Friday, December 6, 2013
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Thursday, November 21, 2013
YouthBuild USA: Sorng's Success Story
YouthBuild USA: Sorng's Success Story: http://www.providenceplan.org/matriarch/MultiPiecePage.asp_Q_PageID_E_87_A_PageName_E_ybmeettrainees Sorng Heng has a very fascinating sto...
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
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Monday, September 30, 2013
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Sulu DC Showcases Asian-American Hip-Hop Culture
Among its many activities, the group Sulu DC has become known in the last few years for spotlighting local Asian-American hip-hop culture. But tonight it's importing some culture from other cities, with a headlining set from San Francisco sensation Rocky Rivera at U Street Music Hall. The showcase is called "Miss Fortune: Spotlight on AAPI Women in Hip-Hop" and it also features New York rapper-violinist duo Misnomer(s) and the high-flying Kickrocks dance crew. Spoken-word poet Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is hosting and performing and The Pinstriped Rebel is DJing.
"We're all about shattering stereotypes," says Sulu co-founder and Columbia Heights resident Simone Jacobson. One misconception: That Asian American hip-hop culture is an outlier in D.C. It's actually pretty vibrant, says Jacobson. "I'm a b-girl [as in breakdancing], and the other co-founders of Sulu also have extensive hip-hop backgrounds," she says. Regie Cabico and Jenny Laresare local spoken word pioneers, and Alex Cena is a hip-hop and youth activist. "Asian-Americans are at the forefront of the next international hip-hop evolution. [West Coast trio] Far East Movement are extremely hot right now, and there's a lot more diverse talent where that came from."
Monday, May 27, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The World’s Best Dance Crew :: How Korean B-Boys Conquered Planet Rock
How did South Korea come to rule the b-boy world? What role did Asian Americans play? When I visited the 2008 R16 competition in Suwon, heads dropped a history of breaking and hip-hop in South Korea and Korean America on me…
This summer, the United States is reaching new heights of dance fever as TV shows like Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and MTV’s “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew” have returned to the airwaves.
MTV’s runaway hit is considered especially cutting edge, showcasing hip-hop dance groups from across America. But if MTV really wants the best dance crew, it should be looking in South Korea.
“Of the top six or seven crews in the world, I’d say half of them are from Korea,” says Christopher “Cros One” Wright, 33, an American dance promoter and b-boy who was recently in Suwon, South Korea, to judge the second annual global invitational hip-hop dance competition, called R16, that was held at the end of May.
The development of South Koreans’ hip-hop dancing could be seen as a cultural parallel to their sharp global ascendance in electronics and automaking. A decade ago, Koreans were struggling to imitate the Bronx-style b-boy and West Coast funk styles that are the backbone of the genre. Now, a handful of these crews are the safest bets to win any competition anywhere.
Certainly no country takes its hip-hop dance more seriously. The Korean government — through its tourism board and the city of Suwon — invested nearly $2 million in this year’s competition. Two of the most successful teams, Gamblers and Rivers, have been designated official ambassadors of Korean culture. Once considered outcasts, the b-boys now seem to embody precisely the kind of dynamic, dexterous and youthful excellence that the government wants to project.
Name of the Game
Far*East Movement was a staple of MTV Chi (when it existed) and has since collaborated with Asian American figureheads Jin and Justin Lin and performed shows around the world (from Korea to Brazil) -- increasing community visibility and challenging the definition of hip-hop.
The name of any band or musical group signifies more than just their aural styling. It is a statement. It's why 95 South -- most known for 1993 single "Whoot, There It Is" -- came and went, while Public Enemy remains in the hip-hop cultural consciousness. For Kevin Nishimura, James Roh, and Jae Choung, otherwise known respectively as Kev Nish, Prohgress, and J-Splif, the moniker of Far*East Movement is concurrent ode and promise. It simultaneously harks to past unsung Asian American rappers and celebrates present rappers in the community. It also signals the potential of an as-yet unseen wave of Asian American wordsmiths.
The guys are all about community: both with Asian Americans and with fellow musicians. Far*East Movement (or FM) knows the well-worn mainstream perceptions and stereotypes about Asian Americans, and they are well-versed with the fine lines they must navigate between the contesting realms that beset Asian American rappers. They have collaborated with Asian Americans artists like Jin, Ken Oak, Justin Lin, and Todd Angkasuwan. And yet, they have also worked with non-Asian American musicians they respect such as rap trio The Procussions and Zack de la Rocha, best known as front man of now defunct Rage Against the Machine.
To combat the lack of Asian American representation in hip-hop, Far*East Movement has opted to defy the confines of either ethnicity or musical genre that "Asian American rap" implies. This dual reach for equality and talent promotes an all-access(ness) of hip-hop that is beyond labels.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Can an Asian Woman Be Taken Seriously in Rap?
