Far East Movement Is Moving On Up

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Radio hits like ‘Girls on the Dance Floor,’ have propelled the rap group into the spotlight.

By Nalea J. Ko, Reporter
Published February 19, 2010

It is hard to forget the astronaut helmets and monkey suit that are part of the Far East Movement’s stage act. To make sure that people remember the music, the four Asian Pacific American musicians said they network with fans directly online, sometimes feverously typing backstage before a performance.

Networking with their community of fans was critical to the performers success early on, when they occasionally performed to audiences of about 15 people. There were more people on stage than in the crowd, they said.

On their recent world tour, the Far East Movement, or FM, performed to thousands. In Brazil, over 1,000 concertgoers danced to FM’s beats, vibrating the foundation of the packed airplane hangar. It’s a stark difference from their early performances where audience members would throw fruit at the stage. Now the members of the rap group throw their bodies into the audience and crowd-surf with the support of their fans.

Prohgress, J-Spliff, Kev Nish and DJ Virman are learning that there are other perks to having the radio hit “Girls on the Dance Floor” and a growing fan base. But sometimes the pluses of fame are completely due to mistaken identity.

“We do get perks by people thinking we are the Jabbawockeez. Where ever we go people are always like, ‘Hey, you guys better bring it! Can you guys play basketball as well as you can dance?’ And we’re like, ‘What are you talking about?’” said Prohgress about being misidentified as the first season winners of MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

Making party music is their forte, so they will leave the dancing to the Jabbawockeez.

“We have no rhythm,” Kev Nish said over the phone. “We make dance music strictly because we can’t dance. So, we’d rather stay behind the DJ booth and watch the people dance.”

Fresh off the Party Rock Tour with LMFAO, FM is back in Los Angeles to fine-tune their next album. They are working with the Stereotypes’ producers for their third album, which showcases their “new sound.”

And after years of working to make it in the music industry, they say there is no time for girlfriends or distractions.

“I mean don’t get us wrong,” said Kev Nish or Kevin Nishimura, who is of Chinese and Japanese descent. “Shout out to all the beautiful ladies out there. We’ve got to stay focused right now.”

Although their work schedules are hectic, touring around the world has opened their eyes to new musical influences, said Kev Nish. Seeing an APA hip-hop group perform in other countries sometimes prompts an unanticipated response. Children on the streets of Brazil slanted their eyes with their fingers when they saw FM.

“You know what was actually cool about that was the fact that a lot of these kids… they were actually trying to communicate and that was all they knew [laughs],” said Prohgress, who is Korean American. “Maybe next time when they see some Asian faces they’ll start playing some music or something.”

In the United States fans occasionally react with surprise when they see the faces behind the radio hit. On YouTube, viewers comment that they did not realize the group’s members are APA, which does not surprise the FM musicians.

“For awhile there just weren’t a lot of Asian American musicians,” J-Spliff explained, a Korean American born as Jae Choung. “I think the cool thing about the generation right now is that they really aren’t seeing race as much anymore.”

L.A. Grown Musicians

The FM members are high school friends. Prohgress went to Palisades Charter High School where J-Spliff also attended. Kev Nish attended Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. Their love of music would lead them to form the group “Emcee’s Anonymous.” A song titled “Far East Movement” would entice the group to adopt the new name. Longtime friends, the musicians said they avoid arguments by focusing on their music.

“The only thing on tour I’ve ever seen anybody argue about was purely NBA 2K10.” Kev Nish said about the video game. “They had a battle going on between Virman and Pro and all you could hear was, ‘No! Pass the ball!’”

The occasional snowball fight also releases any aggression, especially for Kev Nish, who is known to reinforce his with rocks.

“Ever since Virman joined the group when ever we go touring or traveling or anything there’s never a dull moment. We’re always cracking jokes or throwing snowballs with rocks in them,” J-Spliff said shortly before their Colorado performance at the X Games.

Their shared vision also keeps them focused.

“This is a life-long journey,” Prohgress said, adding that he would be dead if he did not pursue music. “[There’s] no plan B, no plan C, no plan D. Nothing but the music and staying focused with it.”

As their fame grows, keeping up with fans is difficult. The key, they said, is to stay humble. But the FM members said that they have not reached the level of success they would like. Until then, their love of music fuels them.

“We always hear from more established people in the industry and they always say the second you get comfortable or the second you feel like you’ve made it, you haven’t and you really limit yourself,” Kev Nish said. “[There] never is reason, there’s barely rhyme. You do it purely out of love and like J said passion.”

On the Web
www.fareastmovement.com