You Gotta Know: Yumi So Cute

Yumi is pictured above wearing the Atta Boy Tee. Now available at Tillys! Click here to buy

At an underground punk show in DTLA's fashion district, we first experienced an incredible and incendiary performance by Yumi So Cute. Displaying one of the most raucous laptop punk sets we've ever seen, she whipped the crowd intro a frenzied circle pit that the shoe box sized room certainly could not contain. It was that energy, that sense of careless abandon and pure freedom that GEO was drawn to like a magnet. What we found was a powerful artist on the rise with something to say. That's why this week You Gotta Know: Yumi So Cute!

GEO: Wadup Yumi?! How's 2021 been for you so far?

Yumi: 2021 has been fast, I kinda don’t know what time I live in anymore. I kinda forgot about years, shit kinda even months, just experiencing each day as it comes. I would most definitely say in my personal universe 2021 has been going the way I speak it. 

GEO: You recently moved to Atlanta! How's that going? Is there anything you miss about LA?

Yumi:  ATLs cool, the sky feels lighter than LA. I haven’t found the punk scene here yet, right now everyone is playing dress up. Im planing to just do my own thing here the same I did in LA, mostly, I’m taking this time to open my mind up. 

GEO: We are obsessed with your video for your song "Hippopotamus" and heard there was a fun story behind it. Tell us how that whole thing came together. 

Yumi:  It was an old friend of mines birthday, I tried everything to find a fucking venue in LA to throw a surprise party, but nooooo that shit kept blowing off, or people wanted 1500 for like 2 hours (remind you me and novi are crashing in our car so I don’t think we have 1500 sitting around) then I was like fuck it, let’s rent a Uhaul and cop a generator have the party at Venice, preform in the bed of the truck in the parking lot. So I’m preforming and people are pulling up in their vans, skating by, watching from the sidewalk and then this white guys rides by on a bike recording me on his phone asking people in the crowd for my name. Welp Ari found me on IG and sent me this sick little clip of our first encounter and then offered to shoot my video for free. (No lie I was skeptical at first, we’ve had so many different encounters in LA) He said I inspired him, it was like “finding golden nuggets” or some shit. Fast forward, me and my friends meet at Venice it was like legit 5 of us total lol. And we just played my song on Venice and danced to it. DUDE! I legit SMASHED my head into a cement wall while recording and Novi had to keep me conscious cause I was passing out. We kept filming though. But ultimately we had absolutely NO idea how anything was gonna turn out. Then Ari showed up to Novian (husband and genius) APN show in the mountains, and then the park rangers came shut our shit down, pressed us for no fucking reason and ari caught it all on camera. There’s even a guy smoking a j in the video and it’s actually the voice actor for beast boy in Teen Titans Go. Shout out to Ari Gold man @arigold he legit is an artist, and honestly looks out for me. I can tell he believes in little ol me.

GEO: What was the last thing you Google searched?

Yumi:  Where to get a singing bowl near me?

GEO: GEO is a female-forward skate and apparel brand, worn by all. Does this resonate with you? If so, how does this mission and ethos potentially relate to the punk scene?

Yumi: I personally go to these shows and I always see big ass 240lbs sweaty ass dudes in the pit, tryna show who’s ego is Bigger and fuck yeah I’ll go in the pit but there’s fems who want to be able to let their rage and anger out freely without worrying too much you know ? When I preform I want them closer to feel my energy so they can get what they need to let it all out. Like it’s a revolution to bring people together.

GEO: Donuts or cookies?

Yumi:  Donuts man, I can smash a dozen alone. 

GEO: Name 3 underground artists the GEO FAM need to know about ASAP!

Yumi: FUCKYOUNOVIAN @apnovian // UNIITY @_.culturedeath // @ANTREVIANX

GEO: You play so many different types of shows. In an ideal world, what does the perfect gig look and feel like?

Yumi: Hmmm, an ideal show look like and feel like....

Everyone feeling it for real, setting their egos aside, really listening to the lyrics, feeling the energy bleed through the fucking speakers.

Jumping pushing Head banging, shit year each other apart if you need to most importantly, where everyone feels this sense of freedom, as if it’s there’s, because it is.

GEO: Can you give us some words of wisdom you feel like sharing today?

Yumi: I say it before every show.  Check your drugs. Better yet, don't do them at all. But if you are going to do them, beware that there's a lot of fake drugs going around, so please be careful.  

GEO: If you wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

Yumi:  The Experience. Vol.1

You can follow Yumi on Instagram @yumisocute

Yumi is pictured above wearing the Atta Boy Tee. Now available at Tillys! Click here to buy