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Moon Prince Jun Leo |
For our last
blog entry of this year, we have an especially sweet treat for you to savor. Our
hip hapa homee for
this bi-month is the incredibly kawaii and talented Jun Leo Mirzat, aka Jun Leo Xi, aka Prince
Jun Leo, but best known as Moon Prince. Your Hip Hapa first became aware of
this extraordinarily gifted artist when we became Facebook friends in 2010 and
he was shooting a series of videos about mixed-race folks in England. Since
then, we’ve watched his career blow up all over Asia. But let him tell his
story in his own words:
Q: Jun Leo, who are your parents and how did they meet?
A: My mother
is of Chinese-Uyghur descent and my father is of Italian descent. They met in a
town just outside of London. Funny story, actually. My mother was putting her
washing out in the garden to dry when suddenly the washing line collapsed. My
father was visiting his brother who lived next door to my mother. He vaulted
over the fence to aid my mother in picking up her washing, which probably
included her panties, ha ha. At that time, my mother had two other
children, my elder brother and sister from her previous marriage with a British
man of English and South African descent. After my parents got married, along
came me!
Q: You left
England for a music career in Japan. What inspired you to move to another
country?
A: Well, during high school I
was made fun of for my Asian features. Other kids would make fun and pull their
eyes up to replicate Asian eyes. I was around the age of 11 at that time.
Before that, I’d never really thought about race very much.
Now when
people criticize me for me, I don’t tend to back down. I tend to push
further and make that point a plus, rather than a negative. I then started to
discover Chinese pop. From that, I also found J-pop and K-pop which both
had a reasonable following in the East.
When searching for J-pop, one of the first artists I came across was Ayumi Hamasaki, who is still one of my favorite Japanese artists. Through Japanese music I then discovered Japanese street fashions and subcultures such as ‘Gyaru, Gyaruo’, ‘Visual Kei’ and others. It just felt like a part of who I am, which needed to be conveyed in the way I dress. It was just a way of expressing how I felt inside and a way to feel stronger.
So from about
the age of 13, I was flicking through a magazine called ‘Gothic &
Lolita Bible’ where I discovered a male model called Riku who had a
soft androgynous look I felt I could relate to. From then, I wanted to become a
model in Japan for street fashion magazines.
After that, I
discovered Leah Dizon. She was born in Las Vegas to a
half-Filipino half-Chinese father and a mother of French descent. She
became an idol in Japan with a successful pop career. Since she was
another hapa born in the West and moved to Japan to be a star, she became my
idol and made my dreams feel possible.
So from then
on, I wanted to become a singer the most--but an all around ‘entertainer’.
A lot of
people assume I had rich parents and that’s how I ended up in Japan. I grew up
with a single mother working several cleaning jobs to put food on our table. We
never went without and she gave me some amazing values I
am grateful to have been taught. But we never had a lot of
money. I left school and went to a community college to study fashion. I
didn’t really know what I wanted to do aside from my career in Japan. If ever
asked what I wanted to do with my life, that’s the only thing I could think of.
Of course, people doubted me and mocked me. I may not be the best selling
artist in Japan...yet,
but here I am, ha ha.
I then got a job in fashion
retail, which was horrible, but that’s another story. I stuck at that job, and
it’s not a time I look back at fondly. After that, I managed to get a nicer job
in the same field but in central London. I’m one who likes to be busy and in a
place with lots of people. So I was far happier working in central London. I
worked there for just over a year, saving money to move to Japan.
After that I
had a strange feeling that it wouldn’t be long before I moved to Japan. In
Winter 2013, I was contacted by a music production manager who worked in the
Kansai region in Japan. We then began to talk and
he was interested in working with me.
In Summer
2014, one of my managers at my retail job broke the news to me they were going
to be possibly dropping a few people in a month’s time and I was one of those
people. They had kept me on a temporary contract, which they would just renew
every month or two. Which was just the company’s way of saving money. By this
time, my Japan plans where pretty much fixed. So, I just lost interest in the
job. I had worked some long, stressful hours, being pressured to do
overtime when I didn’t need the extra money or want to do it. So, it was
more about the moral of it, they where just going to casually drop
me.
