Meet Jackie Faye, Asian American Rapper
By: Claire Wong ‘23
Jackie Faye is an Asian American rapper from Dallas, Texas. She graduated USC with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Business Administration. Although she works as a data engineer during the day, she works in her free time to continuously grow her craft in the music industry.
Jackie’s music journey began at a very young age. Ever since she was born, Jackie was constantly surrounded by music at home. Her dad had his own at-home recording studio and created CDs and Chinese music videos throughout her childhood. Her mom was a big Kpop fan and introduced Jackie to the Korean entertainment culture. As a result, Jackie grew up loving Kpop music.
In elementary school, Jackie began creating her own music. She took piano lessons from 1st through 3rd grade and taught her self guitar through Youtube videos and at-home tutorials. She has been creating ever since the beginning and continues to pursue this passion.
Jackie’s love for music was taken to the next level in college. When she attended USC, she won the 2016 Asian Pacific American Student Assembly Talent Competition with her Two Chainz cover. Ever since, she has been releasing music and creating music videos to streaming platforms across the world.
Cover for Jackie’s newest song, Grey Skies
One of Jackie’s songs is titled Ling Ling, named after her real name Pei Ling. As a child, Jackie’s mother nicknamed her Ling Ling and Jackie was often teased for this name. Jackie quickly became embarrassed and ashamed at her cultural name.
The song “Ling Ling” is an anthem to this name and her identity. Years later, she has found a way to embrace herself for who she truly is and expresses this newfound confidence in her song.
Today, Jackie continues to create music to build honest connections with people through her work. She believes that a lot of stories are not being told in this industry and that it is a privilege to have this ability to create music for the world. She uses her privilege as an artist to tell her stories and make a statement in the industry.
Jackie releases her single EP this May. Follow her on social media to keep an eye out for her release:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6w9RbrAEOqVnfCTtSSJqfZ?si=cEYuyVfvRgCuBJJGBj1OUg&nd=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotjackie/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnMvrcKD1DMvqJ09h-Fcx0A
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