Before “PAPI” took off this week, LA ZANG had already looked beyond Yangon. In March 2026 he released “LIKE THIS” with Yohi, a rapper from the Philippines. Artis Hood, the Yangon team behind the PAPI video, introduced it as a Myanmar and Philippines collaboration that came straight out of AYTF2025, with the music dropping at 6 PM Myanmar time.
It is part of a bigger shift. Southeast Asia’s home-grown music now rules its own charts, and more and more of it is travelling to the neighbours. Indonesian dangdut reached 7.1% of Malaysia’s Spotify Top 50 by early 2026, up from under 1% in 2023, according to The Jakarta Post’s Weekender. The hipdut hit “Garam & Madu” charted strongly in Malaysia too. Thailand’s Jeff Satur, Dionela and BINI from the Philippines, and Indonesia’s Bernadya are all building audiences across nearby markets. BINI sold out the Philippine Arena and went on to play London and Los Angeles.
Producers travel too
The beatmakers are crossing over as well. Bobby Beatz, the Burmese producer behind “PAPI”, is the featured producer on Nepali rapper VTEN’s “CRMNL”, which has passed 41 million views. A scene that once had trouble getting out of the country now has its beats working in Kathmandu and its rappers trading verses with Manila.