As we take a few pictures outside Everyman Espresso in the East Village, Nora Lum has a question: "Do you want to do them with the Awkwafina glasses?” She’s referring to what she wears as her rap alter ego, Awkwafina. She bought the thick, aviator-style, brown translucent-plastic frames at a Salvation Army and filled them with her prescription. They stretch her face — either to comedic or hipster proportions. I can’t decide.
Lum — in a bright red sailing jacket, lips to match, and a navy beanie atop her rumpled but stylish bedhead — is a natural in front of the camera, but she doesn’t know it yet. A man walks by and tells her she is beautiful. (“Thank you!” she says, appreciative but still surprised.)
“Awkwafina is more confident and out there,” she tells me afterward. “I don’t think that Nora embodies the shy Asian girl, but I don’t think that I would be able to say the kind of things [Awkwafina says].” As Nora, she is sharp and wisecracking (“What’s your drink?” I ask her. “Like half a beer because I’m Asian,” she responds in her deep, throaty laugh), though she sits in front of me with back hunched, fingers peeking meekly out of her jacket sleeves to hold her small coffee. She speaks with awe of Haruki Murakami and disgusted sarcasm about the hipsters she thinks have drowned Williamsburg. She calls me "girlfriend" and tells me earnestly how much she loves Ted Danson on Cheers.
Later, in front of the camera outside, her alter ego comes with the same glasses those hipsters wear. As Awkwafina, she offers a pouty sneer, throws up faux gang signs, sticks out her tongue, and flicks me off with a raised eyebrow.
Lum began by dabbling in rap at 17, seven years ago, producing her own tracks quietly and messing around with the program GarageBand (she has since moved on to Ableton, a less amateur option). After leaving a corporate publicity job, she became obsessed: Sometimes she’ll sit for 72 hours straight working on one song — messing with different beats, writing lyrics, putting it all together. Lum’s aural choices are sometimes delicately tinny, sometimes grungily thumping. Her lyrics have a provocative showiness and enough wit that her occasionally droll delivery has been categorized as Daria-like.
Awkwafina has also been compared to Kreayshawn, but maybe that’s just because there’s few new female rappers out there to reference. She doesn’t have Kreayshawn’s danceable, cartoonish femme style or Nicki Minaj’s almost-alien diva attitude or Azealia Banks’s deliciously dirty mouth or Iggy Azalea’s slow-moving swagger. In fact, in her Seinfeld-ian commentary on some of life’s more mundane details (flu shots, Ikea, turning red when she drinks), she more closely resembles Childish Gambino — Donald Glover’s rap alter ego — in terms of lyrical content and quick, smart turns of phrase. You could call her a thinking person’s rapper, one who takes herself just seriously enough to produce something that stands out for being funny. Take, for example, her recent video of “NYC Bitche$”: It features her reading Joan Didion (The White Album, one of her favorite books), hugging an inflatable penis (a gift from a friend for her 16th birthday), and referencing Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” video (the car scenes).
“I think rap in general allows you to be more lyrically expressive,” Lum says. “It’s a lot easier to state your identity, as opposed to with a guitar making all these weird metaphors.” She also doesn’t want to make political songs, or anything she feels is too “culturally representative.” And though she’s been flexing her comedic muscles in her first songs, she’s not even sure she wants to do that regularly: “I can’t tell if I want to be a rapper who’s funny because I kind of enjoy just doing really stupid songs about nothing,” she says. “But I want to have a career that’s long-lasting and I don’t think people want to listen to a straight-up comedy rapper all the time.”
Still, without even trying, her songs have become more than jokes. Her first single,“My Vag” — Awkwafina’s a genius/ And a vagina is 50 times better than a penis — was released in October 2012 and almost instantly picked up by the Hairpin, the Frisky, Bust, and other lady blogs and magazines. Lum didn’t intend it to become a feminist anthem. “If you spin it to be a feminist song, there’s always going to be something offensive about it because I didn’t write it for that: It’s just a very crass celebration of having a vagina. Not a PC one.”
If “My Vag” put Awkwafina on the map, “NYC Bitche$,” which she released in March of this year, further established her presence as a commentator on culture. In the song, she critiques “that mess that Jay-Z call a stadium,” wealthy city transplants, and the young artists that live in Bushwick.
New York City, bitch/ That’s where I come from/ Not where I moved to/ On mom and dad’s trust fund.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
Hip hop dreams: Asian Americans artists on the difficulties they face breaking out into mainstream rap
Right now, we’re at a time when we’re just bubbling. When all Asian artists come together and start to realize each other’s work ethics, it’s going to be great,” said Sonny Thongoulay, a local Laotian American rapper. Thongoulay goes by the stage name “Sonny Bonoho.”
