Shawn Wasabi

Shawn Michael Serrano^[1] (born May 26, 1994),^[4] professionally known as Shawn Wasabi, is an American record producer from Salinas, California.^[5] He is credited as a co-inventor of the Midi Fighter 64, a custom musical software controller.^[8] He resides in Los Angeles.^[9]

Shawn Wasabi
Birth name	Shawn Michael Serrano[1][2]
Also known as	Sssshawnnnn[3]
Born	(1994-05-26) May 26, 1994 (age 31)[4] Salinas, California, U.S.[5]
Genres	Pop[6]
Occupation	Record producer[7]
Instrument	Midi Fighter 64[8]
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Warner
Website	www.shawnwasabi.com

Biography

Shawn Wasabi was born in Salinas, California.^[5] He was born to Filipino parents, with his father from Manila, and his mother from Cebu.^[5] At a young age, he learned piano.^[5]

In 2013, Shawn Wasabi started producing music after his friend left the Midi Fighter 3D at his house.^[10] Since then, he has uploaded his live mashups, which have all garnered millions of views on YouTube.^[10]

In 2015, he released "Marble Soda", using a Midi Fighter 64.^[11] It contains samples from 153 different tracks and sounds.^[12] The video for the song reached 1 million views on YouTube within 48 hours of being uploaded.^[13]

In 2016, he was nominated for the Breakthrough Artist award at the 6th Streamy Awards.^[14][15]

In 2017, he released "Spicy Boyfriend".^[16] In that year, he also released "Otter Pop", which featured guest vocalist Hollis.^[17] The Fader placed it at number 27 on the "101 Best Songs of 2017" list.^[18]

In 2018, he released "Squeez", which featured guest vocalist Raychel Jay.^[19] The song was included on Paper's "10 Songs You Need to Start Your Weekend Right" list,^[20] as well as The Fader's "20 Best New Pop Songs Right Now" list.^[6]

His debut studio album, Mangotale, was released in 2020.^[21]

Midi Fighter 64

One of Shawn Wasabi's equipment is the DJ TechTools Midi Fighter 64, a custom 64-button MIDI controller.^[8] The Midi Fighter line of controllers is notable for using Japanese Sanwa arcade buttons rather than the rubber pads traditionally used on MPC-style MIDI controllers.^[8] Initially, the Midi Fighter only came in 16-button variations.^[8] A prototype of a 64-button version was designed and 3D printed for him to use by DJ TechTools product designer Michael Mitchell.^[8] In 2016, his original Midi Fighter 64 prototype, along with his computer and hard drive, was stolen in a car burglary.^[8] This eventually led to the mass production of the Midi Fighter 64 in 2017.^[8]

Discography

Studio albums

• Mangotale (2020)^[22]

Singles

• "Hotto Dogu" (2014)^[23]
• "Marble Soda" (2015)^[24]
• "Burnt Rice" (2015) (with YDG, featuring Yung Gemmy)^[25]
• "Spicy Boyfriend" (2017)^[26]
• "Otter Pop" (2017) (featuring Hollis)^[27]
• "Squeez" (2018) (featuring Raychel Jay)^[28]
• "Mango Love" (2018) (featuring Satica)^[29]
• "Marble Tea" (2019) (featuring uncredited vocals from Raychel Jay)^[30]
• "Snack" (2019) (featuring Raychel Jay)^[31]
• "Home Run" (2020) (featuring Raychel Jay)^[32]
• "Animal Crossing" (2020) (featuring Sophia Black)^[33]
• "Lemons" (2020) (featuring Kennedi)^[34]
• "I Dip" (2021) (featuring uncredited vocals from Chloe George)^[35]
• "Trigger Warning" (2023) (featuring Wolftyla and MIYACHI)^[36]

Guest appearances

• Far East Movement - "Glue" (2019) (featuring Heize and Shawn Wasabi)^[37]

Notes

• Mangotale is stylized in all caps.
• "Squeez" is stylized with a registered trademark symbol after the title.
• "Marble Tea," "Home Run," "Animal Crossing," and "Lemons" are stylized in all caps.
• "Snack" is stylized in all caps, and the title was later changed to "The Snack That Smiles Back" on streaming platforms (stylized in lowercase).
• "I Dip" is stylized in lowercase.