Shawn Wasabi | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Wasabi |
| Born | Salinas, California, U.S. [3] |
| Genres | Pop [4] |
| Occupation | Record producer [5] |
| Instrument | Midi Fighter 64 [6] |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Website | www |
Shawn Michael Serrano [1] (born May 26, 1994), [7] professionally known as Shawn Wasabi, is an American artist, composer, and record producer from Salinas, California. [3] He is credited as a co-inventor of the Midi Fighter 64, a custom musical software controller. [6] Shawn has accumulated hundreds of millions of views on his original Youtube works. [8] He resides in Los Angeles. [9]
Shawn Wasabi was born in Salinas, California. [3] He was born to Filipino parents, with his father from Manila, and his mother from Cebu. [3] At a young age, he learned piano. [3]
In 2013, Shawn Wasabi started producing music after his friend left the Midi Fighter 3D at his house. [10] Since then, he has uploaded his live mashups, which have all garnered millions of views on YouTube. [10]
In 2015, he released "Marble Soda", using a Midi Fighter 64. [11] It contains samples from 153 different tracks and sounds. [12] The video for the song reached 1 million views on YouTube within 48 hours of being uploaded. [13]
In 2016, he was nominated for the Breakthrough Artist award at the 6th Streamy Awards. [14] [15]
In 2017, he released "Spicy Boyfriend". [16] In that year, he also released "Otter Pop", which featured guest vocalist Hollis. [17] The Fader placed it at number 27 on the "101 Best Songs of 2017" list. [18]
In 2018, he released "Squeez", which featured guest vocalist Raychel Jay. [19] The song was included on Paper 's "10 Songs You Need to Start Your Weekend Right" list, [20] as well as The Fader's "20 Best New Pop Songs Right Now" list. [4]
His debut studio album, Mangotale, was released in 2020. [21]
Shawn Wasabi also produces music for other artists. His production credits include songs with Cynthia Erivo, eaJ, JIHYO (of TWICE), Kid Cudi, The Rose, Rose Gray, Royal & the Serpent, Saweetie, and many more. He achieved his first top 40 production with KATSEYE's "Internet Girl" debuting at #29 on the Billboard Top 100. [22]
One of Shawn Wasabi's equipment is the DJ TechTools Midi Fighter 64, a custom 64-button MIDI controller. [6] The Midi Fighter line of controllers is notable for using Japanese Sanwa arcade buttons rather than the rubber pads traditionally used on MPC-style MIDI controllers. [6] Initially, the Midi Fighter only came in 16-button variations. [6] A prototype of a 64-button version was designed and 3D printed for him to use by DJ TechTools product designer Michael Mitchell. [6] In 2016, his original Midi Fighter 64 prototype, along with his computer and hard drive, was stolen in a car burglary. [6] This eventually led to the mass production of the Midi Fighter 64 in 2017. [6]
Notes