Echoes of Uncertainty: Wubi’s Journey Through Sound and Heart
By. Alicia Zamora
In an exclusive interview with Alicia’s Studio, we sit down with rising artist Wubi—someone who isn’t afraid to speak from the heart. At the intersection of music and emotion, Wubi’s work captures the often-overlooked nuances of feeling: the rush, the confusion, the vulnerability, and the quiet strength it takes to sit with all of it. Through music, Wubi doesn’t just express—he reflects, questions, and unravels parts of himself, inviting listeners to do the same.
Right away, Wubi shows that music means more to him than just a way to be creative. For him, it’s a way to find his own direction. “I think I have a lot of things that I'm trying to understand about myself,” he says, speaking with a rare honesty. He’s interested in the push and pull between what we feel and what we admit to ourselves. That struggle is what inspires his songwriting.
Love, of course, is a theme he returns to often—not because it’s simple, but because it’s not. He talked about the duality of it all: how love can be both exhilarating and awful, sometimes within the same breath. That duality doesn’t scare him; it’s what drives the writing. “You can’t enjoy one without the other,” he said. And that balance—between joy and pain—is what gives his music its emotional weight.
And when doubt creeps in, Wubi lets it fade into the background—always present, but never in control. "It’s temporary," he says, as if reassuring himself. He doesn’t pretend to be endlessly confident, but he knows how to keep moving forward. That steady resilience, that urge to create even when everything feels uncertain, gives his work its true strength. Wubi isn’t just making music—he’s capturing the feeling of growth, one moment at a time.
Diving In
Wubi: Hello! My name is Wubi. I love making music, and I’ve been doing it for a long time. Thank you for having me on—I really appreciate what you do for small artists like me.
Alicia: Who is Wubi—beyond the music, beyond the name? What parts of yourself are you still trying to understand?
Wubi: Wow. I think there’s a lot I’m still trying to figure out about myself. In some ways, I’m really sensitive and emotional, and I try to navigate that through music—writing lyrics about things I’ve experienced in my life. A lot of what I write ends up being about love, about how exhilarating it can be, but also how painful it can get. So I guess I’m just trying to understand my own human condition.
Alicia: In moments when you’re not “creating,” who are you? What do you return to?
Wubi: Lately I’ve just been at home. I have a cat, and I love hanging out with her. Most of the time I keep to myself—sometimes I’ll play video games or just enjoy the quiet.
Alicia: What does silence mean to you? Do you ever crave it, or avoid it?
Wubi: Honestly, both. I crave it and avoid it at the same time. I’m a chronic overthinker, and when I’m left alone with silence, I start spiraling. But sometimes I need that to ground myself. Those thoughts, as overwhelming as they can be, sometimes remind me—like, “yo, stop.” Other times, I avoid silence because I get too caught up in my head. But lately, I’ve been craving it more, especially since I’ve been working on a lot of music at full volume. Sometimes I just need less noise, less stimulus.
Alicia: Yeah, I think I understand that. For me, though, I usually avoid silence. Like you said, I’m also a chronic overthinker, and when it’s too quiet, it just feels worse.
Alicia: Going into your creativity and artistry—when you’re in the middle of a project, how do you know when to trust your instincts versus when to step back and question everything?
Wubi: That’s a really good question. Since music is so subjective, there’s no set formula. Most of the time, when I’m creating, it’s just based on feeling—like, “this feels right, let’s try it.” When I make something and listen back and think, “wow, this is really good,” that’s when I trust my instincts. But there are also times where listening fatigue kicks in and I start thinking, “holy shit, this sucks.” That’s when I step back, take a break, and just chill.
Alicia: How do you decide which parts of your personal story to put into your music—and which parts to keep private?
Wubi: I usually write about things people can connect to. Not that they’ve gone through the exact same thing, but enough for them to say, “yeah, I get that.” Still, there have been times I’ve questioned how much I want to share. I’ve even deleted songs where I felt like I overshared too much.
Alicia: I get that. I feel the same way sometimes. Like, I don’t just write music reviews—I’ll also post personal writing. But then I’ll reread it, and when people see my story, I’m like, “oh…” and end up deleting it. It’s like, sorry guys—it felt okay in the moment, but then I realize maybe I wasn’t supposed to share that.
Alicia: What role does silence or space play in your music, and how do you use it intentionally?
Wubi: If you listen to some of my stuff, I really love using pauses. I think it gives the music a dynamic—like, I usually really like ambient sounds, smooth textures. Then when that pause comes, the ambience stops, and it’s just the voice. I think that gives a nice change of pace. Yeah, I use it a lot. Sometimes maybe I overuse it, not gonna lie, but I hope people like it too.
Alicia: I’ve heard your stuff before. Do you know who Tabber is by any chance?
Wubi: Yeah, I love Tabber.
Alicia: Yeah, your music gave me Tabber vibes. I wasn’t sure if you knew him, since a lot of people don’t, but that’s what it reminded me of, I swear.
