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AYI JIHU - CHINA’S 1ST R&B STAR AND ICON
By: Terrance Hazly
From humble beginnings in Leibo sichuan China, Ayi Jihu has risen to be-
come China's first real crossover R&B star and icon. She is now ideally
poised to integrate the East and the West and I had the opportunity to in-
terview this international sensation.
You are a very interesting lady people should know about, tell the
world about the "Chinese Star" Ayi Jihu & who you are.
I was brought up from a village called Leibo in Sichuan, China, after I lost my father my aunt
was determined to get me to come to England and have more opportunities in life and by the
grace of God, I was able to come to England, later along with family to live here permanently.
I've always loved music singing and dancing, was always involved in anything that was related
to entertainment while I was at school in China.
I've always wanted to be a pop star but after coming to England without speaking a word of
English and having to start a new life I had to start from scratch and put that dream aside. I was
young and with the hard discipline and push from my aunt I learned English very quickly yet I
was old enough not to forget my Chinese.
Living in England has opened up my eyes and mind, learning about different cultures and differ-
ent ways of people, and experimenting with different types of music. I found my love with RnB,
Hip Hop, Dancehall and Reggae, because when I hear them I just automatically started danc-
ing. So I sneaked out to clubs learning to dance like the sisters lol, and eventually many would
come up to me and compliment my dancing.
It was through a friend's invite to a video shoot that opened the door of Ayi Jihu. It was my danc-
ing that caught my now manager/producer's eye, and later on we talked and realized I was what
he was looking for as a crossover artist and he was who I was looking for to be my mentor. We
started recording music and very quickly the Sands in Macau invited me to do shows and from
there, we never looked back!
We've always believed that I will reach my Chinese people as well as the western people, be-
cause I’ve been blessed to absorb the cultures and try to understand people's different customs
and still have my Chinese roots. So hopefully I can be a voice for the minorities. (I am also one
of the 55 minorities from China called Yi)
Let's talk about your many talents. Modeling, being an actress singer & an ambassador.
When did you decide to make a run at all levels of the game?
Pretty much from the start, we build our foundations on all levels not limiting ourselves to what
we can do. I see being in the public eye has the responsibility of many others whether