Yaeji

Yaeji
Birth name Kathy Yaeji Lee
Born (1993-08-06) August 6, 1993
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • DJ
  • singer
  • music producer
Years active 2016–present
Labels
  • Godmode

Kathy Yaeji Lee (born August 6, 1993),[1] known professionally as Yaeji, is a Korean-American electronic music artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her style blends elements of house music and hip hop with mellow, quiet vocals sung in both English and Korean.[2]

Early life

Kathy Yaeji Lee was born August 6, 1993 in Flushing, Queens as a single child in a Korean family.[3] Growing up, Yaeji moved from New York to Atlanta when she was 5, and then to South Korea in the third grade.[2] While living in South Korea, Yaeji switched between different international schools on a yearly basis, forcing her to find friends on the Internet, where she would first discover music.[3] Yaeji also briefly attended school in Japan before moving back to Korea.[4]

Yaeji eventually moved back to the United States to study conceptual art, East Asian studies and graphic design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.[5] Yaeji embraced DJing as a hobby while attending Carnegie Mellon, after learning how to use Traktor and beginning to DJ at house parties. She DJed for two years before learning Ableton, making her own music[6] and debuting on Carnegie Mellon's college radio station.[7] Yaeji graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 2015.[4]

Career

After graduation, Yaeji moved back to New York City to get involved in the music scene and DJ.[6] Her first single, "New York '93", referring to her year of birth, was issued on the New York City label Godmode on February 29, 2016,[8][9][10] followed by a cover of "Guap" by Australian DJ Mall Grab that May.[11] She had previously uploaded songs to SoundCloud, although they were removed; this included "Areyouami", which was released when she was at college.[3]

Her debut eponymous EP, including both prior singles, was released by Godmode on March 31, 2017.[12]

She began to gain attention following her first Boiler Room session in May 2017, which involved a remix of Drake's single "Passionfruit".[13][14][15][3] The song was later released officially on Godmode's Soundcloud page.[16]

The first of several stand-alone singles, "Therapy" was issued in July 2017,[17] followed by a two-track digital single, Remixes, Vol. 1, on August 1[18] and the "Last Breath" single on August 28.[19]

The music video for the single "Drink I'm Sippin On" was released on 88rising's YouTube channel in October 2017, quickly gaining over a million views in two weeks.[20]

On November 3, 2017, Yaeji released her second EP, EP2, to positive reviews[21][22] and moderate commercial success.[23] The video for "Raingurl" was released on November 16.[24]

She was named to the BBC's Sound of 2018 longlist in November 2017.[25][26]

Yaeji performed at the 2018 Coachella Festival.[27]

Personal life

Yaeji currently lives in Brooklyn.[1]

Discography

Extended plays

  • Yaeji (2017, Godmode)
  • EP2 (2017, Godmode)

Singles

  • "New York '93" (2016, Godmode)
  • "Guap" (2016, Godmode)
  • "Noonside" (2017, Godmode)
  • "Therapy" (2017, Godmode)
  • Remixes, Vol. 1 (2017, Godmode)
  • "Last Breath" (2017, Godmode)
  • "Passionfruit" (2017, Godmode)
  • "Drink I'm Sippin On" (2017, Godmode)
  • "Raingurl" (2017, Godmode)
  • "One More" (2018, Yaeji)

Remixes

Videos

  • "New York '93" (2016) directed by Anthony Sylvester
  • "Guap" (2016)
  • "Noonside" (2017)
  • "Feel It Out" (2017) directed by Anthony Sylvester
  • "Therapy" (2017)
  • "Last Breath" (2017)
  • "Drink I'm Sippin On" (2017) directed by Anthony Sylvester
  • "Raingurl" (2017)

References

  1. 1 2 Pollard, Alexandra (December 8, 2017). "Singer/rapper Yaeji: 'I was pretty shy about using my voice'". The Guardian. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Lozano, Kevin (October 24, 2017). "Meet Yaeji, House Music's Most Exciting New Voice". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Yaeji - A visual artist and house musician finally finds a home in New York City - Loud And Quiet". Loud And Quiet. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  4. 1 2 "School of Art | Carnegie Mellon University Kathy Lee BHA '15 (aka Yaeji) Profiled by Interview Magazine". www.art.cmu.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  5. ↑ Dazed (2017-11-01). "Yaeji's contemplative club music is bringing people together". Dazed. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  6. 1 2 "Shut Up and Listen". Shut Up and Listen. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  7. ↑ "Korean-American producer Yaeji brings whispers to the dancefloor - Interview Magazine". Interview Magazine. 2017-11-06. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  8. ↑ http://recommendedlisten.com/post/140305163948/video-yaeji-new-york-93
  9. ↑ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18113-yaeji-new-york-93/
  10. ↑ https://soundcloud.com/godmodemusic/yaeji-new-york-93-godmode
  11. ↑ http://recommendedlisten.com/post/144148458088/video-yaeji-guap-mall-grab-cover
  12. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Yaeji-Yaeji/release/11240642
  13. ↑ "2 Chainz shares new video for "Proud"". The FADER. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  14. ↑ "Yaeji – Passionfruit". GORILLA VS. BEAR. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  15. ↑ https://www.wearetheguard.com/music/top-new-chill-yaeji-passionfruit. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "Listen: Yaeji - Passionfruit (Drake Cover)". www.huhmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  17. ↑ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/yaeji-therapy/
  18. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Yaeji-Remixes-Vol-1/release/11089333
  19. ↑ http://www.gorillavsbear.net/yaeji-last-breath/
  20. ↑ "Yaeji Breaks Down "Drink I'm Sippin On" For Genius' Video Series 'Verified'". Genius. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  21. ↑ Geffen, Sasha (November 7, 2017). "Yaeji: EP2". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Yaeji - EP2". Resident Advisor. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Billboard Dance Chart Upstarts: Ookay & Fox Stevenson, Lauren Taveras & Yaeji". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  24. ↑ "the video for yaeji's raingurl is a study on introspection in the club. watch it here!". I-d. 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  25. ↑ "Sound of 2018: The Longlist". BBC Music. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  26. ↑ "BBC reveals its Sound of 2018 longlist". The Guardian. November 27, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  27. ↑ Tietjen, Alexa (2018-04-12). "10 Emerging Acts to See This Weekend at Coachella". WWD. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  28. ↑ <https://pitchfork.com/news/yaeji-remixes-charli-xcxs-focus-listen//>

Further reading

  • Lhooq, Michelle (Summer 2018). "Cover Story: Yaeji". The Fader (113).
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