Wubi: He’s like my hero, honestly. The whole label—Dean, all of them—they were mainly why I started music. They were just so cool.
Alicia: If you haven’t been to their shows, you should—they’re insane. The live vocals are everything.
Alicia: What’s an unconventional influence—outside of music—that’s had a surprising impact on your sound?
Wubi: Okay, so… I have a friend, Peter. He’s been my closest friend since high school. I remember this one day in 11th grade—I didn’t really sing back then, I mostly rapped at karaoke bars. Then some part of me was like, “okay, let me try singing.” He was like, “bro… you suck.” And that kinda pushed me—like, okay, I’m gonna prove this guy wrong. He’s really supportive but also very critical, and I really appreciate that.
Alicia: Oh yeah, I feel that. Sometimes you just need friends to be brutally honest.
Alicia: Is there a contradiction inside you—between confidence and doubt, control and chaos—that drives your work?
Wubi: Yeah, so I’ve been posting my music on Instagram lately, and I’ve been lucky to get a lot of love and engagement. That definitely inflated my confidence at one point—I was like, “holy shit, I’m the shit,” when really… I’m not. Then I hit ego death and think, “fuck, what am I even doing?” I think that’s the whole point—feeling both ends of that spectrum. You can’t really enjoy one without the other. Doubt is kind of temporary for me; it’s always in the back of your head, but I try to remind myself: be confident, don’t overthink. That’s usually how it goes.
Alicia: How do you stay honest with yourself when the pressure to perform or deliver mounts?
Wubi: I’m really introverted, and I haven’t performed a lot, but I’ve been lucky to meet this Korean music community at school—like bands and performances. That was super fun. I tested a lot of things early on, tried acting cooler than I was, and that sucked. The best moments were just being comfortable, singing, doing whatever I wanted. Turns out, people thought that was cool too. So yeah, that’s how I try to stay honest—just be myself. I know it’s cliche, but yeah.
Alicia: Have you ever had a moment where you thought about quitting? What pulled you back?
Wubi: Yeah, usually in those ego death moments—when I feel like everything I made completely sucks. But I know it’s temporary… I hope it is. I’ve thought about quitting a lot, but when I look back at my “career”—from where I started to now—I see real progress. That keeps me going. It’s proof that it’s possible if I keep at it.
Alicia: What’s something about your creative journey that surprises you when you reflect on it?
Wubi: Touching back on improvement… sometimes, to give myself confidence, I listen to a track I released in 2022. It’s pretty bad, honestly, and that really surprises me sometimes. When I make music, it’s mostly in the moment—I just do it. And I sometimes forget how far I’ve come, so looking back at that track really surprises me. I use it as a little confidence boost to keep making more music.
Alicia: Yeah, I get that. Looking back at old work is wild. I’ll look at something I wrote or posted and be like, “Wow, I actually did this?” Then I realize, “Oh, that was a year ago,” and you can really see how much you’ve grown. But it’s still this weird back-and-forth of pride and disbelief.
Wubi: I thought it was the shit.
Alicia: Oh yeah, same here! I thought my writing was amazing, then I look back and I’m like, “Bro… y’all really told me this was good?” You live and learn, honestly.
Alicia: Going into your recent release EXE, it feels like more than just a project—it’s almost like a purge. What were you trying to get out of your system?
Wubi: I really like you using the word “purge,” thank you. I guess it was me trying to connect my sonic ideas to visuals. I hadn’t really done that before, and I’ve always loved editing videos, but I never had the confidence to say, “Yo, look at my stuff.” This album was me testing the waters—seeing if I could balance both music and visuals and make something good. I’m not fully satisfied, but I am happy with how it turned out. And honestly, just having good people support me—I appreciate them so much. It was me proving, like, “I can do this.”
Alicia: What version of yourself do you think lives inside EXE—and what version did you leave behind?
Wubi: I think, more than the lyrics, it’s the sound I was focused on—the mixing and mastering. That’s a whole different beast. I’m still figuring out what’s sonically satisfying to me. So, yeah, I guess EXE was a little test run for me, exploring sound. I’m not really sure what version I left behind, though.
Alicia: Sonically, this project feels like it breaks rules. Were you intentionally trying to unlearn structure, or did that just happen naturally?
Wubi: Thank you for noticing—I was really trying to unlearn structure. My past work had a certain structure that I was satisfied with, but this was me reminding myself I can’t settle for mediocrity. If I want to be really good, I have to push myself. I wanted to experiment, see what aspects of sound hit, make it more dynamic. It’s not perfect yet, but I’m still trying.
Alicia: Did anything about EXE scare you—creatively or personally?
Wubi: Yeah, I’d never done anything like this before—combining visuals and music. I had a lot of doubt while posting because I’d see reels with amazing edits and think, “Maybe I’m not good enough.” But the important part was putting it out there. Honestly, I’m a little proud of myself. I’d been scared to do it for a long time.
Alicia: The visuals and edits are really cool. How did the sound of EXE evolve as you made it? Did you start with one idea and end up somewhere completely different?
