very easily stuck.
Tell us about the inspiration behind your debut EP, Bagtivity?
Up to this day, the title of the EP still cracks me up. When I was coming up with the title, I was in a specific headspace. Last March, I launched a start-up, it was a shared power bank business.
I had it joined in a new venture competition.
I thought I would have won the grand prize and the business was going to go well. But the month itself, Covid hit and disrupted my plans to earn more money. So I was channelling all this frustration in my EP.
Were there any memorable moments during the recording of Bagtivity?
Definitely! In recording the EP, there were initially going to be five songs only. And there is a song called Baby Blue Benzo. I wrote that song a day before I recorded it. And it was a result of a failed session that did not turn out well. The producer was just not the right person.
So I still had extra time in the studio. Fortunately, I managed to come up with a beat that eventually became the title track of the EP. It is my personal favourite track. Aside from this, I also got to record in a recording studio for the first time.
I was able to be around other professional rappers. Hence, this allowed me to listen to other rappers’ music and witness how they work which inspired me to work harder.
As a Malaysian hustling in the United States, what are some struggles you have faced thus far?
I think it would be the identity crisis. Number one being Chinese and Malaysian. There is already a level of separation. And then being a Malaysian American, there is another level of separation. So that kind of questions your identity and where you belong.
But I did not think much about it until the EP was released. That is because I started getting attention and this got me questioning my place among other professional rappers. Particularly on what I could bring to the table.
What do you enjoy more – the spotlight or the creative fulfilment?
Creative fulfilment definitely! There is just no feeling like it. When I am writing music, I get to channel my creative side. Like a beat of a song itself is so much already. The ability to make something and when the end product turns out well, there is really a great sense of fulfilment.
What do you hope to achieve next year?
Hopefully, by then, I will have music videos to all the songs of the EP, and a new EP in the works. And if I get to have more time here in Malaysia, I would like to work with local rappers like Joe Flizzow and Sona One.
