Far East Movement Biography

The Asian-American hip hop group known as Far East Movement was established in Los Angeles in 2003 by founding members DJ Virman, Prohgress, and Kev Nish. The three musicians grew up together in the downtown area and began performing together while still in school. By the time they were in their early twenties, they’d official formed as Far East Movement, and in 2006, the trio released their debut album, Folk Music.

Folk Music didn’t chart at first, but the group earned a big boost when the album’s single, “Round Round,” was included in the film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Two years later, they provided the sound “Satisfaction” for the film Finishing the Game, bringing their music to an even wider audience. Far East Movement’s second album, Animal, arrived in 2009, and for the rest of the year and into early 2010 the group had a host of singles featured on television shows, including: “Girls on the Dance Floor” (which appeared in the television show CSI: Miami and also in the film Get Him to the Greek); “Dance Like Michael Jackson” (which appeared in an episode of Gossip Girl and also Lincoln Heights); and “I Party” (which was featured on the FOX series Lie to Me.)

By 2010, Far East Movement had scored a major record deal with Interscope Records’ subsidiary Cherrytree Records. The group’s major label debut, “Like a G6,” arrived shortly thereafter, becoming Far East Movement’s major breakthrough; the single rose to the number one spot on the mainstream charts in the United States. The trio’s major label debut album, Free Wired, arrived in late 2010 and featured contributions from OneRepublic, Snoop Dogg, Keri Hilson, and a host of other artists, ultimately bringing Far East Movement an M.net Asian Music Award for Best International Artist.

Since that time, Far East Movement has released the additional albums Dirty Bass (2012) and Identity (2016), featuring the additional singles “Live My Life” (with Justin Bieber), “Dirty Bass,” “Turn Up the Love,” “Change Your Live,” “The Illest,” and “Freal Luv.” Far East Movement has also featured on singles by other artists, including the international hit “Get Up (Rattle,)” with the Bingo Players.

Far East Movement continues to perform, record, tour, and collaborate with other artists on music projects. The trio most recently appeared alongside Tiffany and King Chain on the song “Don’t Speak,” which arrived in the summer of 2017.