IRONBOY was only eleven when he first heard Eminem, although by then he was already familiar with performing in front of an audience, having spent much of his childhood entering singing and dancing competitions. Growing up in Ratchaburi, a province in western Thailand, he had started singing at seven and was accustomed to the discipline that came with rehearsals, competitions and trying to impress judges, but discovering rap gave him something he had not quite found in those earlier experiences. He became fascinated by the way Eminem constructed his verses, studying his technique before attempting to write his own lyrics, and soon realised that rap offered him the freedom to speak about his experiences without having to dress them up as somebody else’s story. “What pulled me in was the honesty: in rap, there’s nowhere to hide,” he tells View of the Arts. “You can say exactly what you’ve lived, in your own words. That’s when I knew this was how I wanted to tell my stories.”
His interest in hip-hop developed during a period when Thai rap was beginning to reach a much wider television audience, and in 2018, at just nineteen, IRONBOY, whose real name is Sirisak Lekwatthanaroj, became the first winner of The Rapper Thailand, competing under the mentorship of TWOPEE Southside. His final performance drew on “Rangwan Dae Khon Chang Fan” (รางวัลแด่คนช่างฝัน), a song associated with the late Thai musician Jaran Manopet, and brought together the singing, rapping and dancing abilities he had been developing since childhood. The performance also reflected the pressure he had experienced while pursuing music, including the criticism and doubts he had faced from people who did not necessarily understand his ambitions. Winning the competition brought him national recognition, but it also meant that the young rapper who had spent years trying to prove himself now had to work out what kind of artist he wanted to become.
Eight years later, his priorities have changed considerably. IRONBOY still values the technical side of rap, especially the ability to control a flow, play with words and deliver verses with sharpness, but he no longer approaches every song as an opportunity to demonstrate that he can outrap somebody else. “Back then, I wanted to be the most skilled rapper in the room. Flow, technique, wordplay, that was everything to me,” he explains, adding that he now thinks more carefully about the people who will eventually listen to his music and the circumstances in which they might hear it. A song playing in somebody’s car, at a party or during a difficult day needs something beyond clever writing to remain memorable, and his experience has taught him that “Skill earns respect, but connection is what makes a song last.”
You can hear how his approach to music has changed over the years, especially when comparing his 2024 EP Pretty (SAD) Boy with PARTYNARY, a nine-track album released on 12 May 2026, which draws on his experiences of going out, meeting people and everything he experienced throughout his twenties. The latter includes “ISSA PARTY”, “Bali”, “Daddy”, “Baddie”, featuring Justmine JMNK, and “After party”, featuring KANPANITHI, with short, energetic tracks that suit the album’s interest in nights out, attraction and the excitement of being young. IRONBOY describes the record as “a diary of my life from 19 to 26”, a collection of experiences from the years when he was discovering what adulthood involved, making mistakes, falling in love and sometimes getting hurt along the way.
“Those years were loud, fast, and full of firsts,” he recalls. “The nights out, the people I met, falling for someone, getting let down, and getting back up again.”
Earlier in his career, IRONBOY spent a lot of time concentrating on his rapping skills and showing people what he could do, but these days he seems much more interested in making music that people can enjoy and relate to. With PARTYNARY, he wanted to share a different side of himself, one that people might not have seen during his time on The Rapper Thailand. Rather than focusing on competitions or trying to impress anyone, he chose to write about his own life, the people he met, the fun he had and the mistakes he made along the way. “People know the competitive side of me. With this album, I wanted them to meet the one who simply lives, who has fun, makes mistakes, and feels everything,” he says. “It’s a celebration of being young, and all those moments made me who I am.”
His musical interests have also become broader, and although hip-hop remains an important part of his work, he has grown increasingly comfortable incorporating R&B, pop, reggaeton and Brazilian funk into his sound, choosing whatever suits the particular song rather than worrying too much about how it should be categorised. What has changed most, however, is his relationship with his own background. Earlier in his career, he was keen to make music that sounded international, perhaps understandably for a young rapper who had grown up listening to American hip-hop, but he now believes that being recognisably Thai is one of the most valuable things he can bring to audiences outside his country.
“Earlier in my career, I tried to sound as international as possible. Now I think the most global thing you can do is sound like where you’re from,” he explains.
It is an interesting observation from an artist whose first introduction to rap came through Eminem, because the American rapper’s influence helped him discover the music he wanted to make, while growing older has encouraged him to think more carefully about what makes his own voice recognisable. IRONBOY is not suggesting that Thai hip-hop should avoid international influences; quite the opposite, as he enjoys bringing together rhythms and musical ideas from different places. What matters to him is that those influences work alongside his own experiences rather than making him sound like an imitation of somebody else. “If it feels true to me, it belongs in the song,” he says.
His catalogue also shows how comfortable he has become working with other artists, including collaborations with URBOYTJ on “Nisai Mai Dee”, TWOPEE and DJAYBUDDAH on “Let’s Be Friends”, and Tobii on “City Boy”. Alongside his solo music, these collaborations have given IRONBOY the chance to try different sounds, whether he is making something people can sing along to or a track they can dance to. The music has changed since his television debut, but his interest in rhythm, performance and the physical energy of a live show remains very much part of who he is.
That energy will soon travel beyond Thailand when IRONBOY performs at The A Festival in Paris, taking place on 24 and 25 October 2026 at the Paris Event Centre. The festival will welcome artists from across Asia, and for IRONBOY, it will be his first opportunity to perform in front of a European audience. He is clearly looking forward to the experience.
“I come from Ratchaburi, a province in western Thailand, and now I get to carry that with me all the way to Paris,” he says. “I’m bringing new sounds, high energy and plenty of movement.”
IRONBOY hasn’t lost the determination that helped him win The Rapper Thailand at nineteen, and he still wants to give people a performance they will remember. However, his reasons for making music have changed, and these days he is more concerned with enjoying what he does and making sure the audience enjoys it too. Now, after years of performing in his home country, he is getting ready to take the stage in Paris, where many people will have the chance to see him perform live for the first time.
“For anyone meeting me for the first time, I want you to walk away knowing exactly who IRONBOY is and what Thai hip-hop feels like live,” he says, before offering a final message to the audience waiting for him in France: “Paris, I can’t wait to see you!”
Written and interviewed by Maggie Gogler
Featured image courtesy of IRONBOY / Artist’s Team
View of the Arts is an online publication dedicated to film, music, and the arts, with a strong focus on the Asian entertainment industry. As we continue to grow, we aim to deepen our coverage of Asian music while remaining committed to exploring and celebrating creativity across the global arts landscape.