Thongoulay was born in Ubon, Thailand, but is ethnically Laotian. He has served as the opening act for rappers like Snoop Dogg and Twista. His most recent album, Phone Phreak, was released on April 10.
Sonny Thongoulay, a rapper, is also known by his stage name, Sonny Bonoho (Photo by Anthony Frausto)
Thongoulay, along with Gordon Tsai, a Chinese American rapper with the stage name “Gifted On West East,” or G.O.W.E., are concerned with the current state of Asian Americans and hip hop. To them, there are certain challenges that arose from Asian American stereotypes.
“The first thing people think of when it comes to Asian emcees is that it’s almost like an oxymoron,” said Tsai. “Hip hop was created out of poverty, and this whole idea that Asian Americans are the model minorities leads to the belief that they can’t possibly have struggles to talk about.”
Tsai is a Beacon Hill native who draws inspiration from his Christian faith. He says he does not believe in conforming to the stereotypes associated with hip hop artists and that he finds value in networking with other rappers, especially those in the Asian American community.
“In America, when you think of hip hop, you think of African Americans. So when an Asian American person tries to make it big, they get shut down because they don’t fit the image of what a hip hop artist should be,” said Giovonni Bruno, a Korean American fan of the music.
The mainstream
The artists also view the lack of media attention as an obstacle to mainstream success, as well as the reinforcement of conventional hip hop stereotypes.
“A lot of Asian artists out there are real creative in the mind,” said Thongoulay, “but it’s not like the media wants to look for an Asian rapper that’s real cool. I’m trying to figure out when a company is willing to put a million dollars or two behind an Asian rapper.”
Tsai points out that too many people perceive rappers to be individuals who live with limited economic resources. As a result, many Asian American artists are pretending to fit the archetype and produce music that address issues they are not actually familiar with and could not personally relate to.
“A lot of Asian Americans feel like, if they want to rap, they have to put on a certain gangster image and go all the way, or else they won’t be believable,” said Tsai. “I really wish more rappers would just be themselves, honestly.”
Despite the difficulties of establishing an image, both rappers agreed that there are limits to how culture should be stressed.
“I don’t think you should use your ethnicity as some kind of a gimmick to draw attention to yourself. If that’s your only crutch, you’re screwed,” said Tsai. “But please do not neglect who you are. You’re Asian for a reason. You should be proud of that; you should represent that, but you shouldn’t exploit that.”
An fact often overlooked is the fact that Asian Americans have been involved in the hip hop community for decades. The Mountain Brothers in Philadelphia and the Asiatic Apostles in California were pioneers of Asian American hip hop during the 1990s. Newer groups include the Far East Movement in Los Angeles and the Blue Scholars in Seattle. However, the only mainstream breakthrough in Asian American hip hop was Chinese American rapper Jin Au–Yeung, who found success in 2001.
Au–Yeung was the first Asian American rapper to enter the mainstream music industry after he retired undefeated on the Black Entertainment Television program “106 & Park,” a music video show. He was signed to the Ruff Ryders record label following his stint on the show. His debut album, “The Rest Is History,” was released in October 2004 and earned him a spot on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.
Dr. Oliver Wang, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, attributes hip hop’s popularity with Asian Americans to the fact that it was the “dominant youth culture” of the 1980s and 1990s.
Language of youth
“[Hip hop’s] more energetic and fun than everything else,” said Bruno.
“Hip hop is a language that a lot of youth today can understand, and when they do understand it, it’s therapeutic to them,” said Thongoulay.
“If you’re stressed out with a bunch of different things, and there’s a bunch of stuff in your life, you write it down, you record it, you transform it into a dance. It’s literally your way of expressing yourself and getting that off of your chest in a positive way that influences others and builds community,” said Tsai.
Artists of the Northwest
Tsai and Thongoulay compared the Northwest to the rest of the nation by citing responses local Asian American rappers have received.
“In the Seattle area, I think everyone respects the Blue Scholars, but on a national level, people are still too scared to really support them because they are different,” said Tsai. “In the whole West Coast, there’s a really good Asian community. But the West Coast? Man, that’s only 20 percent of the whole nation. If you look at the rest of America, the majority is white people. They only understand Asian Americans from what they see on TV. All of a sudden, you’ve got this rapper, and on top of that, he’s Asian. You know, it’s completely foreign to them.”
Thongoulay elaborated on the need for Asian American artists to branch out. He described how Asian American rappers should not depend on their local communities for a fan base.
“It is the Asian American artist’s responsibility to go out. Do they have a faith factor of going to Portland, to California, or wherever? I went on tour in Germany, and came back and made money. The sky is the limit,” said Thongoulay.
The rappers hope for greater success in the future of Asian American hip hop artists. The current status of Asian American hip hop will set the stage for what’s to come.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
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Thursday, May 9, 2013
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Wednesday, May 8, 2013
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