Head in the Clouds: Where Asia comes home to L.A.

Home can be a place, a language, a sound, or thousands of people singing along to a song from halfway around the world.

For six years in Los Angeles, 88rising’s Head in the Clouds (HITC) has created that kind of home for Asian artists and the fans who love them. More than a music festival, it’s a place where artists can bring their own corners of Asia to the world, sharing the cultures and sounds that shaped them while finding new audiences, new connections, and sometimes even new versions of themselves.

This year, that spirit could be heard across Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California—from a Japanese hip-hop sample and the unmistakable horn of an Indonesian angkot, to a rapper returning to the stage with his first album in four years. Established acts and rising artists shared the stage on Saturday, each bringing something distinctly their own to an international audience. 

JoySauce spoke with three of them about cultural pride, career milestones, connecting across languages, and what it means to find a sense of home on the other side of the world.

These interviews have been edited for clarity and length.

Doing the “YANKEE SQUAT” with ONE OR EIGHT

There was no better soundtrack for a festival crowd racing toward the barricades than ONE OR EIGHT’s “TOKYO DRIFT.” As the gates opened at 1 p.m. at Brookside at the Rose Bowl, attendees sprinted across the field, racing to claim their spot up front. Waiting for them was the rising Japanese boy group, whose explosive stage presence and high-energy performance instantly turned the afternoon into a full-throttle welcome to HITC.

It was fitting that “TOKYO DRIFT” was the opening song. Released in January, the track directly samples “Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious),” the iconic 2006 track by Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz, and helped propel ONE OR EIGHT’s music to an even wider international audience. The eight-member group, consisting of Souma, Mizuki, Tsubasa, Reia, Ryota, Takeru, Yuga, and Neo, brought that same Japanese street energy to the festival with the performance of their latest single, “YANKEE SQUAT.” Released on July 15 as the lead pre-release track from their upcoming EP, EN-GÏNE, out in September, the song draws inspiration from the iconic Japanese “yankee squat,” a low, heels-down sitting position associated with Japan's yankii youth subculture, known for its rebellious, delinquent image of teenagers and young adults, particularly from the 1970s through the 1990s. The song turns a rebellious youth-culture pose into a larger statement about freedom, friendship, self-expression, and unapologetically taking up space.

We sat down with the group after their fiery performance to talk about the meaning behind “YANKEE SQUAT,” what it means to represent Japanese culture on the global stage, and the special connection they’ve built with fans through their music.

Michelle De Pacina: Your new song "YANKEE SQUAT" comes from Japanese street culture. It talks about freedom, friendship, and being yourself. What about the yankee squat felt right for ONE OR EIGHT? How does this song represent who you are as a group?
Tsubasa: “YANKEE SQUAT” is about having a place wherever we go, no matter the time or place. Even though we’re traveling to different countries and cities, we want to carry the same identity with us wherever we go. It’s also about taking up space and being confident in who we are.

In the music video, you can see young people doing the yankee squat, which is a really important part of the song’s identity. When I first heard the lyrics, I felt like they really fit who we are. It felt very natural to us.

We’re also really happy to be in America and to have the opportunity to meet our fans and connect with new listeners here. That’s why I was especially excited to perform “YANKEE SQUAT” in America. 

MD: You have an upcoming EP releasing this September that’s dedicated to your fans. When you look back at your journey, from your first songs to your first big tour, what is one moment with your fans that made you realize how special your connection is?
Souma: We’ve been performing for the last two years in domestic wonders in Japan and overseas. It was very special for us to connect with fans in other countries. One thing we realized when meeting with fans is that with music, regardless of the language, we can always connect with them. That shows in our next EP. If you can listen to the EP, you will see that we really value our fans' connection. We’re really looking forward to its release!

MD: Head in the Clouds has become more than just a music festival. It's a gathering place for Asian artists and fans. What does being here mean to you personally?
Neo: It’s truly an honor. Personally, Head in the Clouds is a huge milestone as an artist, but I’m so glad to be able to perform as a team. We started off the show, so next time we’re here, we hope to perform longer and at a later period where the crowd’s a bit more heated up. Today, I think we did our job of heating up the crowd so we’re happy with what we did. We’re so proud of the team. 

