When you see artists like Dumbfoundead, PSY, Jackie Chain, and then Big Bang, what are you thoughts on the progression of Asians in mainstream music?
There’s definitely been progress, thanks to people pushing in front of and behind the scenes. There’s a lot of different styles too, which you can hear from the folks you mentioned, and you can hear on the Strength In NUMBERS project. Breakthroughs are a good thing. I think we’re still at a place where mainstream folks sometimes judge Asians before giving the music a chance. But it’s important not to let attitudes stop you from putting yourself and your work out there.
Do you think this album will achieve the goal you set out to accomplish?
Musically I think it has already. Business-wise, I don’t know if this project will pan out as well as other things I’m doing, but it’s not always about business. Reach-wise, I still hope for more. It’s a grassroots situation, and there’s been some good attention from the Asian American community, but I feel the artists and the music deserve more.
Are there any Asian artists you wanted to work with but couldn’t get?
Absolutely. There were also some who promised but didn’t deliver. Maybe next time though.
What’s been the response from people when you streamed the project online?
People dig it who have heard it man. It’s good work. I’m proud of it. It’s some of my favorite music I’ve been involved with. There’s four music videos from the project so far, Mountain Brothers & Ann One “Keep On”, Paul Kim & Dumbfoundead “No Turning Back”, Mic Barz & Timothy Flu “Top Down”, and Tiger JK & Tasha “Turn It Up”. We’re planning on making more too.
Will there be more projects like Strength In NUMBERS to follow? A tour to follow up?
I’d love to do more projects like this. Probably with less pieces, just because this was super complex. But right now I’m still focused on this project, and on getting back to making tracks for people, making music for film & TV, stuff like that. We’re talking about getting shows together for Strength In NUMBERS. A tour is unlikely because the lineup is so massive, but the right dates in the right locations would be killer.
What has to happen for you to be content with the status of Asians in mainstream media?
That’s a good question. I don’t expect it to happen soon. There’s still major TV shows clowning on Asians, mainstream celebrities making fun of Asians, showing self-centeredness, ignorance, disrespect in ways they wouldn’t treat others. In some ways, again, there’s been progress. You do see more of us on-screen and hear more of us on-air than before. But on the other hand, there’s more ground to cover still. Getting there will take a lot of work from a lot of people. Plus we have to support the stuff we care about.
You’ve worked with a lot of big, internationally recognized names like Nicki Minaj, Raekwon, and Kanye West. Do you feel like you get the respect you deserve outside of the Asian community?
I make music mainly because I love music, I’m pretty low profile in general. I’ve realized though, you have to make yourself known to get more of the right opportunities. So in that way, yeah, I’d like to be more known. As far as inside vs. outside the Asian community, I’ve done a lot more music with non-Asian folks overall but of course there’s personal reasons for this project that make it special and important.
Any last words?
Yeah, check out the Strength In NUMBERS project, out now on iTunes, Amazon, etc. and definitely check out more music from some of the people involved if you’re not familiar yet!
Bryan Hahn (@notupstate)