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The Hip-Hop Ceiling for Asian Americans

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The Hip-Hop Ceiling for Asian Americans

I posted something similar in Reddit before and it garnered quite a bit of interest. Being new to the community here at Spotify, I thought it'd be awesome to hear everyone's thoughts.

 

It seems there is a growing acceptance within popular media for Asian-Americans, but why hasn't it broken through the glass just yet? Is the talent not yet there? Has the market not matured enough?

 

People have thrown in names such as Dumbfoundead, Awkwafina, the Mountain Brothers, Far East Movement, Pryde, and Jin. This is a great start but we have yet to see any South East or South Asians (Cambodian, Thai, Indian, Laos, Vietnamese). There are regional artists rising but no one has really broken the national audience through mainstream as a solo artist. Ezale is coming up quickly, but I'm wondering if he's limited as far as his reach? Tyga and Jhene Aiko are Asian, but it's not out there. Black Eyed Peas? Alright.

 

Is this a question of talent, demographic, resistance to change, or the pool?

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I'll be honest, when I saw "Rich Chigga" come out, I was disgusted and frustrated. I know he's a comedian but man, aren't Asian-Americans emasculated enough in popular media? I marked Chigga as cooning is to black folks. Do we need to be a gimmick for the world to play our music? Psy?

I've been jammin "WHISTLE" by BLACKPINK recently ❤️❤️

I think with the arise of these kpop artists who are popular in america, they are trying to appeal to a broader audience, such as hip hop fans. And I have to say... Asian Hip Hop artists are dope.

Dope song but it's in Korea nonetheless. I was referring to Asian Americans.

For sure but again, I'm referring to Asian-Americans, not KPop or artists in Asia.

Yo, Harambe by Dumbfoundead is too good.

It's been stuck on repeat for a while now.

Haha

Hello my friend check-out my single from spotify please like and subscribe to my spotify channel
https://open.spotify.com/album/1Vd0M8hq7bgN1OflbcaE7W

 

One thing going on is that Asian Americans sometimes find work in the Asian music scene instead of the American. For example, Girl's Generation has had three members from America: Jessica, Tiffany, and Sunny. Jessica's sister Krystal has been active in the k-pop group f(x) and has acted in some Korean dramas. The k-pop artist G.na is Canadian-Korean. There are numerous Asian artists doing pop music that resembles hip-hop, and there is a greater emphasis on large groups, which multiplies the job opportunities for pop stars in the Asian music scene. Because of this, it may be draining off many talented Asian Americans who would otherwise be trying to break into the American music scene.

 

I do listen to Asian American artists who are not part of the Asian music scene, but they are English-speaking singer/songwriters, such as Vienna Teng, Marié Digby, Kina Grannis, and Clara C, not hip-hop artists.

spotify:user:128759556

First, to this day, it still seems that Americans are not sure what the difference is between Asians and Asian Americans. As Dr. Lisa Lowe has written, “the American of Asian descent remains the symbolic ‘alien’. Thus, making it extremely difficult for the general American public to accept that Asian Americans are capable of making music, especially in genres outside of the traditional, ethnic forms.

 

Second, there is the belief that “racial authenticity” exists and has a stronghold on the genres of music and the imaginations of consumers. For example, Rock and Country are White, Hip Hop and Jazz are Black, etc. America’s color line has predominantly been White and Black. For Asian Americans to “move” closer to one side or the other is not received well, often seen as confusing and unbelievable. As Deborah Wong states, “Americans tend to recognize and to deny (all at once) their understandings of how American music is racialized and ethnicized”.

 

Third, some would blame “the industry,” “the mainstream,” and “capitalism”. You will hear stories throughout the Asian American community of opportunities being limited, or not being offered, due to their race. Sometimes its because record companies are not sure how to market the artist. Sometimes its because they don’t believe there is a strong ethnic, buying market in justifying a financial investment. Sometimes its flat out because they don’t want to deal with having an Asian American artist. Sometimes its straight up racism. 

 

Fourth, there is the talent theory which argues that if the music made by Asian Americans was “good enough,” or “undeniable, you would see more success and sustained careers. It’s a belief that is deeply rooted in American meritocracy in which progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class, privilege, or wealth. Some find problem with this theory, especially in Pop music, since we see many examples of artists who prove otherwise. As Dr. Oliver Wang has pointed out, “not all talented artists do well and not all artists who've done well are universally praised for their talent”. I would add that there are also many examples of artists with little talent getting the opportunities that those of great talent rarely, or may never, get. 


Lastly, some blame the Asian American community for not supporting their own who make music, which subsequently doesn’t create a targetable, purchasing market. Recent reports show that the Asian American market is the fastest growing U.S. multicultural segment with significant purchasing power, expected to reach $1 trillion by 2017. Therefore, the issue seems to go beyond the ability to financially support an artist. Some blame this then on the internal diversity and lack of Pan-ethnic unification. Perhaps its the continuous effect of how Asian Americans form their identity based on only White & Black options, therefore making music made by Asian Americans not “cool”, “hip”, or “real”.

 

Ultimately, I believe its a combination of all these reasons and reasons yet to be explored. 

 

Richie Traktivist

www.traktivist.com

Hello,

I have a few song with some korean rappers that would fit your playlist. Please let me know if you can add them to your playlist 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1jn4oJPGIzmWfx4ynfP8tu?si=rDaoZeLFReenJY_S1Hv5eA

https://open.spotify.com/track/2UusU9o78W0w68gJT7QB29?si=4c3lO0B_Rhy1I3DNS4G_6w

I realize this is an old post but I came across many South Asian artists who are mainstream artists today. It's good to see things changing!

 

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