MD: You guys have achieved several milestones as a Japanese boy group. As you continue bringing Japanese music and culture to a global audience, what parts of your identity as Japanese artists do you hope people discover through your music?
N: We really try to represent Japanese culture. We’re all born and raised in Japan. I speak English, but most of us, our mother tongue is Japanese. We’re really proud of our culture and we’re so happy to be able to represent our culture. Our song “YANKEE SQUAT” is a huge start of what we want to show the world about Japan. It’s like a really niche culture of Japan, but it’s also a really stellar part of our culture. We want that sub-genre of Japanese culture to be spread in Western countries and other Asian countries. We’re glad to be able to do that now and perform at HITC this time. Please look forward to our future projects!

Riding the angkot with no na

No na made their U.S. live debut at HITC last year, and returning to the festival this year felt like an emotional homecoming. The first-ever global pop girl group from Indonesia, Baila, Shaz, Christy, and Esther released their debut single “shoot” in May 2025 and have since racked up more than half a billion streams.

By the time no na hit the 88 stage around 2 p.m., the California sun was absolutely unforgiving. But if the scorching heat was supposed to slow the young women down, nobody told them. They brought their own Indonesian heat to Pasadena, turning the festival grounds into their own island party. Fans danced and sang along to their songs, including their latest single “honk!” which captures their cheeky sense of humor right down to the incorporation of the horn of an angkot, the beloved Indonesian public transportation vehicle.

We caught up with no na backstage to talk about their emotional return to HITC, the Indonesian culture they’re excited to share with the world, and their debut full-length album, island girl, which drops in September.

MD: You made your U.S. live debut at Head in the Clouds last year and now you’re back. What has it meant to see audiences around the world connect with your music since then, and how does it feel to return this year?
Esther: It's actually very emotional because we came to Head in the Clouds LA last year and we performed, and there were people, but today, it was like twice or thrice the size. More people were singing our songs, and there were also more Indonesians in the crowd. There were a bunch of our flags and our lyrics, and it was just so nice to see. I was very grateful.
Shazfa: It was so emotional for us because HITC LA last year was our first performance, so this festival in general means so much to us.

MD: You’re the first global pop girl group from Indonesia, and you’re bringing a new point of view to the international music scene. What parts of Indonesian culture, identity, or everyday life are you most excited for the world to discover through your music?
Baila: There's a lot!
E: If we could ship Indonesian food to every single part of this world, we would because that’s the best. That's something that we miss every single time we leave the country. And just Indonesian culture in general. I feel like not a lot of people know that Indonesia is a humongous country with 17,000-plus islands, 30-plus provinces, and each of these places have their own music, language, dance, and culture. We would love for more people to know that it's so diverse in Indonesia, and we have a lot to offer. Not just no na, but the entire country has a lot to offer.
B: I think they also don't know much about gotong royong.
E: Yes! Gotong royong is how we say hard work, hustle and togetherness like no na. 

MD: Your first full-length album, island girl, comes out Sept. 18. What can you tell us about the album, and why is it important to you?
B: It means a lot to us. It's our first baby. It's our first album. We worked so hard on it. We spent so many nights in the studio and in the recording studio booth and then the dance studio—rerecording, rewriting, rearranging, remastering, remaking, editing—because we want it to be perfect for you guys.
E: island girl is going to be no na's versatile album. It's going to hopefully showcase our versatility because we dropped a lot of different genres in there, dropped a lot of different arrangements, and musical directions. We’re excited!

A new beginning with Warren Hue

For all the newness HITC celebrates, there is also something comforting about returning. Artists come back year after year with new music, new audiences and, sometimes, entirely new versions of themselves. The festival has become a rare meeting point where rising acts can share a stage with artists who have helped build its history, all while bringing their piece of Asian culture to a much bigger world.

After making his HITC debut in 2021, Warren Hue returned to the Rose Bowl for his fifth HITC with his new album, ARTHUR, a fresh chapter in his career, and a familiar group of friends by his side. Yet despite having performed at the festival five times, this year felt strangely like starting all over again.

MD: Head in the Clouds has grown into more than just a music festival for a lot of people. What does being here mean to you personally?
Warren Hue: This is my fifth-year anniversary of Head in the Clouds. It means so much. It actually personally feels like the 2021 HITC festival today. New energy, new fans, new growth, and I played my new album. I’m just really happy.

MD: How do you think you’ve grown since 2021? What makes today special for you?
WH: I got my closest friends here today. It feels like I’m a new artist again. I feel like I’m restarting from ground zero. Brand new album and everything. It’s been four years since I’ve dropped an album, so it feels amazing.