Ever since he’s dropped his first EP, Justin has landed an interview with WNYU and has had his first headlining show at the Bossa Nova Civic Club with Dr. No and Pando. Aspiring to redefine Asian American identity with his poignant narratives, free flowing beats, and introspective creativity, Justin shares his complex story of self discovery with the world. The Rundown:
- Name: Justin Wong
- Hometown: East Bay, California
- School and Major: College of Arts and Science for Economics
- Year: 2019
HC NYU: Your stage name is Joon Verano. Can you tell us more about what this means?
JW: So my middle name is a Korean one that my mother gave me, Joon-Ha. I grew up in the Bay Area my entire life. There, a lot of the cities have names that have a first one syllable word, followed by a second word which is in Spanish often. So, Joon like the month, month like the season, season like summer, and summer being “verano” in Spanish.
HC NYU: When and how did your interest in music emerge?
JW: When I was 10 years old, I was really good at hearing a song on the radio and making parodies and different versions of the song. At the time, people thought it was cute and entertaining. But I think starting from the age of 12, my friends, who were also interested in hip-hop, and I would join in during lunch time and freestyle to beats. After some time, I started to realize that I was actually good at this, and I was tired of it just being a party trick.
I’ve been writing songs ever since I was 13, but I was really critical when it came down to what I released. So it wasn’t actually until I came here to New York in March when I officially released my first song. So, I’d say that I’ve been at it since I was 10, but that I’ve really started to release music as an artist this year.
HC NYU: Why do you rap? Do you have any specific messages that you want to share?
JW: I don’t really want to only rap. I want to make it more than that. My ultimate goal is to push the boundary of what Asian Americans can be perceived as in the media, and what we can be perceived as in the general public eye. I feel that there have been so many who have tried too hard to drive the nail in that they’re Asian, missing the mark. Personally, I think that too many people push it when we already get it. We have such an alien appearance already in a white-centered country.
For example, especially for hip-hop, it’s black culture in a Eurocentric environment. We already stick out like a sore thumb. I’d say my goal is to find this level where I can integrate Asian Americans within not just hip-hop culture, but music culture in general. I also want to be less of a novelty, and more of a contributor who understands what appropriation is and what appreciation is, helping us to integrate ourselves.
HC NYU: You released your first cover, “Say When”, about nine months ago, and it now has more than 7000 views. What was it like recording your first cover?
JW: I was looking for inspiration for a long time. When I first started to make friends in New York, we were all interested in music. However, with time, a lot of them took off quickly, making connections and rapid improvements. I was frustrated because I was stuck in creative block and couldn’t come up with anything. I remember staying up in the Third North basement until 4 AM, forcing myself to make songs. I didn’t have a mic either, only my Beats headphones– it was just garbage.
So, I went back home for the winter and I was really feeling the pressure and ridicule from my parents who asked, “What have you accomplished this semester?”. Because you know, I’m still an econ and business guy, but I’ve always had artistic ambitions. I just came from a place where I was so frustrated with myself.
I recorded my first draft at my friend Steve’s place. Steve engineered my track and I reached out to my friend Bianca Ocampo because I knew that her vocals would complete the track. It took awhile for her to get those vocals in because she’s busy, so I made the song in January, but I couldn’t release it until March.
HC NYU: Would you say parents are supportive of your musical ambitions?
JW: I still think they’re waiting for me to see it as a fad, waiting for me to give up. I kind of knew it was more than just a fad or phase, because if I’ve been at it since I was 10 or 12, the ship has sailed, and I’ve already put my foot in pretty deep. I think they didn’t support me, until they found out that I had a show this year as a headliner, getting media attention and making more connections. So I think that as of now, they just tolerate it as a hobby. But once I start doing bigger things, they’ll hopefully fully support me more openly.
HC NYU: Which ingredient do you think is most essential in making your sound and style the way it is?
JW: I’d say production. I’m very picky when it comes to production actually. I’ll have a producer send me a beat and often times it’s probably good, but not me. Once I find the right beat though, everything else falls into place, and I can easily come up with the right melodies and harmonies. Essentially, I like beats that give me enough room to come up with an interesting flow and that aren’t too cluttered. Production is everything.
HC NYU: In your opinion who is the most influential artist in the industry today and why?
JW: I’d say that the person who got me to start making music seriously was Kid Cudi. Once I heard “Man On the Moon,” his first album, it just wowed me. I didn’t know that music could make you feel that way. It came at such a relevant time too because I was going through similar emotions that he was going through. It really made me realize that I wanted to make music that other people could relate to as well.
Also, Pharrell. I love Pharrell. I almost feel as if people who don’t know all that much about music don’t give him enough credit. A lot of newer people know him for his more recent radio hit songs like, “Happy”, but he’s done so much more. So many amazing hip-hop and pop songs have been produced by Pharrell. His band N.E.R.D was also so sick at the time because it was funky hip-hop with creative rock influences. It was just refreshing to listen to. I’d also say Graduation-era Kanye and MGMT played a big influence on me.
HC NYU: Your eponymous EP “Verano EP” was dropped just two months ago in October, the theme being a description of your melancholy summer in just six songs. Can you tell us more about your thought process?
JW: I tried implementing a personal narrative– some people got it instantly, but others didn’t. The way I arranged it was that the first song was very animated, with lots of bravado. It’s almost like a dramatic opening scene that invites the listener inside of my head, with scattered thoughts spinning everywhere. The album progresses to Outlandish, the second track and also one of the highlights of the album for me. It talks about this very outlandish life that I strive for and am searching for. Outlandish is always fun to perform because it has such a lively beat.
