Joey Boy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Joey Boy | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Apisit Opsasaimlikit |
| Born | 1975 Thailand |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, lyricist, composer, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1994-present |
| Label(s) | 1994-2000: Bakery Music 2000-present: Gancore Club |
| Associated acts | Will.i.am, Black Eyed Peas |
| Website | www.joeyboy.net |
Joey Boy (Thai: โจอี้ บอย or Apisit Opsasaimlikit, อภิสิทธิ์ โอภาสเอี่ยมลิขิต, born 1975) is a Thai hip hop singer and producer. He is Thailand's first rap artist.
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[edit] Biography
Born into a Thai-Chinese family,[1] Joey Boy started listening to hip hop when he was 14 years old and skateboarding. In 1994, he was signed to Bakery Music. His first release was a self-titled EP. He recorded nine more albums with the label.
In 2000, he moved to GMM Grammy, where he runs his own record label, Gancore Club, and produces other artists.
He has spent time in the United States, where he became acquainted with Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, who co-produced Joey Boy's song "LA to BKK". He met Will.i.am outside a disco in San Francisco, and introduced himself. "Hey you, we're Thai rappers and we like your songs," he recalls saying to Will.i.am.[2] When the Black Eyed Peas came to Thailand in 2004, Joey Boy was the opening act and was invited onstage by Will.i.am during the Black Eyed Peas' show.[3] He also opened for the Black Eyed Peas when they played in Bangkok in 2006, and has continued to collaborate with the band on his albums.[4]
Joey Boy was among the Thai pop music artists participating in Ramakien: A Rak Opera, a rock-opera adaptation of Thailand's national epic, the Ramakien, at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in 2006.
He made his feature film debut in December 2006 in The Possible as the leader of a 1970s Thai band patterned after The Impossibles who time travel to the present day.
[edit] Controversies, personal life
In 2002, in a urine test by police at nightclubs on Royal City Avenue in Bangkok, Joey Boy tested positive for what police said were illegal drugs. He appealed the results, saying he had taken a decongestant and antacid tablets. Further lab tests revealed no illegal substances. Joey Boy then affirmed his position as an anti-drugs artist, saying he had participated in record-company anti-drug campaigns.[5]
In 2004, a video of Joey Boy involved in an orgy was circulated in Thailand. In a 10th anniversary concert for his former record label, Bakery Music, he apologized for the video as well as making joking reference to his false drug bust.[6]
He has a reputation as the "Thai Casanova". Among his many relationships was an on-off relationship with actress-model Praya Lundberg, which lasted two years until the actress chose to part ways. Joey Boy declared his love for her, along for the apology for the "orgy tape" in the 10-year-anniversary Bakery Music concert in front of 5,000 people. Joey Boy wrote a song about their relationship that debuted at #1 on the charts in Bangkok.
In 2006, Joey Boy's music came under fire from a Thai Muslim organization, which said his song "Maya", released on his 1998 album Bangkok Boy and on a 2005 compilation, The Conclusive Collection, contains verses of the Koran, which is forbidden in Islam. Joey Boy and Bakery Music issued an apology and the CDs were recalled and destroyed so as to not further inflame the already tense situation in the South Thailand insurgency.[7]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Bakery Music
- Joey Boy (1995)
- Joey Man (1996)
- See Ya Later (Celebrate No Million Copies) (1997)
- Fun Fun Fun
- Fun Fun Fun/The Chinese Association Remix Single
- Fun Fun Fun 1,000,000
- Joey's Hit Pt. 1
- Bangkok (1998)
- Tourist
- Joey Boy Anthology
- The Greatest Beats 1994-2000 (2005)
[edit] Independent releases
- Joey Rama
- JB (EP featuring "LA/BKK")
[edit] Gancore Club/GMM Grammy
- Gancore Club Various Artists'
- Sorry, I'm Happy
- Raii Gor Ruk (ร้ายก็รัก EP) (EP, 2006)
- The Best of Joey Boy
- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Possible (อัลบั้มเพลงประกอบภาพยนต์ 'เก๋า เก๋า' (2006)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Chris Baker, Pasuk Phongpaichit. A History of Thailand. Cambridge University Press, 207. ISBN 0521816157.
- ^ "Peas to please", The Nation, May 21, 2004 (retrieved on November 23, 2006).
- ^ "Peas, love and harmony", The Nation, May 21, 2004 (retrieved on November 23, 2006).
- ^ "Second helping of Peas, please", The Nation, August 4, 2006 (retrieved on November 23, 2006).
- ^ "Joey Boy is cleared in drug case", The Nation, November 20, 2002 (retrieved on November 23, 2006).
- ^ http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/page.arcview.php?clid=18&id=110079&usrsess= Bakery's huge B-Day blast], The Nation, December 16, 2004 (retrieved on November 23, 2006).
- ^ "Thai rap song mocks Koran", Associated Press, February 7, 2006 (via Fox News, retrieved on November 23, 2006).
