Meet MILLI: The Teenage Solo Artist Who Raps In Multiple Languages
“Mirror, mirror, mirror, mirror mirror on the wall, who the freakin’ savage?”
It’s MILLI!
Meet the teenage Thai solo artist, MILLI, who has gone viral for spitting multilingual bars.
She was born Danupha Khanatheerakul on November 13, 2002, in Surat Thani, Thailand, south of Bangkok. She is, however, also known as Minnie, her nickname, and MILLI, her stage name.
Growing up, she loved hip hop and has always been a big fan of American music artist Nicki Minaj and, as a result, considers her as an influence on her own personal music. She also loves Thai singer Pumpuang Duangjan. Being a lifelong music-lover, she began rapping in second grade.
Before pursuing her career, she graduated from Nonthaburi Girls’ High School. She then went on to do a music entrepreneurship program at ABAC School of Music / Assumption University.
MILLI’s career officially began a couple of years ago when she entered the Thai competition television show The Rapper 2. She was a favorite among judges due to her unique style.
She then registered as an artist with the South Asian content provider YUPP!. In February 2020, MILLI made her debut with “Phak Khon” (พักก่อน). This song perfectly gave fans a taste of what they could expect from MILLI as the song was multilingual, using Lu, Isan, and English while being a hip-hop song with an important anti-bullying message. This song launched her to stardom immediately, as it has now reached 87,173,156 views as of November 2, 2021.
In addition to Nicki Minaj inspiring her rapping, she has credited fellow YUPP! artist AUTTA as an individual who really helped her grow as a rapper. She referred to him as a “genius” that coached on her “Mirror Mirror” verses.
My flow as I rap, ‘Rap แบบ sixteen bang, Rap เล่นๆในบ้าน, One, two, three, four, five, Look at my teeth, say what I need, กระจก tell, Me นี่ MILLI Richy with this music ’cause she kill this beat, Di-hi-hi-hi-hi-hi-hi, okay, bye.’ This flow … that’s true that I write as by myself, but this flow, flow is how I can rap… This flow I learned from AUTTA … I hope you guys go find him and listen to his music because he’s very talented…
— MILLI
MILLI is most well-known for her rapping abilities. Yet, she is actually just as talented as a singer-songwriter.
She’s a quadruple threat as she is not just a talented rapper, singer, songwriter. She can dance too!
While “Phak Khon” remains her hit song, she followed it up with another single that year that also was successful. “SUDPANG!” (สุดปัง), released in June, is a woman-empowerment anthem. This song was even more impressive than her first release as it used even more languages, Thai (Northern and Southern), English, Isan, Lu, and Japanese! As of November 2, 2021, it has 41,227,733 views.
It’s so well-deserved that MILLI won the award “Best New Asian Artist Thailand” at the 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards. She also received an award for “Rising Star” at the 2020 KAZZ AWARDS.
While MILLI is already extremely accomplished on her own, she is also part of project group 2021 Ratri.
2021 Ratri is a new version of another famous Thai project group, 2002 Ratree. 2021 Ratri made their debut on February 2, 2021, under White Fox. The group consists of five famous Thai women: main vocalist Gam Wichayanee, main vocalist Waii, sub-vocalist Lady Blossom, sub-vocalist JingJing Yu, and, of course, rapper MILLI who is also the youngest member.
MILLI has also been featured by 88rising. She performed her two hit singles as part of their winter wonderland festival 2020 Double Happiness.
In August, she collaborated with London-based half-Thai half-Trinidadian rapper Tsunari for “ฟาด [Whip it].” Both with such multicultural backgrounds, this was a match made in heaven!
MILLI has gained an increase of fans since last week with the release of “Mirror Mirror.” This legendary collaboration of her, Thai rapper F.HERO, producer NINO, and Stray Kids‘ Changbin has got everyone obsessed, and it’s easy to see why.
While everyone on this track is phenomenal, MILLI’s verses particularly have listeners’ hooked. With Changbin’s feature on this single, she has been introduced to K-Pop fans worldwide, especially STAYs (fans of Stray Kids).
Best yet, she’s a K-Pop fan herself! MILLI is a pre-debut STAY. Having collaborated with Changbin and being acknowledged by Bang Chan has been unbelievable for her.
I am a K-Pop fan for like seven years … Right now, I’m 19. This is impossible for me, you know … like I watched them before they debut to be an artist like Stray Kids. I watched their competition with … YG and JYP.
— MILLI
@xhanzr She called him fucking hot I lost both of them !!! #xhanzr
Similarly, she low-key freaked out when NCT‘s Doyoung read her name when nominated for 2020 MAMA. At that time, she was in disbelief that the NCT member had said her name!
She is also certified ARMY as she is a big fan of BTS!
It looks like she might be Jimin-biased! She has said that he is one of her main inspirations too.
While she’s crazy talented and accomplished for being so young, MILLI is also incredibly relatable. Like most girls her age, she enjoys hanging out with friends, going to festivals, and more. She has a pet cat and dog too!
She has an Instagram account in which fans can see her personality shine, and it’s just as bold as what we see from her music videos! Her Instagram handle is @phuckitol, and, yes, it’s quite punny while perfectly communicating her cool attitude.
Clearly, MILLI is as iconic in real life as she seems in her music videos, so, naturally, she speaks her mind! In July, she caused a stir with the Prayut Chan-o-cha military government as they charged her with criticism of their poor handling of COVID-19. The Thai government basically accused her of sharing “fake news” that “harms national security,” which is a crime punishable by five years in prison. Despite this, other influencers, artists, and netizens defended her, trending “#Saveมิลลิ” (#SaveMilli). Still, she had to pay a fine.
With her heart and mind, it’s not surprising that she is gaining more and more fans every day. MILLI is an incredibly talented individual as she raps, sings, dances, and writes her own music. Not to mention she can rap in so many languages all on one track. It’s no wonder MILLI has essentially become an overnight success!
Read more about MILLI below:
