Justin Kim (aka Suave Punk): Growing Up in Florida Gave Me a Southern Twang

My guest today is Justin Kim, the 21-year-old Korean-American artist, musician, and filmmaker who goes by the name Suave Punk as his musical alter ego. Suave Punk was actually the title of Justin’s first song, and he liked the name so much that he decided to attach it to his own creative identities. His other personas also include being someone who loves fishing, or someone who developed a Southern twang after growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood in southeastern Florida. Justin’s discovery of his love for storytelling was when his father gifted him a point-and-shoot camera 11 years ago. He’s since been honing this craft at film school, but during freshman year of college started becoming more serious about pursuing music. Growing up listening to the radio, Justin naturally gravitated towards funk, classic rock, 80s synth-pop, and shoegaze or dream pop. He never listened to pop music as a kid, so he joked about not knowing who this Katy Perry person was when his family moved to California. Now represented by a record agency, he’s currently working on releasing his debut EP titled Heaven is a Night Drive, a collection of five songs that he’s been writing since freshman year. This conversation was recorded in mid-July, so we had our chat just the day before Justin published his EP’s second single and music video called, “Heat Death,” which you’ll get to listen to at the end of this episode. But at that time, we discussed his recently released first single, “Dreams of Losing Teeth,” a song born from loneliness, rejection, heartbreak, recurring dreams, and the solemn realization regarding the painful yet hopeful passage of time. Before you hear my full chat with Justin, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice and let’s spend happy hour together. Keep up to date with our show on Instagram at www.instagram.com/haapihourpod Send us your thoughts and any guest recommendations to [email protected] (Music from Epidemic Sound)