Sunday, March 2, 2014

Asian American Identity in Hip Hop

Asian American Identity in Hip Hop
Oxford Dictionary defines “identity” as “ the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” Merriam-Webster defines “identity” as “the qualities, beliefs, etc. that make a particular person or group different from others.” I can buy into both of these definitions; however, I feel that at times, these are two very different ideas. Oxford has a very ambiguous, open-ended definition and Merriam-Webster goes a little deeper in the soil. Although, I feel that regardless of where you came from, who you came from, where you’re going or who you’re going there with, the only thing that defines a person’s identity is: themselves. We are each granted the ability to embody whatever identity we feel is our own; too often is race, ethnicity, culture and origin synonymously categorized with identity- not denying that those characteristics may contribute to a person’s identity; nevertheless, they should not be the basis of defining a person. Oliver Wang discusses the Asian American struggle to find their identity in Hip Hop culture as being neither ebony nor ivory; Asians and Asian Americans fell in between the cracks. Breaking stereotypes is a continuous longstanding battle, is there room in Hip-Hop for the various ethnicities? Is Hip-Hop solely reserved for the African American with a “Fuck You” gangsta attitude, baby mama drama, coming from no money and a bad home? The answer appears to be obvious, “No, it’s 2014 we’re evolved,” but are we?

Wang discusses how Asian Americans rappers attempted to break into the Hip Hop culture by proclaiming their ethnicity in their rhymes and ultimately utilizing rap as a tool  “to stir up controversy and talk about important issues,” deeply inspired by Public Enemy. Davis Yee (“D-Yee”) notes that Asian Americans were considered “invisible” in the rap community, slowly many others like him rose to the occasion with a hunger of creating controversy and political agitation. Wang illustrates how these Asian American rap groups mainly preached political controversy, identity politics i.e. isolation and displacement of Asian Americans in American society. Therefore, confining themselves to circulating music with essentially only the Asian American community, not reaching out to other ethnicities and ironically, perpetuating their isolation from the hip hop culture and music scene.

One of the most prominent Asian American rap groups, The Mountain Brothers, is especially noted in Wang’s article regarding their break from identity politics and shift into “a different kind of identity allegiance: as hip hop artists” (Wang 209). Wang notes that other artists like The Mountain Brothers in the mid-1990’s also began to make this transition in identity did not suppress their Asian American identity, they simply did not “highlight” on it. Chris Wang, of The Mountain Brothers, comments that their music is meant for people who “can understand, comprehend and enjoy the level of complexity and creativity involved in our lyrics and music” (Wang 208). It was this shift from emphasis and passion for identity politics to aesthetics of hip hop music that ultimately broke Asian American hip-hop into the hip hop culture. When these rap groups dropped the identity politics in their music, it broadened their fan base and opened the doors to mainstream success. When it became about the music, and not so much focused on the outcasted Asian Americans in hip hop culture, is when hip-hop culture welcomed them in.


One could argue that by no longer “highlighting” on their Asian American ethnicity in their music, they are abandoning their roots- therefore, NOT finding Asian Americans a foothold in hip-hop culture. Evidence suggests, by suppressing their ethnicity in their music, it opened their music up to the public and hip-hop community, not solely the Asian public. As Wang mentions The Mountain Brothers new identity allegiance as hip-hop artists, I can’t help but agree. When Asian American rappers shifted their focus on their music and talent, their ethnicity didn’t matter anymore. Good music is good music, regardless of who’s making it. The true hip-hop heads were their main demographic, only proving that once they got down to their passion for the hip-hop aesthetic, they were able to find the identity they were so yearning for. Ironic, isn’t it? Instead of proclaiming their identity by their origin and ethnicity, all they needed to do was proclaim and exemplify their qualities and beliefs that make them different from everyone else, just like Merriam-Webster put it.

No comments:

Post a Comment