Artist Spotlight

Braiden Wang on Reclaiming Music and Building His Own World

Braiden Wang went from classical piano obligation to making music entirely on his own terms

Something Dope · October 13, 2026 · 4 min read

Press photo of Braiden Wang, San Dimas-based hip-hop and alternative artist

An Artist Spotlight, submitted by the artist in their own words and lightly edited by our team. We run these to put independent artists on.

How did you get started, and what's the short version of your story?

I've been playing music since I was young, but I didn't really become serious about it until high school. I had spent years practicing classical piano because I was expected to, and eventually I realized that I was really good at playing music without actually feeling connected to it. The turning point came after my freshman year. I started thinking about why I practiced and realized that I wanted music to be something I chose to do, rather than something I was doing because other people wanted me to. I had a conversation with my parents and basically told them that I needed to take ownership of my musicianship. From there, I started exploring production, songwriting, different instruments, and a much wider range of music. That completely changed my relationship with music. I went from feeling like I was trapped inside one way of making music to realizing I could build my own world with it. Since then, I've been developing as an artist, performer, and producer, and a lot of what I do now comes from that idea of making music because I genuinely want to.

How would you describe your sound to someone who's never heard you?

My sound sits somewhere between alternative hip-hop, R&B, soul, jazz, and rock. I like taking elements from completely different places and making them feel like they belong together. A lot of my music is dark, emotional, and atmospheric, but I also have moments that feel chaotic or unpredictable. I think of it less as fitting into one genre and more as building a world around whatever emotion the song is trying to capture. Some artists I can be likened to are Tyler, the Creator, Blood Orange, Tame Impala, and Puma Blue.

What are you most proud of so far?

I'm probably most proud of the first time I performed my own music and realized that people were actually connecting with it. For a long time, I was focused on being good at music, but I didn't really feel like it was mine. Getting onstage and seeing people genuinely respond to something I had written and created myself was the first time it really clicked for me. It made all the work feel personal in a way it hadn't before, and that's still what I'm chasing with my music now.

What's been the hardest part of the road, and how did you push through?

The hardest part was probably learning how to like music again. I had spent so many years being told to practice that I eventually started associating music with being forced to sit at a piano for hours. By freshman year, I was good at playing, but I honestly didn't care about the music itself. The turning point was realizing that I could choose what my relationship with music looked like. I stopped treating practice as something I owed other people and started exploring production, songwriting, different instruments, and music that I actually wanted to listen to. That took a while, but once I felt like the music was mine, I started enjoying the process again. I think almost everything I do now comes from that decision.

How does your city or scene show up in your music?

I think LA shows up in my music more through the people and environments around me than through specific sounds. I've grown up around a really active community of young musicians, producers, artists, and performers, and I'm constantly hearing things that push me in different directions. Playing shows, working with other musicians, and being around so many different kinds of artists has made me pretty comfortable with mixing influences that don't necessarily belong together. There's a lot of experimentation happening here, and I think that openness has definitely found its way into my music.

What's next for you?

I'm getting ready to begin rolling out my debut album, playing more shows with my band Onyx this year, and overall aiming to push things further. I want to keep breaking through whatever limits are in front of me.

Any advice for artists coming up behind you?

Numbers don't matter. The only thing that matters is whether you are content with your art and whether your art truly means something to you. Don't make soulless art. Express yourself to the fullest extent.