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From lenses to lyrics: How TangBadVoice turns his passion for storytelling into audiovisual expression

From lenses to lyrics: How TangBadVoice turns his passion for storytelling into audiovisual expression

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Every frame, flow, and freestyle from TangBadVoice is driven by one thing — a deep love for storytelling. Emerging as one of Thailand’s most distinctive rap voices, the former street photographer turned emcee first captured attention with his viral debut album Not A Rapper. But music is just one part of his creative universe.

This year, he’s not only dropped his most personal project yet, the TPOT & GB Diary EP, but also stepped behind the lens as Director of Photography for Gelboys, a hit Thai series shot entirely on iPhone. Now part of Apple’s Here’s to the Dreamers campaign, TangBadVoice continues to live out his mantra: you don’t need all the answers — just the courage to follow what drives you.

Bandwagon caught up with the multi-hyphenate to talk rap diaries, cinematic dreams, and what it really means to “Dream Beyond”.

You come from a street photography background—how does that visual instinct continue to influence your music and content in 2025?

I believe that my street photography background will stay with me forever; it almost feels like it has shaped the way I view the world. Apart from composition and the raw, swift pacing of the street, it has wired the way I think about things. I create stories from things that aren’t related, similar to how I think when I do street photography. It allows me to be capable of creating stories from things that typically would not have stories or any relations to each other.

Your recent single ‘Long Live Cinema’ is packed with visual and lyrical energy. What story were you aiming to tell through this track?

In ‘Long Live Cinema’, I was only trying to make a music diary and I wanted to make a song about how I devoted so much of my energy into filmmaking at this age so that when I’m older, I can look back and remember this time of my life. I credit all of the visual energy in the music video to Jeen, who directed the music video, and my friend who carries everything to bring it to life.

The TPOT & GB Diary EP dropped in June and feels like a deeply personal project. What inspired its concept and how does it reflect your growth in 2025?

The TPOT & GB Diary EP is a deeply personal and complex project. I wanted it to be a music diary for myself to keep track of my life. At the time, there were projects that I was taking on that I never imagined I would, including two long-form projects: a TV series and a film in one year.

From ‘แท่ด’ to ‘อยากขี้เหร่’, your 2025 releases explore bold, satirical territory. What’s fueling your creative fire this year?

‘แท่ด’ is also a musical diary from the TPOT & GB Diary EP and it was also my first diss track. (Laughs) ‘อยากขี้เหร่’ is my side project with my friend who is planning to make their own band, and I love their energy. We actually gathered to have a fun freestyle night to make the song.

Tell us about your collaboration with deephordee on ‘3 เดือน’. What was working with him like?

deephordee is an amazing artist. We first met at my house through a friend and I knew instantly that I wanted to collaborate with him when he started playing the piano — it blew me away. I’ve never followed anyone on Instagram that fast before in my life. I’m so glad to have been able to work with such a special and natural talent; you can see his soul when he sings, which I feel is so rare from my experience.

You were the Director of Photography on Gelboys. Could you share with us your experience working on a show that was shot entirely on iPhone?

It was something I never thought would be possible, especially with the small timeline I had. I was one week away from shooting the first scene and we decided to switch to iPhone. I had zero experience with mobile cinematography so I had to quickly test everything. I was surprised at how much it didn’t feel like a mobile phone, but more like an actual video camera — especially with its ProRes Log video capabilities. Everything went smoothly from that point onwards; we were able to get shots that would usually take at least 30 minutes of setup with a cinema camera, with less than two minutes using iPhone. It was such an amazing experience.

You’re a part of Apple’s Here’s to the Dreamers campaign this year. What does the theme “Dream Beyond” mean to you?

The theme “Dream Beyond” for me doesn’t have to be something big, but it’s about exploring places that you’re curious about and daring to explore. The path is dark and you don’t know what’s possible, but you believe that it’s possible, so you risk everything to go for it.

Before I invented TangBadVoice, I kept my music dream quiet and only told my girlfriend about it. One day before I released my music I told my family, “I think I’m going to become a rapper,” and they all smiled and thought I was joking because I had no music knowledge. Then later on that week, they heard my song everywhere they went; that was a great experience and they were very proud. I proved to myself that obsession was more important than knowledge, and now, being part of the Here’s to the Dreamers campaign confirms that for me.

What used to be a “Dream Beyond” that you have now achieved at this point of your career?

For me, my first “Dream Beyond” was to become a musical artist when I had no knowledge in music-making. All I had was the will to make music, and I wanted to make music so bad that I jumped right into it, making countless mistakes. I was very proud of myself when I finished my first three songs because I didn’t know I was capable of doing it. Pretty much all I had at that time was just a dream and the belief that it was possible to make a song about three people sitting on a car driving away from a ghost.

We’ve heard that you use Logic Pro and Procreate in your projects. How do these creative toolkits impact your approach to your work?

They’re my bread and butter — my sword and shield. (Laughs) None of these things would be possible without the right tools. Even though I’m bad at drawing, I make everything from movie storyboards to entire music videos using Procreate, and Logic Pro helps me make my music quickly and precisely. They’re great because they’re so simple to use yet so powerful, so I can focus more on the ideas behind it.

Finally, Thai rap is gaining more global attention—how do you see your role in that movement? Are you actively thinking about international audiences now?

To be honest, I don’t focus too much on audiences as I don’t want it to take away from the ideas I want to explore with my music. I treat my music more like a hobby so it's natural if my audiences change as I change. I see myself representing Thai rap as an experimental artist. I treat making music like I’m in a science lab, and I feel like it is a good approach because it means you also learn so many of your creative ideas from the failures you experience — so I’m looking forward to exploring more in my career.