When Republic Records Philippines’ newest artist Justin Vasquez sat down to write some music, the social media-savvy musician saw that sad songs were trending way too often on the short video platform TikTok. He wanted to create something that would be the stuff of dance videos on the platform, and his answer is the R&B jam “No Rush.” While responsible for the lyrics, he collaborated on the music with Sam de Leon, who also produced the track, and guitarist Kris Malana. The single is now out on all music streaming platforms.
Stream "No Rush" here.
Justin says that “No Rush” was inspired by R&B singer Chris Brown’s 2007 track “Take You Down,” a cut from the latter’s Exclusive album. In paying tribute to the Grammy-nominated track, Justin takes the song’s straightforward treatment of a night to remember and adapts it to a song that goes back and forth between English and Filipino. It is a playful song that highlights the natural talent Justin has and the way he uses it to keep his sound fresh.
“No Rush” is the kind of song that will be heard on screen just as a couple rushes into a room and the moments before it all fades into black, Justin says. As he hopes to become more consistent in dropping his original tracks, we can’t wait to hear what other sonic treats he has in store after hearing this naughty and catchy number.
The song contains explicit lyrics.
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ABOUT JUSTIN VASQUEZ
Promising the vibe: Justin Vasquez brings on his music
Even though Justin Vasquez is a native Caviteno, he grew up in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city. He finished secondary school there and is now back in Manila, where he is starting a new phase of his music career with Republic Records Philippines. He has built a strong following online before joining the label, with more than a million YouTube subscribers waiting to hear from him. With the kind of attention he pays to online developments, he is able to craft music that keeps him in the conversation.
Justin’s musical roots can partly be traced to his mother, who works at a Melbourne casino and a call center. “My mother was a singer,” he says, and proudly adds, “and a six-time volleyball MVP in high school.” His father, on the other hand, is a self-employed businessman who runs businesses in the city. Both of them have helped him grow in various ways, he says, with his mom being consistently supportive in all his endeavors, and his dad a useful source of constructive and fair criticism.
Justin grew up wanting to try everything. He has tried multiple sports, including basketball, boxing, mixed martial arts, and golf. He has also learned how to play several musical instruments (even without formal training, he notes). His curiosity about trying new things is not a sign of overachievement, he says, but rather a passion for whatever he wants to do.
This passionate commitment to doing something helped Justin in a big way when he started to get into music. He grew up seeing his mother with her brothers in a band that rehearsed every week at their place. Eventually, he got to learn the piano and, when hearing one of his mother’s original songs, the seed of a dream was planted. He wanted to write his own stuff.
Justin says that making music early on wasn’t a high-pressure affair. “I wasn’t too worried [about] failing because [at] the back of my head, [I knew that I] was going to college,” he says, “But it was definitely exciting slowly going through different genres of music.”
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