Photo by Adrienne J. Romero / SOC Images.
In 2022, Frocious’ music career changed with just one song: “moving on.”
Three years later, the hyperpop-meshed-R&B song has now recorded over four million plays on Spotify, and, recently, made a crowd roar at a sold-out FIRSTLIVE show in Brooklyn as they got to hear one of Frocious’ hit songs.
Frocious, whose name is Joseph Meija, talked to Slice of Culture outside of the venue—which showcased a number of artists and bands from New Jersey—and emphasized his dream to represent the Philippines in mainstream music and to continue using Filipino and New Jersey influences in his work.
“As a Filipino American artist, personally I feel that Filipino-American heritage and identity kind of gets lost in the creative world. I feel like not many of us are really seen in the mainstream line,” the Jersey native told Slice of Culture.
“Even though we do have a bunch of artists that are like half Filipino who are really big… but it’s not really represented as much on a big stage. And I just hope that one day if I become bigger as an artist, I can really represent the Philippines.”
Roots & Influence
Born and raised in North Jersey, Meija got into music about 10 years ago when he was around 16 years old. He started out with electronic music and got gigs dj-ing for parties and private events, but soon enough, he began to wonder what if he made his own music to play at events?
Now a decade later, he’s done just that.
Going by Frocious—because he used to have a “fro” of hair—he’s performed at open mics, lake-side shows and venues like at FIRSTLIVE BUSHWICK. The coffee shop-studio featured other artists including Puri, Aloeveria, Patrick O’Neill and Mxjia, Frocious’ older brother and a DJ.
Frocious draws inspiration from different people in different genres, like Lauv, Jane Remover and Martin Garrix. He added that he’s been implementing a lot of pop and R&B into his music, leaning into the popular music genre of his Filipino culture, with some doses of Jersey Club.
That’s the sounds you’ll be hearing in his upcoming singles.
“I think the more I was exposed to [Jersey Club] and being around people in New Jersey playing that type of music, I really started to see how people could vibe with it, dance to it at the club, etc. And I started to feel like I should really incorporate that into my music because, you know, I’m born and raised in New Jersey. What better way to represent it than in my music?” he smiled.
A Growing Fanbase
“Moving on” dropped back in March 2022 with a feature from bixby, an up-and-coming artist. At first, it wasn’t doing big numbers but suddenly, the Jersey artist saw a growth in his listeners, followers and the song was even getting suggested on radios and to other big artists that he admires.
“When I first started making music, I liked the music that I was making, like in the moment but over time, I didn’t really like it anymore ,” he laughed. “But recently, over the past few years, something that I’m really proud of is that I’ve made music that I can go back to and really listen to. And no matter how old it gets, I can still be proud of it and really enjoy what I made.”
“… My favorite song that I’ve made, I’m gonna say ‘moving on’ because it really changed my career.”
Frocious’ last release was “HYPERNOVA” in December 2024, but he confirmed to Slice of Culture that he’s working on two new singles, with one of them dropping later this month.
In a 2020 study from Pace University, it analyzed the lack of Asian American representation in American pop music. And while more recent analyses see an increase of Asian artists in the music scene, Frocious emphasized that it can’t stop now.
“The advice I would give to my fellow Asian American creators is to never give up no matter what people tell you [if it’s] family, friends or whatever, whether or not it’s a financially stable career. I believe that you should always do what you love. I know it sounds a little bit cliche, but I think you’ll truly find happiness in your career regardless of how much money you make… If you really love something, then you should go for it. Don’t hold back. Just go for it 100%.”