Since I
didn’t really need the job anymore, I started taking extra breaks, ha ha.
Going for extra cups of tea and such. But one morning, I just decided to not go
in. If they weren’t possibly firing me, I would have done the procedure
properly. They did, however, send me a letter that ‘could lead
to dismissal’ which obviously if I wasn’t coming into work, I wasn’t going
to be going in so they could fire me. But I guess that was all the procedures
they have to go through with.
I used that
time to see my family and friends. My grandfather had passed away a short while
prior to leaving, which was hard to deal with. I went to his funeral just 3
days before leaving the country. I then had to pack my life into a suitcase for
an exciting, scary and uncertain future.
A: When I
came here, I could speak very little Japanese. It was tough at first because I
felt a little lonely, not being able to express myself well with no English
speakers where I was. But I learned Japanese through survival. I picked up a
lot very fast. Although now I am not fluent, I can hold a conversation without
too much struggle. I’ve had a few times where people haven’t realized I wasn’t
born here which is a compliment to my accent, ha ha. But I’ve still got a long
way to go before I can say I’m fluent.
Q: What do
you find the most interesting about living in another country?
A: I
guess, the fact I live in another country doesn’t really cross my mind too
much. Although I was born in the U.K., I never felt I belonged to the U.K. It’s
just another place on this planet I have a connection with. I feel extremely
comfortable in Japan for the most part.
I
definitely appreciate the safety of Japan. I don’t worry about
walking alone at night. Just like every country, Japan isn’t perfect. But
as far as I know, Japan is the place for me and it’s perfect for me.
Q: You have huge fan bases in Europe and Asia. Are you looking to North America to repeat the same?
A: I honestly
don’t feel like I have a huge following yet. But I appreciate every last
follower. Their support means so much to me.
I’m not
really looking to be mainstream in the West at all. Although lately I’ve gained
quite a few followers in China, Japan is where I want to gain success. I
would love to one day perform in North America and various places, possibly at
anime conventions. That would be real fun!
(Editor’s
Note: Moon Prince, we wish you would have performed at the Anime Matsuri at the
Honolulu Convention Center last weekend!)
Q: How many
albums have you released so far? How would you categorize your music?
A: I haven’t released an album yet. I actually just finished recording for my first mini-album! I’m also working on some free work I want to release online.
It’s hard to categorize my music. I don’t want to stick to one genre. I want to experiment, but I don’t want my music to become a blur. I want everything I release to feel like a ‘Jun Leo song’. I am very particular with how I want to be presented. The current set of songs are all J-pop, there are some with an electric dance feel to them. But there is a variety on there! My current music producer is extremely talented and has done such a great job with the production. I am really excited to release my first CD!
It’s hard to categorize my music. I don’t want to stick to one genre. I want to experiment, but I don’t want my music to become a blur. I want everything I release to feel like a ‘Jun Leo song’. I am very particular with how I want to be presented. The current set of songs are all J-pop, there are some with an electric dance feel to them. But there is a variety on there! My current music producer is extremely talented and has done such a great job with the production. I am really excited to release my first CD!
Q: Are you doing anything else—like acting or otherwise performing in Japan?
A: I am
actually! I model! In early November, I modeled for Japanese
brand Ayymatsuura in Seoul, Korea. In December I am walking the catwalk
for the same brand in Osaka!
I have also been trained in the Japanese art form of ‘nihon buyo’. I have performed at several stages in Nara.
Q: What are
some links to your work?
A: I have
released several previews of songs that will be featured on my mini-album. They
have yet to be completely mixed and mastered, so these are rough copies of the
final product.
Jun Leo -
Last Fantasy
Jun Leo -
Make It Move
Domo arrigatou gozaimasu,
Moon Prince! You are so destined for greatness!
Dear Hip Hapa Homeez, please remember to check out our usual links, as well:
Yayoi Lena Winfrey fan pageon Facebook (sorry, but Your Hip Hapa can’t add any more friends to her regular
profile page)
Also, please consider joining
our Hip Hapa Homeez group on Facebook where we post articles and share
discussions about everything blendie, mixie, hapa, interracial, transracial and
more!
Until we cross cyber paths
again in 2016, I am
Your Hip Hapa,
Yayoi
