Baldwin Chiu (born May 17, 1974), known professionally as Only Won, is an American rapper, actor, producer and stunt performer. As a hip hop artist, he writes/performs rap,

beatboxing Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

, and

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music ( arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or ...

. 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 me ...

involved in

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

and choreographing

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery sp ...

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

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

, dcTalk, and

T-Bone The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

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

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

bilingual rapper. "This Chinese American rapper has a refreshing and unique sound with a message born out of experience, having been in the game since '91." At one point, he was labeled the "Christian" version of " Jin the MC".

Career

Among these things, Only Won is also 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 of ...

with a PE License deeming him the "Lyrical Engineer". 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) * Exposition (music) *Trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade e ...

of the life and livelihood of a professional engineer. It demonstrates Only Won's technological acumen as well as his lyrical wit and dexterity. Only Won is also a favored 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 The Dynamic Twins were a Bronx-born Christian rap group composed of identical twins Noel and Robbie Arthurton. Origins The twins moved to California circa 1989. The group's members began to make guest appearances on albums by other Christian ...

, 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 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, 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 a sequel to '' The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...

and

The Matrix Revolutions ''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months following ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The film stars ...

, 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 neo-noir crime thriller film written 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 released on March ...

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. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

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. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

, 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 2012,

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...

asked Only Won to be part of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

's national

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

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 one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busi ...

", titled "I Wanna Be An Engineer", which was a parody that reached viral status and caught the attention of CNN,

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 owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

, and

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work during a six-week period to build robots capable of competing in that year's game that weig ...

. The song became the anthem to those in the engineering, technology, and science community. It also reached No. 2 on Reddit.com on the viral hits list, gaining over 400,000 views in less than two weeks. 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. On May 2021, his multi-ward winning film Far East Deep South released on PBS 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.

Awards

Distinguished Service Award 1st ever Rising Star Award (2010).

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.

Outreach and Community Work

Only Won has worked with the community and uses his platform as an entertainer and engineer to encourage people to continue to seek out their dreams without giving up their education. He strives to use his music to bridge a culture that needs to hear and feel the love of God.

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