Wubi: Thank you! I started with the song Safety. That track felt like a level up from what I’d made before, and it set the tone for the other songs. I wanted to show that I love multiple genres. If you go through the three songs, they sound very different from each other. I started with the idea of an R&B single, but then I thought, “Nah, I really like house,” and I wanted to implement that in a way that wasn’t just for a club setting. It was a passion project, inspired by Riovaz—have you heard his music?
Alicia: I haven’t.
Wubi: Oh, you should! He does top-lining over house tracks, and I thought that was incredible. That’s kind of how these three songs came together.
Alicia: Is EXE a standalone moment for you, or part of a larger arc in your discography?
Wubi: Definitely part of a larger arc. This is just one side of me I want to show—I love being creative, editing, making visuals. I hope this album is just the start, and I want to keep making better stuff moving forward.
Alicia: How do your surroundings—people, places, culture—shape your music in ways listeners might not realize?
Wubi: A lot of my lyrics come from things I’ve learned from friends. I’ve been lucky to have kind, real friends, and I think that kindness translates into my music. I want my lyrics to give comfort or empowerment. A lot of my inspiration comes from conversations with friends.
Alicia: Yeah, I feel the same way. For me, at least, friends’ support is huge—it keeps me grounded. Knowing they’re behind what I do keeps me going.
Wubi: Yeah, and you’re killing it.
Alicia: Thank you! I’m trying. Outside of music, what influences or passions fuel your creativity?
Wubi: Going back to my friend who pushed me to prove him wrong—that really translates to other parts of my life. It’s like, okay, I can do better than this. That mindset pushes me creatively, whether it’s in the gym or other areas of life.
Alicia: What’s the biggest challenge you anticipate as an artist moving forward?
Wubi: Performing, I think. Yeah, in front of people… like, by myself, in front of people who actually listen to my music. That idea is really scary, because they’re giving their time to hear what I make, and I feel like I need to deliver. That scares me, but it also excites me.
Alicia: Yeah, being an artist is so hard. I see my friends go on stage, looking so calm, and I’m like, “Girl, how do you do this? There’s no way I could stand in front of all those people.” Props to everyone who can do that.
Alicia: What message or feeling do you hope people carry with them from your music and your journey?
Wubi: I started making music because, back in high school in Korea, I was in a toxic environment. I got bullied a lot and was led to believe I wasn’t enough. Getting into rap and music gave me confidence in that moment. And that’s the feeling I want my listeners to get—I want them to feel cool, empowered. Like, “Hell yeah.” That’s what I want to create with my music.
Alicia: Looking back on your work so far, what’s something you’re most proud of as an artist?
Wubi: I had an album on Spotify called Reveries, but they took it down for no reason. That album really took off, and I was proud of it. Ten songs, and at the level I was at back then, I think I managed to create something cohesive, with a narrative. Now that I listen back, I’m like, “Oh shit, I can do it.” But yeah, I’m still proud of it.
Alicia: They took it down? If you uploaded it again, would you get the streams back?
Wubi: I emailed them—they said I could upload it again, but all the traffic is gone. It’s okay. I was going to remaster the song anyway; I thought it was a little rough. I took it as a sign to make it better.
Alicia: That’s a good way to think about it. What’s a lesson you’ve learned that you think will stick with you no matter what happens next?
Wubi: When I hear other artists say, “Just don’t stop, keep doing what you do,” I used to think, “Yeah, that’s cliché.” But I’ve realized how true it is. Doubt is temporary—it only lasts as long as you let it. The important thing is to just keep going. That’s how you get better at what you do, in my opinion.
Alicia: Yeah, I feel that. I used to hate when people said that, too. But now I get it—if you stopped, you wouldn’t know where you could be. Honestly, just keep going. That’s the best advice I can give.
Alicia: How do you want your music—and your story—to be remembered?
Wubi: Going back to making listeners feel cooler—I want my songs to be remembered as a feeling. I want people to feel more confident after listening, even when they’re not listening to my music. I want them to be like, “Wow, I feel so cool.” That’s the lasting impression I hope to leave.
Alicia: What’s a hope or goal you have for yourself in the coming years, beyond just success?
Wubi: I want to get really good technically, like incredibly good at what I do. I know it’s a long road, but I’m excited. I try to give myself a mental note whenever I make progress, so I know I’m not stagnant. I think that naturally leads to success.
Alicia: Honestly, yeah. Just don’t give up. It’s going to get hard, but keep going. If you could sum up your journey so far in one sentence, what would it be?
Wubi: It’s like a love-hate relationship. I’ve been doing music a long time because I love it—it’s all I know. I try to be persistent, and I’m learning to love myself confidently without being cocky. It’s a balance I’m trying to figure out.
Alicia: Before we finish, is there anything else—projects, thoughts, or stories—you want to share that we haven’t covered?
Wubi: I’ve got a few projects coming up—the release date and title are TBD—but there’s a lot of cool stuff coming, and I hope everyone checks it out!
