Thai superstar MILLI punches above her weight at Head in the Clouds

MILLI wants to fight. We are talking astir stepping successful the ring, with boxing gloves and rima guards — the existent deal. She has, aft all, been grooming successful Muay Thai boxing for the past 2 years.

“So I told my company,” the 22 year-old creator begins. She speaks from wrong the sweltering media structure astatine 88rising’s 10th Head successful the Clouds Festival successful Pasadena this past weekend. “And they were like, ‘No, we’re not gonna fto our artists bash that, you cognize you’re gonna wounded yourself. So I planned retired the opus ‘One Punch,’ and past [that led] to my 2nd album, ‘Heavy Weight.’

“They agreed with me, I tin person a existent fight, due to the fact that it mightiness beryllium bully for the medium too. You know, it’s perfect. I’m utilizing my vocation to bash whatever.”

That benignant of tenaciousness seems to beryllium a signature trait for the performer whose commencement sanction is Danupha Khanatheerakul. Rising from a young miss successful an mean household successful Thailand, she has go arguably the country’s astir celebrated pistillate musician, notwithstanding Lalisa Manobal, different known arsenic Lisa from Blackpink.

Back successful 2022, astatine conscionable 19, MILLI made some past and headlines by becoming the archetypal pistillate Thai solo creator to execute astatine Coachella. She ended her acceptable by eating a vessel of mango sticky rice, aptly, during her opus “Mango Sticky Rice.” Clips of that show went viral portion backmost successful Bangkok, orders of the delectable South Asian dainty skyrocketed. That show was 1 of the reasons she landed connected BBC’s 100 Women database that year, the lone Thai pistillate to bash so.

MILLI performs connected signifier astatine Head successful the Clouds Festival successful LA past weekend.

(Sarah Midkiff/ Courtesy of 88 Rising)

With an eclectic range, high-energy performances, and past of addressing societal and governmental topics successful her lyrics, MILLI rapidly endeared herself to Thailand’s Gen Z.

“Phak Khon,” her 2020 debut tackling schoolhouse bullying with lyrics successful Thai, Isan dialect, Lu and English, helped catapult her to fame. The track, released by homegrown statement Yupp! and produced by chap Thai rapper and shaper Nino, resonated with audiences for its takedown of toxic boy-loving mean girls. To date, the song’s video has racked up implicit 96 cardinal views.

Ice Boonyiamtanad flew to Head successful the Clouds from Boston with her fellow to drawback MILLI’s acceptable Sunday evening astatine the 88rising main stage. The 27-year-old selling pupil from Thailand has been pursuing the creator since she appeared connected the Thai contention amusement “The Rapper 2,” wherever adjacent past precocious teen MILLI showed show prowess and a travel reminiscent of Nicki Minaj, 1 of her large influences.

“I consciousness similar each of my procreation listens to her,” she says. “I’m really a instrumentality due to the fact that of [all of her] talents, her dependable … she sings truthful great,” says Boonyiamtanad, besides citing MILLI’s relatability to Thai youth, particularly women arsenic a origin successful her fandom.

But her dependable is different draw. MILLI is simply a self-taught vocalist. Her signifier name, she said, refers to a milliliter, a mode to measurement water. And similar water, she sees herself arsenic capable to flow, changing signifier without losing her halfway alchemy — arsenic comfy spitting occurrence rap verses arsenic delivering sultry R&B riffs.

On signifier astatine Head successful the Clouds she debuted “Menace,” showing disconnected her somewhat smoky tone. Neo-soul lyrics telephone retired a toxic antheral arsenic a thudding baseline hits. Combined with her vocal cadence, it’s a small reminiscent of “Baduizm”-era Erykah Badu.

MILLI performs with her backup dancers astatine Head successful the Clouds Festival past weekend.

(Sarah L. Midkiff / 88 Rising)

For galore fans, her signifier theatrics, often connected to culture, are acold from performative.

Via Mariano, a 20-something from Burbank who works for Hulu, archetypal discovered MILLI successful 2020 during the pandemic. “I was an Asian studies large successful college,” she says portion waiting for MILLI to statesman her set. “ I wanted to larn much astir euphony from astir the satellite and erstwhile I got to Thailand I was similar ‘Who’s the champion spokesperson for Thailand?’ For maine it was MILLI.

“One of the things I admit astir her is that she takes the clip to larn different languages,” Mariano continues. “Especially successful ‘Mirror Mirror’ wherever she is rapping successful Thai, Korean and Japanese and flipping betwixt each 1 verse for verse, it’s a ace awesome skill. I deliberation for definite her momentum is going up, particularly moving with 88rising … it’s a truly large accidental to turn her arsenic a brand.”

Over the past fewer years MILLI’s emergence has been marked by deed collaborations with different planetary stars. She trades verses with Changbin from Stray Kids connected “Mirror Mirror” and swaps sultry verses with chap 88rising statement mate Jackson Wang.

Head successful the Clouds is 88rising’s flagship euphony festival. The fig 88 signifies treble happiness successful Chinese culture, a fortunate sanction arsenic the institution has grown to go 1 of the astir influential driving forces successful entertainment, helping to propel Asian artists similar MILLI from each implicit the world.

After her set, we caught up with Sean Miyashiro, who on with Jason Ma co-founded the statement (then nether a antithetic name) successful 2015. Miyashiro, who grew up successful San Jose and is successful his mid-40s, could beryllium mistaken for a skater oregon surfer decades younger if not for his long, grey hair.

“To this time I don’t deliberation I’ve met anyone similar her,” helium says of MILLI. “She’s this crazy, talented genius, but it’s the vigor and the feeling she gives you erstwhile you interact with her. … She’s ace special, that comes done with her lyrics and her signifier show too.”

Although 88rising has go much impactful connected the euphony industry, carving retired a important abstraction for artists similar MILLI to expand, Miyashiro inactive sees his institution arsenic successful a presumption to grow.

“The large labels tally s— erstwhile it gets to a definite level, you know,” helium says. “And I deliberation that we ever effort to punch supra our weight, we are the underdogs … and we similar that.” He adds, “It’s not needfully a obstruction to me, it’s a large work … we person an accidental to aftermath up each time and popular immoderate s— off.”

Although 88rising has go much impactful connected the euphony industry, carving retired a important abstraction for artists similar MILLI to expand.

(Lauren Nakao Winn)

Things were decidedly popping disconnected earlier during the show of “One Punch,” her archetypal azygous to driblet from the caller album. ‘‘One Punch,” released successful collaboration with the fashionable crippled “Valorant” for VCT Masters Bangkok, is simply a hard-hitting rap anthem with a chorus begging to “lemme get that punch.” For her Head successful the Clouds set, MILLI — clad successful a boxer’s robe — brought Muay Thai fable Buakaw Banchamek onstage, with her backup dancers deftly ducking his kicks.

As fearless arsenic she is, the main happening she has to combat is herself. “My force is myself,” she confesses. “I inactive spot myself successful the reflector and accidental ‘You’re not beauteous enough, you’re not astute enough, you’re not bully enough.”

But with “Heavyweight” the gloves are off. “I’m a fighter, and I person to beryllium that I tin bash immoderate I want, adjacent if I’m a girl.”

It’s a warring tone that continues to enactment successful her favor. That combat she wanted? She got it.