Baldwin Chiu (born May 17, 1974), professionally known as Only Won, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, producer and

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

. As a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artist, he writes/performs rap,

beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.singing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

. He is also a member of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

involved in

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

and choreographing

stunt A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...

work. Only Won started rapping professionally in 1991 after being influenced by hip hop pioneers

Run DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as ...

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

, dcTalk, and T-Bone. Because he started rapping in both English and Cantonese, some consider him to be the first

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

bilingual rapper. At one point, he was labeled the "Christian" version of " Jin the MC".

Career

Only Won is a professionally licensed

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

with a PE License, earning him the "Lyrical Engineer" nickname. The title track of his LP (The Lyrical Engineer), provides an

exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing *Exposition (narrative), background information in a story * Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut alb ...

of the life and livelihood of a professional engineer. Only Won is also a guest speaker at conventions, schools, and youth events challenging and encouraging the next generation to pursue their dreams and passions while maintaining an education and focus on God. Signed in 2009 under Los Angeles record label, LOG Records. Only Won has appeared as both a host and musical guest on JCTV and has been featured on collaboration albums. Only Won's release, "The Lyrical Engineer" is produced by Grammy nominated group Dynamic Twins, Billboard winner Maximillian and Larissa Lam. The music video was directed and edited by Emmy Award-winning director, Marlon Jones. Only Won and Larissa Lam launched a viral music video title "Cantonese Boy" which was a parody of the Grammy winning song

American Boy "American Boy” is a song by British singer Estelle (musician), Estelle featuring rapper Kanye West from the former's second album ''Shine (Estelle album), Shine'' (2008). The song was written by the artists, alongside Ethan Hendrickson, John ...

by Kanye West and Estelle. After being seen performing "Cantonese Boy" in Chinatown, Only Won was asked to perform at the 2010 Green Globe Film Awards as they honored Asians in film and entertainment. As an actor and member of

SAG SAG, SAg or sag may refer to: Land formations * Sag (geology), or ''trough'', a depressed, persistent, low area * Sag pond, a body of water collected in the lowest parts of a depression People * Ivan Sag (1949–2013), American linguist ...

, he appears in many feature films such as

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...

and

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. The direct sequel to ''The Matrix Reloaded,'' it is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months foll ...

, xXx2: State of the Union, Twisted, and Pursuit of Happyness. He has also provided music for the soundtrack of

Dead Man Down ''Dead Man Down'' is a 2013 American action thriller film written and co-produced by J.H. Wyman and directed by Danish director Niels Arden Oplev. The film stars Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, and Terrence Howard, and was rele ...

and the animated film, "The Monkey Prince". He is also an advanced level martial artists having trained under the lineage of Kanbun Uechi and Wong Doc-Fai. He is a 3-time UC Berkeley Wushu Champion in tai chi, weapons, and push hands and teaches Tai Chi in Hollywood. He has used some of his skills in choreographing fight scenes in movies and doing stunt work for

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

in the movie

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

. On April 29, 2010,

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

, honored high-achieving alumni at an annual award ceremony called the "Distinguished Service Awards". This is the highest recognized award for CSU Sacramento. Baldwin was recognized for his contributions in engineering, his performances as Only Won: The Lyrical Engineer and other entertainment industry endeavors as well as his work with youth. He received this award alongside KXTV ABC News anchor Cristina Mendonsa. On

Pi day Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (the 3rd month) since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant figures of , and was first celebrated in the United States. It was founded i ...

2012,

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

asked Only Won to be part of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's national

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

campaign titled, Stay With It, designed to boost retention of students in undergraduate engineering programs.

Only Won releases

Other work

Tai Chiu Music was set up in 2008. After moving its location from Sacramento, California, TCM joined forces with LOG Records and producer Larissa Lam in Los Angeles. In 2011, Only Won released a "Geeked out" remix video of the hit song "

Billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

", titled "I Wanna Be An Engineer", a parody that reached 1.2 million views on YouTube and caught the attention of

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

, and

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition operated by ''FIRST''®. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work to build robots capable of competing in that year's game. Robots c ...

. The song "Crush 'em Like Godzilla" was inspired by Ed Wang, the first NFL player of full Chinese descent. In summer 2012, Only Won released two songs on the video game '' Sleeping Dogs''. In Spring 2013, the song "JUN BAY" (aka: Get ready) was featured on the film

Reissues on other labels

LOG Records issued the 2010 release of ''Only Won-The Lyrical Engineer'' tracks for download, through major outlets (Amazon, iTunes, CD Baby, Nimbitmusic, etc.). Also featured with Holland music collaborating with One Truth.

Filmography

Film Maker

In 2015, Only Won produced a documentary short titled, Finding Cleveland with Larissa Lam as the director and music composer. It garnished multiple nominations for Best Documentary. In 2016, Finding Cleveland won Best Documentary at the Oxford Film Festival. The story started as a journey for him to search for his family roots, but instead of taking him to the far east, it took him into the deep south of Cleveland, MS. While the 12-minute documentary focuses on the family's discoveries about their roots, it also touches on a broader history, such as the treatment of Asian immigrants in the region and the role the Chinese Exclusion Act played in that. In May 2021, his multi-award-winning film Far East Deep South released on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

America ReFramed.Summer Evan
"‘Far East Deep South’ Shares Journey Of A Chinese Family Trying To Discover Their Ancestry In Mississippi,"
''WABE'', May 3, 2021.

Personal life

In March 2008, he married American talk show host, singer-songwriter, director and producer Larissa Lam. The couple currently reside in Los Angeles, California.

References

External links

Hear It FirstCross Rhythms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Only Won 1974 births Living people American beatboxers American choreographers American male film actors American mechanical engineers American musicians of Chinese descent American people of Hong Kong descent American rappers of Asian descent American stunt performers California State University, Sacramento alumni Engineers from California Male actors from the San Francisco Bay Area Musicians from Pasadena, California Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area West Coast hip-hop musicians 21st-century American rappers