5 Mixed Heritage Asian American Hip-Hoppers to Watch For in 2010
As a mixed heritage Asian/Nikkei American, I have found on many an occasion, that my ethnicity, race, physical characteristics, and identity are not always in alignment. As a “Hip-Hopper” (one who is not only a fan of the music/expression/culture, but also a practitioner of and participant in it), I find that ethnic/racial ambiguity can be gift and a curse. The “gift” comes in not being asked to immediately prove your authenticity when some of your ancestors wouldn’t have fit into what are often rigid definitions of Hip-Hop. The “curse” lies in not knowing for sure at times, if any acceptance is authentic itself (i.e. “Are folks only giving me applause right now because they think I’m Filipino or Latino?” & “Would they feel me if they knew I was a Japanese whiteboy?” &“If I were ‘full’ Japanese or Anglo, would they even give me the time of day?”). Although I am unsure whether all the artists I am about to mention feel me on this one, I thought it’d be nice to take the time to recognize my fellow multiracial Hip-Hoppers, from a perspective that centers our experiences as mixed heritage people in a society that sees (or doesn’t see) being monoracial as “normal.” Whether intentional of not, it is my belief that much of what we express as mixed heritage Asian American Hip-Hoppers, is a reflection of the observations from our blurring racial lines in our own personal borderlands. That’s my opinion – I could be wrong (but I highly doubt it).
_______LYRICS BORN
Tom “Lyrics Born” Shimura is a mixed heritage Japanese/Italian Emcee born in Tokyo, Japan and currently based in Berkeley, CA. He is one half of Hip-Hop group “Latryx” along with Lateef the Truthspeaker and as a graduate of Saint Mary’s High School in Berkeley, Shimura began his Hip-Hop career at UC Davis where he Deejayed for the University‘s radio station (KDVS). Over the span of his career, Shimura has collaborated with the likes of renowned Bay Area Hip-Hop artists such as Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel of Blackalicious, DJ Shadow, Del the Funkee Homosapien, Mistah F.A.B. and E-40. It is safe to say that Lyrics Born is a household name amongst Hip-Hop heads in the Bay Area, as well as on the other side of the globe in Japan. His latest work, As U Were, is set to be released in 2010 and promises to be funkier than James Brown’s baby diapers.
LYRICS BORN
_______APL.DE.AP (of The Black Eyed Peas)
Alan Pineda Lindo aka “APL.DE.AP” is a living, breathing example of the power and resilience existent within Hip-Hop. Born to a Filipino mother and an African American father in the Barrio of Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, in the Phillipines, APL is representative of those dehumanized by American occupation/militarization. After his father, a U.S. airman stationed at Clark Air Base, abandoned the family shortly after APL’s birth, his mother Cristina Pineda raised APL and his six younger siblings by herself. As a teenager, APL moved to the United States permanently after being adopted by an American involved with sponsoring “Amerasian” children in the Phillipines. APL attended John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, CA, where he met Will.I.Am. The two went on to become founding members of the world famous Hip-Pop group, The Black Eyed Peas, and have gone one to sell 18 million albums worldwide. APL explains his life story in a song called “The Apl Song” on the Peas’ 2003 album Elephunk, which includes a full chorus in Tagalog sampled from the Asin song “Balita.” If Hip-Hop is a voice for the voiceless, APL is the mic, the amplifier, and the speakerbox.
APL.DE.AP
_______- NICO “N.I.C.” CARY (of iLL-Literacy)
Nico Cary is an internationally touring performer, emcee, and educator as well as a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. Part of the HBO-featured group “iLL-Literacy,” Nico has performed at colleges in over 100 cities, at venues ranging from arena Hip-Hop concerts to educational conferences. He is a McNair’s Scholar and served as a featured editor for Dave Eggers’ Best American Non-Required Reading (Houghton Mifflin, 2002). I’ve had the honor of sharing the stage with Bay Area Spoken Word Collective, iLL-Literacy a few times and have never ceased to be amazed by Cary’s poise, superfluous charisma and ability to convey to an audience, exactly who he is (and who is at the top of his “eff-you” list). Nico Cary’s art (as well as iLL-Literacy’s) would be done a great injustice if simply confined to and defined as “spoken word,” and as an American poet/emcee/educator/musician/artist of Black and Chinese heritage, Cary embraces the soulfulfunkyelectrohiphopshockrock that is his eclectic, frenetic, electric prophetic.
iLL-Literacy
_______FATGUMS
Eric “Fatgums” Strand is an American DJ/Producer who identifies as “a Hapa-Japanese Gosei.” Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fatgums’ obsession with syncopated kick-snares began with his older brother’s turntable and the 12″ single of Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By”. At the tender age of 12, Fatgums manipulated the acapellas of this record with said turntable, synchronized them with instrumentals from his boom box, and recorded his own remixes onto his mom’s classroom tape recorder. Immersing himself in the world of turntablism as a teen, ‘Gums began producing beats after graduating from UCLA, and in 2008, was faced with a decision to either pursue a music career, or put beats on the back-burners until he graduated from medical school. While attempting to pursue school and music simultaneously, ‘Gums discovered each took away from the other. He recently took a leave of absence from medical school and produced a West Coast underground Hip-Hop classic entitled, …A Peaceful Riot… with LA Emcee, Bambu (formerly of Native Guns). To those who think this an unwise decision, let us not forget: Dr. Dre never went to medical school.
FATGUMS
_______-MIKE SHINODA (of Linkin Park & Ft. Minor)
Michael Kenji “Mike” Shinoda is an American producer, singer, emcee, and artist from Agoura Hills, California. He is best known as the rapper, songwriter, keyboardist, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Linkin Park, and as a emcee in his side (Hip-Hop) project, Fort Minor. He also provides artwork, production and audio mixing for both groups. His father, Leslie, is Japanese American while his mother, Kim, is of European and Native American heritage. While I personally have never been a huge fan of Hip-Hop/Rock “fusion” (excluding Rage Against the Machine), I have nothing but the utmost respect for the dedication and musical talent Shinoda possesses. His collaborations with the likes of world renowned emcees such as Lupe Fiasco, Blackthought, Common, and Jay-Z, speak volumes to his ability to craft soundscapes for the most talented Hip-Hoppers of this age. On his 2005 LP, The Rising Tied, Shinoda wrote and produced a melancholy melody that paid tribute to his grandfather, entitled “Kenji.” This song chronicles Internment and the events that transpired in the lives of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan during WWII. It appears that even when others may believe that mixed heritage people represent a dilution of culture, Shikata Ga Nai (“it cannot be helped”) and the art of Gaman (“enduring what seems unbearable with dignity and grace”) still seem to shine through.
MIKE SHINODA
_______
No comments:
Post a Comment