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In the turmoil of the holiday season, you can end up both crying in the city you inhabit, and feel voted out of the supposed family that birthed you, a feeling we wish we could admit didn’t bother us to our core. If you are wanting warmth, then the vocals of LA-based Crying City, along with the moody, atmospheric lyrics, might just point you back to a happy hearth, especially if your version of happiness coincides with online world building games like Cyberpunk. For an artist that really meters out beautiful introspection, we were happy to host this talent in our content basement to dive into her medical past, her musical present and her mnemonic future:

OnesToWatch: Who are you? 

Crying City: My name is Minh. I'm currently 23. I just moved to LA a year ago and am working in music full time. 

How did you come up with the name Crying City? 

You know, a lot of people ask me that, but mainly, I really like the aesthetic of cyberpunk, raining at 3 a.m, and listening to music. So, I just came up with the name, it's like you're crying in a city. But people are crying for different reasons. 

What made you decide to become an artist? 

Well, first, I liked consuming music. And then I decided to try songwriting – honestly for fun – during college and then I started posting it on TikTok and it just went from there. 

So it chose you. 

Yeah. I mean, I never intended to make music to a certain level of professionalism, I just wanted to put my thoughts out there sonically. 

If you weren't doing music, what would you be doing right now? 

So originally I was on the medical route, which is completely different. I probably would have gone that route. I was studying neurobiology.

Which isn't totally unrelated. 

Yes, a lot of neuroscience proves that music is addictive. 

So you could be a doctor-cyberpunk-TikTok star. It's the new hybrid we're looking for. What is your music process? 
Did you have any sort of formal training?

No, I didn't have any formal training for songwriting or singing at all. I played violin for over 10 years, and then I stopped around the end of high school. Other than that, I don't really have any formal training. 

Did you like violin, or was it your parents that liked it? 

Actually, I enjoyed it. They tried to make me do piano first, and then that didn't work out. So I tried violin. 

When did you write your first song with the intent of sharing it on TikTok? 

Probably around 2022. 


Okay, so pretty recent. Has anything changed in your writing process in that short time? 


I think so. I've been trying to meet new producers, but mainly, my songwriting process is pretty similar. 

So what is your process? 


I just randomly brainstorm either with a producer or alone in my room. And then if it's solid enough to pursue, I finish the song, but it’s hard to find the motivation to finish a lot of ideas. 

Do you revisit them? 


Sometimes I listen back, but usually it has to be strong enough for me to want to finish it immediately. 

I see, so you have a lot of ideas that you leave behind? 


Yeah. 

On your most recent release, “unlearning you,” where did it start? Was it a melody? Was it an idea? Was it a theme? 


Mainly, it was the idea and the lyrics. I had an idea in mind which was about unlearning somebody, something that is not so uncommon for a lot of people. That could be friends, families, or romantic relationships. I had a lot of different ideas of sonically how to take it there, to capture that feeling that I wanted to get across to the listener. I thought it could be a more quiet or somber sound, but I also wanted it really dramatic. 


How many people have you unlearned?

Kind of a lot, I would say. Whether that's intentional or not, I've had bad friendship breakups in the past, and those hit hard. Sometimes you just fall apart from your friends, whether it’s because of distance or conflicting schedules. 

I think there is obviously a science to unlearning someone – the human brain does compartmentalize, storing trauma and removing things. Is that part of why the idea was fascinating to you? Because you have a synapse-level of understanding of it? 

I mean, when I was writing this song, I wasn’t thinking of any specific biology of it, but honestly, maybe it was unconscious that I'm relating neurobio to that concept…

Do your left and right brains fight a lot? 

Yeah, actually. Sometimes I take melodies or lyrics, and I almost look at them objectively, which is a bit different than other creatives. They just have a feeling. And I get that feeling too, but I also feel the more mathematical way of looking at melodies or lyrics, rather than a gut feeling or emotions that I lean towards. 

Great art is always the tension between structure and emotion, right? It seems like you live that every day. What is your dream for your artist project? Where does it lead you? 

I have a lot of plans. I've always been interested in film, and storylines, as well.
So, whether that's through visualizers or music videos, I want some type of world building. Not just sonically, there would be a whole world and almost characters. I have a lot of ideas, so hopefully I can get there.

What about you, in terms of personal goals, given you pivoted quite remarkably in your academic career? Do you ever plan on revisiting that?

I'll always still be interested in reading about news and healthcare. But I mean, it's, again, not so unrelated to music. It is healing. School is always there, so it's not something I'm completely abandoning, but music is definitely my ideal. 

I like it. Hopefully pivoting to some more fun questions. Do you have a dream lineup that you would love to be part of? 

I’d make a festival. I would say Mitski, Billie Eilish, Rosalía. 

That wasn't actually totally obvious. Tell me about liking Rosalía? 


Rosalía, I think her mind is number one. She's definitely an inspiration as far as creative boundaries go. She's just always willing to push just like, whatever she's imagining, like, you can see her execution. Not a lot of artists make me feel like that, where I'm impressed by their creativity and ability to push boundaries. 

World builder for sure. Some more fun questions – if everyone crashed your place, hungry, could you whip up a meal, and what would it be? 

I don't cook that much, but I can make them a mean egg and mushroom sandwich. You just cook eggs and then mushrooms with salt and pepper. Sunnyside up. That's my go-to. 

Love it. If you could be anywhere right now that's not here, where would you want to be? 


Maybe somewhere in Asia, traveling a big place. Maybe Korea, because a lot of my family's there. 

What do you miss most about when you go there? 

Probably the food. It's good in LA, but it's definitely different. It’s just less oily. That’s the biggest thing. They hold back.

That's a great answer. If you could travel back into time, would you want to, and where would you go? 

Probably not, I think I would want to stay in the present… or I'd rather go into the future, I think. 

Where would you want to go?

I'd probably want to see what all my grandkids are doing. Just what they're up to, what they're like. 

I like that. You're already presupposing two generations. That's good. Last couple of questions. If everything works out the way you want it to, and you're at the end of your life – obviously you have grandkids – what does that look like? What are you doing? What are you most happy about? What are you most proud about? 


Probably, honestly, the friends and family that I've made along the way, I think nothing could beat that. 

That's a powerful sentiment. That's what makes you human. 
Lastly, I’d like some recommendations. First, a non-music one… a movie, book, activity, etc. 

Probably a show. I would recommend Attack on Titan. It's pretty popular, but I love the plot and world building. The creator definitely thought out a lot of the details. It's hard to beat that show. 

Awesome. Now, I’d love a music recommendation. 

Definitely listen to Rosalía's new album. 


Crying City, what are your last words for us?

Look out for new music. I'll always be creating.