Who is Karen X Cheng?
Karen X Cheng is a well-known and respected music producer, multi-disciplinary creative, passionate entrepreneur, and YouTube vlogger. With an impressive background in many creative and entrepreneurial areas, Cheng has distinguished herself as an innovator in her field. From launching a web series and founding a clothing company to debating to grant a feature in the New York Times, Karen X Cheng has been creating waves in music and beyond.
Background
Karen X Cheng is a Bay Area-based artist, producer, and entrepreneur. Cheng is of Taiwanese-American heritage and attended Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California. Before graduating high school in 2005, Karen was accepted to a full scholarship at the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts with an emphasis in musical theater.
Music and Entertainment
As a musical theater student, Cheng experimented with making music and doing audio-engineering. After college, she went on to become a professional producer and songwriter working on projects with major labels like Universal Music Group and Sony Music.
In 2011, she started her own music production company, XMix Music House. X-Mix has worked on dozens of projects for major and indie labels, advertising campaigns, commercials, and video games.
In addition to producing and songwriting, Karen is also an A&R manager helping to find new talent and nurture promising careers. In 2015, she A&R’d Indonesian-American singer JAM de La Creme’s first major label EP and debut single “Right Here!”.
Creative Ventures
Karen is also a multi-disciplinary creative. In 2013, she created a web series called “The Hook Up”, a show about two roommates navigating through the tech and art scenes of San Francisco.
In 2014, she co-founded an independent women’s clothing label, 2AM Club. 2AM Club partners up with other independent designers to bring quality clothes to growing fashion communities.
Through her creative projects, Karen has received awards like YouTube Creative Fellowship and has been featured in publications such as Rolling Stone, GQ Magazine, Huffington Post, New York Times, and Forbes.
Public Speaking
Karen is a passionate public speaker and enjoys swapping insights on entrepreneurship and spreading her multimedia know-how. In the past, she has given talks at schools ranging from UC Berkeley to the Parsons School of Design. She has also been a TEDx speaker and leader of the YouTube Creator Academy.
YouTube
In 2010, Karen started her YouTube channel, where she candidly shares her creative process and lessons learned as an artist. She is transparent, quirky, and often shares her favorite tips and techniques on how to produce and create.
Her channel has now grown to over 12,000 subscribers and several viral videos. Her channel covers her travels, interviews with entrepreneurs, music production and video blogs.
Karen X Cheng is an example of a multi-dimensional and goal-oriented entrepreneur. She has taken inspiration from her life experiences to create remarkable projects and has inspired others to take risks and challenge the ways of traditional music and entertainment. She is an example of a creative voice navigating her way through the music industry and beyond.