Khantrast

Anthony Zhang (born 17 December 1998), known professionally as Khantrast is a Chinese-American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City, USA.[1][2] With his first releases being posted on Soundcloud in 2017, Khantrast has since grown to be a prominent figure in the Asian-American rap scene.

Life and career

Anthony Zhang was born in December 1998 in Brooklyn, New York, United States to Chinese immigrants. Zhang is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and features Chinese lyrics in some of his songs. Zhang first started releasing music under the name Khantrast in 2017 on Soundcloud. Zhang has repeatedly stated how important his parents' immigrant background and his identity as an Asian-American child of immigrants is to his music. When launching his 2025 tour "Chinatowns Favorite" he exclaimed "This tour is for my parents — for every immigrant kid who sees themselves in my music."[3]

As of 2026, Khantrast is an independent artist, and alludes to the fact that he's not "backed" by a major record label in some of his songs.[4] Khantrasts' style has changed drastically over the years, but a sharp articulation and deep voice has given him a distinct vocal character present throughout all his music.[5] His music has always been strongly influenced by New York drill music. Early on, Khantrast's album and song titles, as well as the cover images, were heavily inspired by trends in the aesthetic rap community; With edgy or absurd titles, and a lot of anime imagery and references, Khantrast combined his characteristic voice with eye-catching titles and covers. The catchyness of his titles and particularly his music videos featuring scantily-clad anime girls became a staple of his early viral songs like She Bad (2022), Let's Ride (2022), and Big Stunna (2022), garnering millions of views on YouTube and getting millions of streams on music streaming platforms. Oftentimes, these were combined with samples of Latin music, perhaps owing to Brooklyn's large Hispanic community.

Since Landed in Brooklyn (2024) however, Khantrast's style has shifted significantly, with many of his listeners jokingly commenting in surprise how this is "the same guy that used to sing about anime girls" on his newer work.[6] Khantrast features less samples in more recent releases, favouring original mixes, but has expressed the Latin samples will return sometime in the future. Khantrast is known for making lighthearted music about serious topics, such as his song ADD which adresses mental health, but mostly through the lense of attractive women still being attractive if they are mentally ill.[7] His most famous bars often feature controversial subjects and are beloved by his listeners, but have also come under significant scrutiny by outside observers.

Controversy

Khantrast's 2024 hit single Landed in Brooklyn featured many bars that played off Khantrast's Asian heritage, and when the song got popular his lyrics ended up at the forefront of the discussion. Khantrast had played with his immigrant background and identity in a manner which some argued fed into racist ideas; wearing straw hats while spitting bars that played off Asian stereotypes in America, and even using ethnic slurs at times, but Khantrast claims to have always been mindful of his roots ever since he first started recording.[8][6] Others, however, have commended Khantrast's controversial lyrics as a daring creative decision that had led to commercial success.[1] Nonetheless, Khantrast's relatively prominent position in the rap scene—compared to other Asian-American rappers—have gotten him accused of playing into a trend of autocaricaturistic behaviour from Asian-American rappers in recent years.[9]

