Artist Highlight: May 2022

OUR GALAXIES, HI, HELLO, HOWDY. I really really miss posting on our blog. I miss y'all. BUT FEAR NOT. DON'T WORRY. I AM GETTING MY LIFE AND MY SHIT TOGETHER TO PROPERLY BALANCE THE BLOG AND THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL. This older child of ours is not going to be neglected any longer! Life got to be a little touch and go for a bit, but we're getting back on track.

Sadly, no one wanted to interact or talk to me about my ADORABLE POLL POST as to which artist I would cover in March's (or then April's? time is an illusion) highlight post. So, naturally, I took it upon myself to discuss someone I've been loving extra lately and would like to screech about.

In our Ask IG YouTube video (pinned below!), I mention this artist a few times in response to the question asking about Chinese music recs. SO, check that video out for more specific recs since this is just an overall hype post.

Our artist for the month of (cough) MAY is... LEXIE LIU.

Now, Lexie is super talented. A tiny bit of info to get started: she's a Chinese singer, rapper, producer, and songwriter. She was even an actual face of some of the biggest names in fashion. For some of you, you may have heard her more recently in K/DA's "MORE" as the voice of League's Seraphine. Others may recognize her from when she participated in (and won fourth place in both) competition shows in 2015 and 2018, K-pop Star 5 and The Rap of China respectively. She released her debut EP, 2030, in the US in 2019 and has been pretty steadily releasing music ever since. I will say, another one of my favorite little notes about Lexie, is that while filming K-pop Star 5, she applied and was accepted to Fordham University in order to study global business; stunning, talented, a literal face of fashion, precious human, intelligent - what a package!

Musically and visually, Lexie is SO MUCH FUN????? For those who are interested to see how the visuals/music videos/visualizers pair with the music artists create, Lexie does a wonderful job creating an atmospheric experience. A great example, I think, is "MANTA". Starting with the immediate visual for "MANTA" below, Lexie really does a great job of setting the stage with what kind of energy and visuals you get in the music video.

Her videos, in general, are very sci-fi based, which matches her sound and her energy really well, and "MANTA" is no exception. The video for "MANTA" is very sci-fi based. References that she used felt like (since I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi so don't yell if I'm SUPER wrong or off with my direct comparison) they pulled from multiple sources such as Alien, The Matrix and maybe even almost a Fifth Element vibe. Even for me, as someone who is not sci-fi savvy or interested, I love watching Lexie's videos because I feel like she just weaves everything together so smoothly and manages to make the subject matter interesting, no matter what.

Specifically for the "MANTA" track, her sound is electronic, her mastering is very high quality (like every Lexie track) as is her production value (once again, like every Lexie track), and the way she layers her more melodic-style raps and vocals on top of super catchy and almost hypnotic-like beats is just truly fantastic.

Also, in addition to her top-notch visuals and musicality, her storytelling and ability to apply smart symbolism throughout her videos and content is just really exquisite. Lexie's lyrics and paired visuals make me want to pick everything apart and write a dissertation about wHY DOES SHE DO AND WRITE AND SAY WHAT SHE DOES WHEN SHE DOES IT???? I would be an awful informant if I didn't let y'all know that, to heighten the "MANTA" experience, Lexie also collaborated and came out with a jewelry line of some of the cutest fucking manta ray pieces I have ever seen.

LOOK AT THE CUTE LIL MANTA RAY. I WANT TO NAME HIM AND WEAR HIM AND TAKE CARE OF HIM. PRECIOUS.

ANYWAY.

Lexie is just so good. She is futuristic and sometimes pop, still somehow blending it with an R&B and hip-hop sound, and adding bits of electronic elements. Her videos are specific, scientific, cyberpunk-ish. Gone Gold, 2030, and Meta Ego are really wonderful works, but so are her singles, all distinctive and still full of Lexie's independent color as an artist. Obviously I've hyped up "MANTA", which is off her Meta Ego album, but "Mulan" is another favorite, off of her debut 2030. She has "ALGTR", too, another fun track!, which is off her Gone Gold EP. It's catchy, has flair, interesting.

I want to drop every song in this post, honestly, and have you all go listen to her immediately because it's what you AND Lexie both deserve. But I also know that I will be doing a starter pack for her very soon (AND I WILL BECAUSE THOSE ARE COMING BACK! AND I WILL MAKE LEXIE A PRIORITY BECAUSE I'M SO EXCITED TO REC HER MUSIC TO Y'ALL!!!) so I will hold back. For now.

I hope some of you are interested, are Spotify-ing or are YouTube-ing some of her tracks and videos to watch and geek over, and are going to be SUPER excited when I post her starter pack soon!

Lexie deserves the most love and attention - this talented woman is THE MOMENT and I can't wait to hear and see more from her!

Until next time, y'all!

Ash✨