Ambition is the watchword for local musician Thomas Veli. After years of self-taught song-writing and creative development, this spring Veli performs on May 22 at Lakehouse’s No. 10 community artist showcase, and then two weeks later, he releases his debut EP.
Ranging from rap, pop, and R&B, Veli writes, performs, and produces with his sights on the Popstar icon, which he describes as a mix of music, identity, and timing. “For me, ‘popstar’ is not just about fame,” Veli explained. “It is a mindset. It is confidence, creative freedom, world-building, and believing in your vision before everybody else sees it.”
At the Lakehouse performance, Veli expects to highlight his most popular songs, including Ham Choi, Locked In, Chop Chop, and Ready For The Weekend, while also introducing new material. “When I build a live set, I usually think about energy first, then flow, then identity,” he described. “I want the set to show range, but I also want it to feel cohesive and engaging in the room.” He’s aiming to balance strong performance energy with the emotional side of his music.
Those emotions started young, when Veli grew up hearing his parents play Vietnamese music at home. “I was first drawn to singing after watching High School Musical as a kid,” Veli remembered, and the movie inspired him to pursue singing. Veli’s father also played guitar and bass, serving as a role model for Veli’s own study of the saxophone starting in fifth grade.
Later, Veli began to watch hip-hop and rap videos on MTV and BET. “I was drawn to the full experience of it, not just the songs, but the visuals, the confidence, the performance, and the emotion,” he recounted. “Artists like Chris Brown, T-Pain, T.I., and Fabolous made music feel larger than life. It felt like its own world.”
It was the multi-faceted nature of this music, with its combination of style, personality, storytelling, and energy, that drew Veli in. “I did not fully have the words for it back then, but I knew I was drawn to artists who could make people feel something and build a strong identity through their work,” he said.
As Veli transitioned away from the saxophone toward rap, he found rap to be a more approachable avenue into music. “I was initially drawn to rap because of the confidence, attitude, freedom of expression, and rhythm,” he recalled. “It felt raw and direct.”
Discovering Asian and Asian American artists like Timothy DeLaGhetto, RUSSELL!, Dumbfoundead, and Lil Crazed, Veli saw possibilities for his own musical expression. As a teen, he performed at school talent shows and eventually received opportunities to open for artists he had watched on YouTube. Later, he recalls being one of the first local rapper-singers to perform at Tet in Seattle in 2016.
But Veli’s musical journey didn’t always meet with favor in his family. “Rap in particular had a reputation for profanity and rebellion, so there were times when it felt like what I loved most was exactly what was least understood at home,” Veli shared. “I remember my parents banging on my bedroom door and telling me to stop cursing while I was recording my music.”
Veli says his parents came from a more traditional immigrant background, and did not view music as a realistic career path. At the time, he recalls feeling that they were unsupportive, but now, as an adult with a career in IT, Veli says that he and his parents have had a meeting of the minds about music as a creative outlet.
Currently, Veli aims to blend pop, rap, and R&B in a cinematic way. Directly inspired by a song by Drake entitled Popstar, along with its accompanying video starring Justin Bieber, Veli pairs his music with visuals and branding to expand upon the Popstar theme. “I want people to feel like they can be popstars in their own lives too,” he added, “in their passions, their work, and their dreams, whatever that looks like for them.”
After making music and recording singles for fifteen years, Veli feels the next phase is to release his first EP. “This is the first project where I feel like the songs truly belong to the same world,” he said. “I also want to create moments around the project beyond just the release itself, so people feel like they are stepping into a world, not just hearing a collection of songs.” He is planning a live listening experience on June 5, and expects to release more details soon.
And Veli has no shortage of plans to follow this debut EP. “My plan is to keep building the rollout through short-form content like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, live performances, visuals, my website and electronic press kit, and outreach to local media, podcasts, and community platforms,” he said. The point of all this is not just to amplify Veli’s passion for music, but also to share his commitment to building community.
Fundamentally, for Veli, growing up in the U.S. provoked an overarching insecurity. “I often felt like I was not enough, not smart enough, not talented enough, not cool enough, not American enough, not Vietnamese enough, not Chinese enough,” he elaborated. “I often felt like an outcast, like I did not fully belong anywhere.”
In response, he cites his song Locked In, in particular, as a way to communicate about insecurity, trauma, and mental health. “Even through all the nuances and weight of life, the message is that you still have to lock in, keep pushing through challenges, and keep reaching toward your goals,” Veli emphasized. With his music, Veli wants to reach others who’ve had similar experiences and to persuade them that they, too, belong.
The Lakehouse No. 10 is performed on May 22 at The Mountain Room, 3100 Airport Way South, Seattle.