Discography

  • Alive ft. Vic Rogue & Ozzy Thr33 (2017)
  • Chun Li Remix (2018)
  • Unkle Adam (2018)
  • COOL KIDS (2018)
  • mr popo (2019)
  • Build with Me (2019)
  • Virgin Friends (2019)
  • Don't Hit My Phone (2019)
  • CARTOON POISON (2019)
  • List Of Regrets (2019)
  • Toxic Love (2019)
  • MY DATING PROFILE (2020)
  • When The Car Won't Start (2020)
  • Top 5 Favourite Chips (2020)
  • Rap Conversation (2020)
  • Best Pornstars Ever (2020)
  • Flower Girl (2020)
  • NARUTO BLUEBIRD FREESTYLE (2020)
  • I Am a Simp (2020)
  • D.K.C. (2020)
  • BANJO FREESTYLE (2020)
  • Jaslyn's Song (2020)
  • Mind Woke (2020)
  • Among Us Freestyle (2020)
  • Buy Me the Ps5 (2020)
  • 2d Girls (2020)
  • Crush (2020)
  • Jujutsu Kaisen Freestyle (2020)
  • My Soldiers (2021)
  • Kazekage (GAARA FREESTYLE) (2021)
  • Naruto Theme Song Freestyle (2021)
  • Stone Age (2021)
  • SHARINGAN (2021)
  • For the Boys (2021)
  • Full Metal (2021)
  • GROUND ZERO! (2021)
  • Tsukuyomi (2021)
  • Demon Slayer Freestyle (2021)
  • Eight Gates Flow (2021)
  • One Piece Freestyle (2021)
  • Big Stunna (2021)
  • Invincible Freestyle (2021)
  • You Know (2021)
  • So Wassup (2021)
  • Switch (2021)
  • When You Say Run (2021)
  • Genies in Bottles (2021)
  • Tokyo Manji (2021)
  • Squid Game Freestyle (2021)
  • I'm Toxic (2021)
  • Bunny Thot (2021)
  • Leave Me Alone (2021)
  • Kage of Games (2021)
  • She Bad (2022)
  • Shush (2022)
  • In the Family (2022)
  • You Got Jokes (2022)
  • First Date (2022)
  • Tokyo Stick Up (2022)
  • SLIDE (2022)
  • Bounty (2022)
  • Let's Ride (2022)
  • Panic! (2022)
  • Clear Skies (2022)
  • Blocked Your Call (2022)
  • Overdrive (2022)
  • Monsoon (2022)
  • Hot Dog Freestyle (Anthpo Hot Dog rap original) (2022)
  • Cyberfreak (2022)
  • Sike, I Lied (2022)
  • Oppsmas (EP) (2022)
  • HERMÈS BOX (2023)
  • Obey (2023)
  • Jump! (2023)
  • For the Streets (2023)
  • We'll get it Right (2023)
  • SHISUI (2023)
  • I'm leaving (2023)
  • Cupid's Freestyle (Fifty Fifty Cupid rap) (2023)
  • Kombat! (2023)
  • Hollows (2023)
  • Bad Man (2023)
  • Barbie Freestyle (2023)
  • Heart Attack (2023)
  • King Kai (2023)
  • SPECIAL GRADE DUO (TOJI DISS) (2023)
  • Red Sand (2023)
  • I Need Ya (2023)
  • Sinner (2023)
  • You Say You Love Me (2023)
  • Chinatown (2023)
  • Overthinking (2024)
  • Sukuna Freestyle (2024)
  • Ick List (2024)
  • Pistol (2024)
  • MASH (2024)
  • DrillKage (2024)
  • Oh We Know (2024)
  • Succubus (2024)
  • Landed in Brooklyn (2024)
  • Where The Hoes (2024)
  • Landed in Brooklyn - JADED Remix (2024)
  • Valedictorian (2024)
  • East Side Bop (2024)
  • Genghis (2024)
  • Landed in Brooklyn - Remix (Kyle Richh) (2025)
  • Chinatowns Favorite (album) (2025)
  • Man of the Year (2025)
  • Great (2025)
  • Where is the Bread (2025)
  • Did It Again (2025)
  • ADD (2025)
  • Move It (LIVE"On The Radar"Performance) (2025)
  • You The One (2025)
  • Grimey Freestyle (2026)
  • ADD - Remix (2026)
  • Fake Love (EP) (2026)

References

  1. ^ a b Tsai, Luke (2025-04-01). "Khantrast, the Internet-Famous Asian American Rapper, Kicks off Tour in SF | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  2. ^ "Khantrast". Genius. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  3. ^ Sparrow, N. W. O. (2025-03-30). "Khantrast to the World: 'This Tour is For My Parents — And Yours Too". Medium. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  4. ^ Adetola, Marcus (2025-08-31). "Khantrast Did It Again: Lyrics, Meaning, and the Choir-Lit Comeback". Neon Music. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  5. ^ dulaxi.com (2026-01-20). "Khantrast – Grimey Freestyle: A Grit-Soaked Declaration Of Raw Authority, Conviction, And Unfiltered Street Energy | Dulaxi". Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  6. ^ a b Adetola, Marcus (2024-10-27). ""Landed in Brooklyn": How Khantrast Went from Anime Rapper to Drill Star (And Actually Pulled it Off)". Neon Music. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  7. ^ Aurelius, Marcus (2025-10-03). "Khantrast gives a shout out to neurodivergents on 'ADD'". liftedasia.com. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  8. ^ Sparrow, N. W. O. (2025-03-24). "The New York Drill Scene Wasn't Ready for Khantrast — Now It Can't Ignore Him". Medium. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  9. ^ Aurelius, Marcus (2024-08-20). "Is Asian Hip Hop becoming a caricature of itself?". liftedasia.com. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
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