Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
The HU are a Mongolian heavy metal group with a powerful mission—to share their country’s rich culture with the world. Their music blends traditional Mongolian folk sounds, including the art of throat singing, with a bold modern edge. Their songs draw inspiration from ancient poetry and battle chants, creating a sound that feels both deeply rooted and refreshingly original. This distinctive style has earned them a massive global following, with each new release and tour attracting even more devoted fans.
I had the chance to sit down with the four founding members for an interview, joined by a translator, during the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Band Members:
Nyamjantsan "Jaya" Galsanjamts – (tumur hhuur, tsuur, throat singing)
Galbadrakh "Gala" Tsendbaatar – (morin khuur, throat singing)
Enkhsaikhan "Enkush" Batjargal – (morin khuur, throat singing)
Temuulen "Temka" Naranbaatar – (tovshuur, backing vocals)
We just started the festival, but that’s the best show I’m going to probably see, so thank you!
Temka - Thank you very much.
Your two highest streamed singles, (“Yuvu Yuvu Yu” and “Wolf Totem”) have over 140 million YouTube views combined. Were you surprised by the level of popularity it achieved online?
Jaya - Of course, you know, we wanted to have some kind of success and when we started this thing. We wanted to share our Mongolian culture with the world, and when we posted those singles on YouTube, the numbers went so high and so fast. We were super happy with the outcome.
What was it like meeting the president of Mongolia? Is the president a fan of your music?
Enkush - It was a great visit! First of all, it was a great honor for us meeting our president. He’s a rocker guy. He loves rock music. AC/DC. Metallica. So it was a very friendly visit. He was super down to earth. In the past, he actually worked with our producer Dash (Dashdondog Bayarmagnai), and so, it was a good meeting.
That’s a good segue into our next question! You were asked to participate in a 30th anniversary album for Metallica called Metallica Blacklist. They are local legends here. Were you big fans of them growing up? And what was that experience like?
Gala - Well of course, you know, we’ve all grown up listening to Metallica. They’re our idols.
Enkush - We have always looked up to them and we were dreaming to be like them, and working with them was just amazing. It’s a dream come true.
When did it start that people shouted “HU” at your shows? Does that happen most of the time?
Temka - (laughs) You know, every show we go to the people chant “HU! HU!” Especially at our headline shows. We’ll be in the green room changing and when people start chanting, “HU! HU!”, we’ll know that time is up and we’re ready to perform. And yeah. Everywhere we go, the people chant “HU!”
It made me feel like I was at an AC/DC show where people chanted “Oy!” or a Ramones show. It felt great!
Temka - Yeah!
Of all the bands who start with “The”, who is each of your favorites, besides “The HU” obviously!
Enkush - The Strokes (pointing to interviewer)
Yes! I’m glad someone finally understands my costume! (dressed as Fabrizio Moretti, drummer of the Strokes, who are headlining that nite).
Jaya - The Kooks
Gala - The other Who
(laughs) Nice! I saw them play at this festival at the same stage you just played actually. And what was yours?
Temka - The Beatles
Can’t go wrong there! Do any of you ever sing English language karaoke songs, but in a traditional Mongolian throat singing voice?
The HU - (laughs) Yes.
(laughs) What are some favorites?
Gala - (in regular speaking voice) “Can’t take my eyes off of…” (in Mongolian throat singing voice) “YOUUUUUUUUUU.”
(laughs)
Temka - (in Mongolian throat singing voice) “I LOVE YOU BABYYYYYY.”
Incredible… Thank you!
Translator - Picture?
Yeah!
The HU - (while posing for picture, in unison Mongolian throat singing voice) HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Photo Credit: Enkhbat Nyamkhishig
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In 2025, many artists are multihyphenates and Umario has added his name to that list. Coming from the world of dance both as a choreographer and performer, he jumped into the music world and released his first song on streaming services in 2021 called “Emotions.” He’s now returned to the music world with his second single of the year, titled “Foolish Games.”
The track “Foolish Games” and its accompanying music video both come from personal places for Umario. As he wrote the song while flying back from Seattle to Los Angeles, he began to reflect on the people in his life and if they were truly there for him.
“The song is almost a prayer to a higher power. I’m asking for clarity to know who really cares for me and who is wearing a mask. I’d describe it as a hip-hop prayer, an electronic poem and an open letter. It covers trust, betrayal and self recognition. The latter comes from looking in the mirror and not recognizing myself. ” he said.
The recording process for the song came in two parts. Part one was done by Umario by himself on his own equipment at home. Part two came after playing it for friends, who encouraged him to record in the studio officially, which he did with his mixing engineer Ben. The two of them changed some things on the song together and the finished product is what listeners hear on streaming services.
As aforementioned, Umario is also a dancer and a choreographer so naturally the music video for the song features his choreography. The music video enhances all the topics the song touches on as his choreography adds even more layers to the personal story he is telling.
“The music video depicts the internal conversation within the song. Each character in the video is played by me because they represent the perspectives I’m speaking from in the song. The religious elements are reflected through the visuals too as I’ve always been drawn to those religious symbols and elements and had a clear vision of doing choreography in a church.” he said.
For Umario, the worlds of dance and music are one in the same. He’s been connected to various art forms since the age of 11 and started writing song lyrics at 16. Visual expression of creativity has been a part of his entire life.
“I’ve never done my daytime job as a dance instructor without music. But at the same time, you can create a dance without a song and you can create a song without a dance. Both with music and dance, there is progression. I try to tell a story when I dance and I try to tell a story with my music. For me it’s all one thing. Dance, music, fashion, visuals and choreography, they’re all a part of one huge component I want to give to the world.” he said.
Whenever Umario is performing, whether it be music or dance, the fire in his heart and soul is his motivating factor. He loves connecting with the audience on stage and that same love is present even when he’s doing choreography for a recorded video.
“I wanted to put what motivates me into this song. I want people to never lose their fire or their spark and keep dancing through the infinite portal. People inspire me and I love connecting with them. As artists, there's a bit of narcissism to what we do because we want attention for what we’ve done. But, in some cases that attention can be wholesome and motivating. Recently, a woman reached out to me and showed me art she drew based on my first music video. Knowing my art inspired somebody else’s art gave me so much love and satisfaction. Being an inspiration like that is very motivating.” he said.
Umario has much more in store for this year including releasing another single, more music videos, dancing and collaborations. In fact, he’ll be performing the new single at Club Jeté in West Hollywood.
“Foolish Games” by Umario is available on streaming services now.
You can keep dancing along with Umario by connecting with him on the following platforms.
Apple Music
Spotify
YouTube
Instagram
TikTok
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