Under the Radar: Nueve Lio

By Feature Editor Ariel Duong

Playing around with FL Studio dials turned mistakes into muscle memory and a propensity for style. Amongst the wave of up-and-coming Asian R&B productions, from pop-leaning artists like NIKI to keshi’s melodic lo-fi tracks, hidden gems like rap-cadence R&B artist Nueve Lio are hard to come by. 

    Music was a passion that never faded throughout Lio’s adolescence. Between moving from Riverside to San Bernardino and relocating overseas in Japan, Lio found stability in music production. Where he describes his other passions falling flat, he sought out music as a steadfast outlet for emotional resonance and expression. Living out his early adolescent years in Japan before moving to Riverside, CA, he describes the relocation as the culture shock that inspired the eastern melodic-trap influence on traditional western R&B. 

  Lio’s sound remained relatively personal — only releasing music recreationally on SoundCloud — until exposure to more like-minded, musically-inclined individuals offered him a helping hand at UC Riverside. His anxiety regarding music production was immediately eased once people on campus finally began to recognize him, with other students asking for selfies and autographs. Lio recalls his passion for music slowly diminishing as he entered early adulthood. However, as his uploads in his pastime began gaining more traction, leading to his first million streams with the track “ALL MAJOR” and eventually his first studio album in 2022, “4EVER BASED,” Lio felt this milestone revive his soul-tied passion. Moving forward, he aims to continue his California-based tour to connect back with his Riverside roots. 

    Despite having more than 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify now, Lio describes his goals as limitless, daring to dream and performing for himself. Intent on reaching his full potential, Lio intends to release more R&B tracks as his releases reach new heights.