By the third song, Switch Up, I get into the internal confliction I encountered when I went back home and realized that people had moved on. People who I used to have such good times with, frankly, didn’t care about me. I wrote this song with the thoughts that the entire town that I had grown up in had switched up on me. I was stuck in that mentality of wanting so desperately to be accepted by a town that had never cared all that much for me in the first place.
As the album further progresses, it becomes moodier and more introspective. And finally, near the end, I have the epiphany that home isn’t home anymore. And that everyone has moved on, so I have to as well and keep pushing in New York. I learned to not look at home as a place that I can depend on anymore, but rather just a place that I can come back and visit once in awhile. Essentially, I realized that I can’t progress in the comforts of my hometown– besides my core group of friends who I’m beyond thankful for.
HC NYU: Were these friends involved in your album creation process?
JW: I couldn’t have made the album without these friends and I thank them forever. One of my friends Jacob helped me find recording equipment on Craigslist to buy, so things that should have cost me 500 bucks or more, ended up only costing about 190 bucks. And he covered more than half of it for me too. My other friend Aadi offered to take care of the artwork for me too which turned out amazing.
It was almost destiny. So, I recorded everything but one song back home in California. I met this guy named Bert at a rooftop party, and surprisingly I found out that he lived one floor below me. We talked and I found out that he was really good at sound engineering, and he offered to help me for no charge. He was so impressed with my song, “Gloss” that he just did it for me. Just having honest people like my friend Max to tell me which songs are good and which are bad, and believing in me was dope.
HC NYU: How have you changed as an individual throughout this entire journey?
JW: I’ve definitely come to value quality over quantity more. And I’ve also become more conscious of each step I take. I’m obviously an outsider as an Asian dude. I feel that the moment I goof up, I’m going to just lose it and it’s going to be game over. I feel that the tolerance for us, as Asian Americans, is just so much lower than other artists for example. We’re already seen as a novelty item, so the moment we show some sort of weakness, they’re going to say, “next one.”
So, each song I make, I have to run by so many different people just to make sure it’s solid…and then I drop it. You’ll never see me drop ten songs in one weekend, because it’s just unproductive. I’d much rather have one song with five, six thousand views than ten songs with a hundred each. There’s also so much more I can do in the realm of music than just creating content.
HC NYU: What does “so much more than make music” entail?
JW: I was recently listening to a Korean American artist named Ted Park who is currently signed to Capitol Records. And speak of the devil, I showed my friend Max some of his music, and Max ended up meeting him at a party. He showed Ted my music, and next thing you know I ended up meeting Ted last weekend, and he’s just so cool. We hung out at his show, and he’s like a big bro to me. Ted said my music was good and gave me tips on how it could be refined and tweaked, which was incredibly helpful. So what I mean is that it’s cool to see that even though I’m not making music, I can still go out and meet other people, network, and market myself. Like if I’m experiencing a creative block I can just take it easy and link with other artists for more inspiration or opportunities.
HC NYU: Where do you see music in your future?
JW: That’s essentially an agreement between my parents and me. When I visited NYU in ninth grade, I knew inside that this school was where I was meant to be and where I’m going to achieve things. I would joke around and say that I would come here to pursue music, and my parents would tell me to stop being silly. But when I suggested economics and business they’d say “all right, yeah.” But, no regrets, because I know that once I establish my foundation in business economics, I can’t be played. I’ll have a brain in my head to– I’m hesitant to say have a plan B, because if it’s only Plan B I feel like I’ll never make it. It’s at least my own personal pride I guess.
Having grown up in a pretty large Korean community, I sort of felt like a black sheep. I felt I had to be ashamed of things I really shouldn’t have been ashamed about. I was good at public speaking and was also a good entertainer. But the other kids in my community would excel in areas such as math and science. I didn’t feel considered as smart or diligent as them. My parents didn’t want me to fall behind other kids and pushed me to take harder STEM classes, and from there it was basically like putting a square peg into a circle hole. I felt like I was forced to be someone who I wasn’t. I tried keeping my music ambitions to myself because I feel the type of music I wanted to make definitely would not have been so warmly welcomed by the community.
Ultimately, I know that my true passion lies in music. I don’t detest Economics, but I’m obviously not crazy about it. It’s nice to know that in the end I’ll have a degree, and I’ll be 21 when I’m out. 21 is still very young, so I’ll be ready to take on whatever comes my way with freedom.
HC NYU: Is there anything we should be on the lookout for as of now?
JW: Honestly, the EP took a lot out on me. I try really hard not to be repetitive and come up with similar music. So, at the moment, maybe be on the lookout for more shows. I have a lot of close friends who are pursuing music and we wanted to host a big concert sometime in February. Definitely expect me to get more weird with my music. The purpose of the EP was mainly just to establish a solid background and reference point, but now I can really start to get out there with my music.
HC NYU: And to wrap things up…
- Favorite Quote: “I’m just here so I won’t get fined” -Marshawn Lynch
- Pet Peeves: People who talk loud all the time, like zero inside voice.
- Cake or Pie: Pie
- Current Song on Replay: London Town by A$AP MOB
- Celeb Crush: Charli XCX
Follow Justin on social media: Instagram: @joonverano, Twitter: @joonverano, Soundcloud: @joonverano, Email: joonverano@gmail.com
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