About
Casey Luong (born November 4, 1994) is known mononymously by his stage name keshi (stylized in all lowercase). He is known for his distant falsetto vocals and textural instrumentals.
Early life
Luong was born in Houston, Texas, to Vietnamese parents and grew up in nearby Sugar Land. Despite living in an ethnically diverse community with a large Asian population, he recalls that he often felt out of place and disconnected from his heritage while growing up, as others around him were mostly ethnically Chinese. When he was 13, he began learning the guitar after picking it up from his grandfather. He began teaching himself the instrument while using his grandfather's Vietnamese music book. Another one of his motivations for learning guitar came from watching Drake Bell from the Nickelodeon TV show Drake & Josh attract girls through his guitar skills. In his early years playing guitar and writing music, he cites John Mayer and Ed Sheeran as his biggest influences.
He graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin. He then worked as an oncology nurse at the Texas Medical Center for two years.
The name "Keshi" comes from the childhood name that his girlfriend's parents gave him. They have been childhood friends since 5th or 6th grade, and he would go over to her house every day. When he visited, her parents would call him "Keshi," which they still do to this day.
Career
During college, he created his moniker "Keshi", and began to share music via his SoundCloud page. He credited watching Youtube tutorials for teaching himself writing, producing, performing and engineering his music. Initially, he was in doubt of his abilities and musical direction, but slowly his distinct style, which relies on his dreamy vocals combined with lo-fi beats and guitar, garnered more attention and popularity. In 2017, he quit his job as a nurse and flew to New York City to sign with Island Records. His decision to quit nursing and the pursuit of music was ultimately made due to his realization that the fear of missed opportunities exceeded his fear of failure. From there, his first singles attracted millions of listeners upon release.
He cites John Mayer, Frank Ocean, The 1975, Drake, and Bryson Tiller as some of his greatest musical influences.
Work
He has accumulated over 900 million streams with songs such as like i need u, 2 Soon, and right here.
He has a dedicated Spotify page, Youtube channel, and Soundcloud, as well as an official website.
See more of his work on his music page here.