Baek Ye-jin, known as MLMA (acronym for Me Love Me A Lot) is a pseudonymous South Korean-born artist, rapper, and fashion designer. She is known for surreal, sometimes grotesque imagery in a variety of artistic media.
Me Love Me A Lot | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1991 or 1992 (age 31–32)[1] |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2014-present |
Career
editMLMA began her artistic career after quitting a design job with MIXXMIX in 2014.[2] Her initial plans were to develop an independent line of socks, owing to a belief that most fashionable socks were either of poor quality or poor design.[2] She began to distribute many of her artistic creations via Instagram, often using simple art supplies sourced from dollar stores.[3] In 2017, MLMA went viral on Instagram after starting the "wavy brows" trend, a style imitated by Instagram influencers and a Snapchat filter.[4]
In music, MLMA is known for songs which, "while rooted in hip-hop, borrow heavily from K-pop and electronic music."[5] Her October 2018 single "Sweetie" was reviewed positively by Paper magazine as "brimming over with disaffected nonchalance ... in a laconic, half-rapped tone."[5] In May 2020, MLMA released a new single, "You Can't Kill Me I'm Alive."[6] She has been described as being part of the SoundCloud rap movement.[6]
MLMA is a lead designer at Korean streetwear label Skoot (sometimes stylized SKØØT), of which she is also a co-founder.[3][7] Her involvement with Skoot began after attracting attention at a solo art show in Toronto, Canada.[1] Many promotional images for the brand were taken from house parties, with the clothes modeled by MLMA's personal friends.[2] Skoot's sometimes eccentric style features original artwork by MLMA along with heavily anime-inspired imagery, making reference to prominent franchises like Neon Genesis Evangelion.[7] Billie Eilish was an early supporter of the brand, wearing Skoot apparel in her music video for the song "Therefore I Am" and also during her performance at the American Music Awards of 2020.[7] Since then, artists and groups who have worn Skoot include Rico Nasty, BTS, Rosalía, Blackpink, Grimes, and Jackson Wang.[7]
MLMA has appeared at haute couture events, often with an absurdist or whimsical style. She walked a show at Paris Fashion Week 2018 holding a replica of her own head.[8] In 2020, MLMA was the public face of the "KFC Crocs" campaign, a promotional collaboration between KFC and Crocs. MLMA appeared in a commercial promoting the shoes and personally modeled a platform version of the KFC Crocs at New York Fashion Week.[9] The shoes were distributed to celebrities like Kim Kardashian before becoming available for sale to the general public.[10]
Personal life
editMLMA was raised in a working-class neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea.[8] She spends about half her time in Canada, where she has family.[4]
In August 2020, MLMA posted several photographs of Post Malone to her Instagram account, causing hip-hop news outlets to speculate about the possibility of a romantic attachment between the two.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b Jackson, Jhoni (March 29, 2018). "Meet MLMA: The Viral Korean Artist Using Instagram to Disrupt". Paper. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c Ponzer, Paula (March 4, 2017). "Members Only: A Chat With Skoot Apparel's MLMA". mutzine. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Kim, Monica (February 27, 2018). "Meet the Risk-Taking Korean Artist Behind the Viral Wavy Brow". Vogue. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Weinstock, Tish (May 16, 2018). "this instagram artist is using her body to distort our perceptions of beauty". i-D. Vice Media. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Michael, Michael Love (October 23, 2018). "MLMA Is Not Your 'Sweetie'". Paper. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Runnells, Riley (May 22, 2020). "MLMA's New Single Is 'Crazy and Chaotic,' Just Like Her". Paper. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Allaire, Christian (December 9, 2020). "Billie Eilish (And Other Stylish Artists) Love This Anime-Inspired Streetwear Brand". Vogue. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Goldfine, Jael (February 12, 2020). "MLMA Serves Up Cursed Fashion in Crispy Crocs". Paper. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Wida, Erica Chayes (July 27, 2020). "Crocs just released KFC clogs – and they actually smell like chicken". Today. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Zhang, Jenny G. (July 23, 2020). "Feast Your Eyes on the Chicken-Scented KFC x Crocs Collaboration". Eater. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Dare, Angie (August 13, 2020). "Post Malone and Korean Rapper MLMA Have Pretty Much Confirmed They're Officially Dating. They also share a daughter together". SOHH. Retrieved January 17, 2021.