Shawn Serrano[1] (born May 26, 1994),[3] professionally known as Shawn Wasabi, is an American record producer from Salinas, California.[4] He is credited as a co-inventor of the Midi Fighter 64.[7] He resides in Los Angeles.[8]
In 2013, Shawn Wasabi started producing music after his friend left the Midi Fighter 3D at his house.[9] Since then, he has uploaded his live mashups, which have all garnered millions of views on YouTube.[9]
In 2015, he released "Marble Soda", using a Midi Fighter 64.[10] It contains samples from 153 different tracks and sounds.[11] The video for the song reached 1 million views on YouTube within 48 hours of being uploaded.[12]
In 2017, he released "Spicy Boyfriend".[15] In that year, he also released "Otter Pop", which featured guest vocalist Hollis.[16]The Fader placed it at number 27 on the "101 Best Songs of 2017" list.[17]
In 2018, he released "Squeez", which featured guest vocalist Raychel Jay.[18] The song was included on Paper's "10 Songs You Need to Start Your Weekend Right" list,[19] as well as The Fader's "20 Best New Pop Songs Right Now" list.[5]
In 2019, he collaborated with the Asian American pop band Far East Movement and South Korean rapperHeize on their new single "Glue",[20] marking the first time Shawn Wasabi has appeared as a featured artist on another musical act's release.[21]
Midi Fighter 64
One of Shawn Wasabi's equipment is the DJ TechTools Midi Fighter 64, a custom 64-button MIDI controller.[7] The Midi Fighter line of controllers is notable for using Japanese Sanwa arcade buttons rather than the rubber pads traditionally used on MIDI controllers.[7] Initially, the Midi Fighter only came in 16-button variations.[7] A prototype of a 64-button version was designed and 3D printed for him to use by DJ TechTools product designer Michael Mitchell.[7] In 2016, his original Midi Fighter 64 prototype, along with his computer and hard drive, was stolen in a car burglary.[7] This eventually led to the mass production of the Midi Fighter 64 in 2017.[7]