Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael (onetwenty) Herrington
Hi Michael (OneTwenty), we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started with performing arts from as early as I can remember. I was in church plays and performances and when I reached the age of 10 years old was published in a poetry book. Interestingly, around the same time my father and I became close and upon his recommendation I learned to rap. I would go on to create hiphop music and later began vocal training in high school opera with our music teacher Nathaniel Roper of Glynn Academy high school. After joining the USMC and being stationed in Okinawa Jp. my music tastes changed completely to make me the unique artist I am today. From the age of 19 I was taken out of southern GA and put in a foreign land where the music was different. I continued recording music in my barracks room collaborating with local artists in the military and around the Okinawa island. This led to several notable performances such as “Whats up Okinawa 2012” with famed Japanese rapper Zeebra and others such as AK69, and a headlining performance at the opening of a brand new “Aeon Mall” currently the largest in Okinawa. From there I spent time in California stationed at Camp Pendleton all the while networking and collaborating with artists around the local area notably L DOT, a popular military rapper known for his collaborations with “Problem” and also had the opportunity to open for “Kid Ink” After leaving the military I decided to attend college in Tokyo where a friend and I formed the hiphop group LOKYO. We took tokyo by storm and hosted performances at over 60 venues in the 2 year span we were active and most notably held down a 2 act show opening for the singer “Mario”. We also had several concerts at the former largest club in Asia, Ageha. From then the group would dissapate but has been reborn under the name Lokyo Multimedia. We currently have turned the brand into a multimedia business helping artists of all kind. I am registered as a Japanese business and my business partner has an LLC in America. I lived in Savannah with my father during a darker period of my life. I had been deported from Japan and had nowhere to go. So I went to Savannah. The rich artist community kept me sane while I built up my resources. I got the opportunity to tour the facilities in SCAD university and use their state of the art equipment. I was also able to record music due to meeting kind hearted and art forward people. Each night after work at “Alligator Soul” I would go down to a recording studio. The engineer “Kymcci” would always let me hang out and I met so many talented artists as well as got to hone my skills as a cameraman. Due to that experience I could continue making music and bettering my artistry even during a recovery time. I moved back to Tokyo in 2018 and haven’t looked back since. I kept my head down low, used my former contacts, and stayed focused on growth and professionalism. As to the artist Onetwenty! I never stopped pushing and I’ve yet to broken into mainstream media, I have found success as a vocalist! My voice has been on Nintendo, Playstation, Mercedes Benz commercials and most recently I’ve been credited on the Kewpie Mayonnaise website as Onetwenty all over Japan. I record songs and tv commercials monthly for different clients and this makes up a large percentage of my income.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Of course not!
I’ve encountered lots of pushback about my style of music as my influences are a bit strange. You have a southern boy from Glynn county in the middle of Japan trying to be relevant so of course there are always things people here don’t understand about my music and vice versa.
I had to figure out a way to make my lyrics simple enough for Japanese people to understand, but also say something meaningful in english.
Another challenge was not knowing the business side of the music business. People focus so much on performing and how they look but most importantly you should be registered to receive royalties etc if you’re serious.
Having a partner who doesn’t understand. I definitely see a difference being married to an artist. My wife is a painter and avid reader and understands when I want to wake up at 4AM to record a song. I’ve dated a non creative and lemme tell you…this makes a huge difference. One time my teeth almost fell out in Korea while I was waiting for my Japanese visa to get approved. But my partner was there for me and thanks to her I have teeth.
SEX: artists don’t talk about it enough. In our business we need to interact with people and be liked. But when you’re at a crazy show often times the line is blurry about how much fan service is too much. I definitely had to learn how to be professional and treat everyone the same no matter what. It’s a skill. Flirt but not too much. I’ve seen many a career burn due to being overly invested in one fan.
PREPARE TO BE JUDGED: Everyone is entitled to an opinion. While you’re letting your friends listen to your music they may love it. But someone else may absolutely dislike your music no matter what. That’s ok too. Art is polarizing and artists need to be prepared to deal with it in healthy ways. There’s an interview out there floating around with over 1mil views. All of the comments directed at me. Sitting there reading them all really wasn’t healthy for me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My music exists as a part of my business Lokyo Multimedia Jp. I run this business with my partner and we specialize in multimedia production. We do photography, cinematography, and everything in between. I’m most proud of our work with Ralph Lauren for their 2020 Trunk Show collection. We’ve also collaborated with Yohji Yamamoto for their Ground Y collection. I am a camera operator. I specialize in dialing in setting on a camera and getting the best out of it. From then I can take excellent portraits, shoot music videos with engaging stories and much more. What I’m known for is making abstract ideas, being highly professional but fun, and my experience as assistant to Kanye West’s former photographer Masatoshi Yamashiro. It is this exact experience coupled with the fact that I’ve been working under Japanese standards that set me apart from others. We always find ourselves knowing what we need to do to get to the next level but not having the resources and manpower to do so. In two words I would describe our brand as “Limitless Potential”
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I definitely see the music business and entertainment business as whole being heavily affected by AI. In the future I imagine that ideas will become more valuable as AI. software can (increasingly) quickly and accurately generate polished ideas which require a different skillset than works of the past to generate. It’s no longer enough to simply have the ability to sing or wield a camera. But there is a positive side to this. More than ever creators have the power to fully produce their own content from the planning to the music to the music videos! It just takes for you to take the first step.
Pricing:
- Features – From $200.00
- Creative Direction – From $300.00
- Photo Shoots – From $400.00
- Video Shoots – From $400.00
- Other Services (editing etc) – From $350.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://onetwentybooking.wixsite.com/lokyomultimediajp
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onetwenty360/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneTwenty360/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OneTwentyOfficial
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/onetwenty360
