SAN JOSE, CALIF.—Rising alternative artist and former oncology nurse, Casey Luong, who uses the alias “keshi,” writes music describing scandalous acts of physical intimacy and romance, despite being engaged. 

Keshi’s songs project a major theme of love. Lyrics like, “said you’re tired of the distance, tired of the fake love, said you don’t really miss him, but I don’t really blame ya,” from his song “B.Y.S.” and “baby why the hesitation, cause I know that you can feel it too, you want more and I can taste it, let me show you what I wanna do” from his song “SOMEBODY” are obviously intimate and affiliated with mature, romantic themes. 

However, there are instances where I wonder if keshi’s lyrics are truly meaningful to him. Keshi shared news of his engagement with his long-term best friend Mai early last year, which leads me to think about why and how he would write lyrics of such dark romantic meaning in contrast to celebrating his engagement. 

Silver Creek sophomore Kelson Vo, expressed his thoughts on keshi’s semi-controversial lyrics saying, “Keshi’s fans probably listen to his music to release their feelings of heartbreak and such. His lyrics are scandalous because it attracts them and it works. Keshi’s just securing his bank.” 

The music industry, just as many other industries of entertainment, is an avaricious industry. The purpose of writing music for many artists who work to expand their music and make money is to appeal to their audience. In this case, keshi’s music is repeatedly themed around love and lust because it appeals largely to his audience. 

After receiving recognition and praise from K-pop idols like NCT, BTS, and Itzy for his “THE REAPER” EP, keshi began to grow as an artist known for his catchy guitar melodies and soft, comforting vocals. His song “right here” gathered 62,355,204 streams on Spotify alone. His musical career continues to grow, considering he recently released the single “SOMEBODY” on Oct. 22 of this year as a look into his debut album expected to be released in 2022. 

In my opinion, keshi’s music is definitely enjoyable, even from just the instrumentals alone. He could probably write a song about mashed potatoes and I’d still stream it on loop. His talent does not entirely come from his lyrics, but they undoubtedly add to how eye and ear-catching his music is.