Awich（エーウィッチ）

1986年、沖縄県那覇市生まれ。

ヒップホップクルー、YENTOWN所属。2006年にEP『Inner Research』でデビュー。同時期に米国アトランタに渡る。ストリートライフに身を置きながらファーストフルアルバム『Asia Wish Child』を制作し、2007年にリリース。翌年、アメリカ人の男性と結婚し、長女を出産。3年後、インディアナポリス大学で学士号を取得。家族で日本に戻り暮らすことを決めていた矢先、夫と死別する。その後、娘と共に沖縄に帰郷し、本格的な音楽活動を再開。2017年、Chaki Zuluのプロデュースによるフルアルバム『8』をリリース。その反響は海を越え、Red Bullと88risingの共同製作による長編ドキュメンタリー『Asia Rising: The Next Generation of Hip Hop』において、Joji、Rich Brianらと並び、大きく取り上げられた。2020年7月にユニバーサルミュージックよりメジャーデビューを果たし、更なる飛躍が期待されている。

Awich, short for “Asia Wish Child,” taken from her birth name “Akiko,” is a name she created to reflect her roots. A child growing up on her home island of Okinawa, Awich would stay up through the night writing poetry about varieties of things such as life, love, the universe and etc. Her first encounter with hip hop was listening to Tupac’s All Eyes on Me when she was 13, and her primary English textbook hailed from Tupac’s lyrics, interviews, movies and books. A 14 year old Awich was featured on the local hip hop compilation album “Orion Beat” showcasing various Okinawan artists, and in 2006 she released her debut EP “Inner Research”, and that same year relocated to Atlanta to attend school during the height of the southern hip-hop boom. The move between Tokyo and Atlanta inspired her first full album Asia Wish Child in 2007. During her time stateside, she married a New York native and gave birth to her daughter, Toyomi Jah’mira.

In 2011, armed with a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Marketing the family was preparing for a move back to Okinawa when her husband passed away. Awich returned home with just her daughter and faced seemingly endless depression and self-questioning. This intense process of introspection was cathartic and helped her reevaluate a more profound meaning of life, love, and forgiveness.

She emerged from tragedy stronger than ever and came back to the music scene. In Aug, 2017, Awich released her first album in 10 years titled “8” and the word traveled across the sea as she was featured as one of the leading Asian rappers on a long form documentary “Asia Rising: The Next Generation of Hip Hop” by Red Bull and 88rising.In 2020, her latest studio album Kujaku was released followed by a very much anticipated major debut from Universal Music in July. Awich is ready to conquer the world, inspired by her life experience and intense desire to change the status quo.