As rappers out of the U.K., Africa and Japan have begun to make waves in the U.S., a new locale that is looking to put its name on the rap map in a big way is Thailand. But while one of the country's most promising prospects, DaBoy Way, resides in Thailand, his journey began stateside on the East Coast.

Born in Patterson, N.J, DaBoy Way moved to New York City, living in both Brooklyn and Queens, but eventually decided to move to the other side of the globe to get a crash course in the music industry. "I moved to Bangkok in about '97," DaBoy Way shares during a visit to the XXL office. "Stayed there for about two years, got into the entertainment business there, did a couple of things, acting, music, and then in '99, I came back to New York, got my GED, took some acting classes and was doing music."

The move back home may have been strategic, but a friendship DaBoy Way built with a rising Thai producer by the name of Khanngoen "Khan" Nuanual during his time overseas would prove to be his ticket into the music industry. Khan, who moved to San Francisco during the late '90s, would link up with Way and a mutual friend, Nay Myo "Day" Thant, forming the rap group, Thaitanium.

Releasing their debut album, AA, in 2000, the trio's star status eventually forced DaBoy Way to make Thailand his home for the longterm. "2006 is when we really popped off, our third album was a commercial success [overseas] and we was just touring like crazy so I officially moved to Thailand in 2009," he shares. "That's when I gave up my apartment here in New York and then I bought a crib over there and I've been living there since."

DaBoy Way may be a team player, but he's ready to give the world a full serving of what he has to offer with his own individual endeavors, which includes an upcoming solo album. Get the scoop on what makes DaBoy Way one to watch and why he should be on your radar.

Name: Prinya Intachai

Age: Early 30s

Hometown: New York City

I grew up listening to: "Lost Boyz, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas. Yeah, that was the golden era for me, the early '90s. Tupac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg. I definitely have influences from listening to Jay Z or Fabolous or somebody like that. When I was in Thailand, I was learning how to write and be in the studio. Just watching [Thaitanium group mate] Khan in the studio, penning my rhymes, and at the time, I couldn't speak Thai so I was just writing in English. And then when I came back to New York and the crew was all here, everybody was in the studio just writing, so I was just like, Yo, I'ma rap, I'ma write. So like '99-'00 is when I jumped in."

Most people don't know: "I got married pretty young. For me, being in Thailand and being in the spotlight, everybody would have thought that I would be the last one married out of the group, with all of the groupies and stuff. But then I met my wife and she changed me and I knew I wanted to be a better man, so it took the whole country by surprise 'cause they were like, 'He's got this bad boy image.'

"And my wife, in her own right, she does her own thing and she's got her own fan base. And then I looked at my life and when I met her and how much she had accomplished at her age and that kind of, like, woke me up. And I think that shaped me a lot into who I am today."

My style's been compared to: "I've heard I was the Asian T.I., I've heard that before [laughs]. But if you listen to my music and the catalog, I do a lot of different type of music. Like, on this track, I'll do a trap EDM song and then I'll sing on this track and then I'll do a world music type of track. I just love music and I'm influenced by everything and being able to travel at a young age, I was able to come across people and music and really soak it up, so everything influences my music."

My standout records to date have been: "The most views is 'Long Loey' [with Thaitanium], it means 'you're lost', it's kind of like an r&b/hip-hop song. We had my boy Bank [Clash] on the hook, he's a big pop artist out in Thailand. It has like 20 million views on it. We did a song with Snoop [Dogg] 'Wake Up (Bangkok City),' which is a song a lot of people have heard, and we've did a song with M.O.P., Nipsey Hussle, 'Las Vegas (Remix)', and [one with] Y.G., 'Driving Like I'm Loco (Japan BBK Remix).'

"As for my own solo stuff, this song called 'No Way Without You,' it's a Thai joint, but it's done pretty well in the past five or six months, it's gotten up to, like, 4 million views. And after 'No Way Without You,' the latest single, 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah'... it is an all-English song. I come from a hip-hop background so I rap usually, but as of late, the last couple songs, I've just been experimenting with singing."

My standout moment to date has been: "There was a film that I did called Rhythm of the Saints. I shot that in Washington Heights back in like 2000, and in 2004, it went to Sundance, so we went to Sundance Film Festival for that so that was a real dope experience. As far as music as a whole, I've been doing it for 16 years, I never thought I'd be doing anything for as long as I've been doing music. And I've been able to travel the world and meet new people, and interview.

"I never thought that I'd be interviewing for XXL or be on Hot 97 or performing at Summer Jam and all of that is through music [and] that's because I feel I never gave up. It's been a grind, but good things have come, you just gotta keep pushing. I never thought being born in Patterson, New Jersey, living in New York, that I'm gonna make it to Africa. So all of that, I don't take it for granted. Performing on stage and acting is like a high, but it's a different high. And I enjoy both of them."

My goal in hip-hop is: "I just wanna say if there's another Thai kid out there, or any kid that thinks that they want to be something, you just gotta keep doing it. I think that if you keep doing it and you never quit, one day, one thing, one way or another, something good is gonna happen out of it And I just want to continue to make music, I don't know how to do anything else. So just continue to make music, be happy, enjoy my family and make sure that they're good. I don't hope for anything, I don't want anything to be bigger than what it is, but just continue to make good music and touch the fans and have people be like 'hey, if he can do it, I can do it.' I just wanna show people that I exist."

What you can expect from me next: "I'm gonna have the Thaitanium album, I'ma have Daboy Way album by then end of this year, and then once I finish both albums, I'm probably gonna do a movie. I got my boy who's a film-writer, he's got the script and we're gonna film a movie and jump into that next. It's called Land of Smiles, but we're in pre-production right now. I'll be touring in Australia from September 15 through the 18th. I'll be in Africa, Reunion Island, for the end of September. Then I'm going to Switzerland November 26, and in October, I'll just be in Bangkok, touring Thailand.

Standout: "Yeah Yeah Yeah"

"No Way Without You"

"Long Loey"

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