Classmates who remember Matt Cabuloy ’09 for his
interest in Japan or his singing at local cafes and festivals
might not at all be surprised to learn that he had a No. 1
R&B album in Tokyo last year.
A San Francisco native of Filipino descent, Matt Cab
(as he is professionally known) says he always had an
interest in Japan. At Lowell High School, he started
studying the language. That just led to more curiosity.
“I’ve always thought of Japan as an interesting and
innovative place both
artistically and technologically
and found myself drawn
to the culture since childhood,”
Cab said.
So it was natural for him
to go on a study abroad trip
to Sophia University in Tokyo
for a year to gain more
experience with the culture
and the language, which he
also studied at USF. “When I
came to study here as an
exchange student I immediately
fell in love with Tokyo.”
Following his graduation
from USF with a degree in
business, Cab started to pursue music more seriously,
producing videos and posting them on YouTube to go
along with his local performances.
“Luckily the videos got a lot of good exposure and
even the attention of some industry people, including
Jordan Knight (lead singer) of New Kids On The Block,”
Cab said.
Within six months of graduating, Cab moved to Tokyo
to pursue music and then received a huge break. “I was
blessed to receive a call from a Japanese music label who
saw my videos on YouTube and offered me a music deal,”
Cab said. “From there I released my debut album, “The
One,” and fortunately it did really well, reaching number
one on the R&B album Japanese iTunes chart for three
consecutive weeks.”
Since then, things have picked up for Cab, who has
done a number of shows in Tokyo and around the
country to promote his music. He’s released a cover
album, “Flashback,” and also is writing and recording his
second original album, scheduled to be released this fall.
He’s hoping to write songs for major U.S.-based artists
while continuing to develop his own career as an artist in
the U.S.