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Asian American hip hop | |
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Stylistic origins | Hip hop |
Cultural origins | 1970s, the Bronx, New York City |
Typical instruments | Turntable, synthesizer, DAW, rapping, drum machine, sampler, drums, guitar, bass guitar, piano, beatboxing, vocals |
The influence and impact of hip hop was originally shaped from African American and Latino communities in the South Bronx. In the last several decades, the movement has become a worldwide phenomenon which transcends different cultural boundaries as it reaches several ethnic groups, including Asian Americans. Asian American hip-hop practitioners include: MC Jin, Lyrics Born, Dumbfoundead, Tokimonsta, and DJ Q-Bert.
In 1984, three members of the U.S. Air Force, while stationed at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California, formed the rap group 2 Live Crew known to have popularized Miami Bass, a subgenre of hip hop music. [1] This included the DJ David "Mr. Mixx" Hobbs, and two rappers Yuri "Amazing Vee" Vielot, and Christopher Fresh Kid Ice Wong Won (1964–2017). Wong Won would become known as the first Asian rapper, his ethnicity is Afrochinese, his family is mostly from Hong Kong and both of his grandmothers were African. In many of his raps, he gave himself the nickname Chinaman. [2]
After releasing a successful independent single, the group caught the attention of a Florida-based music promoter and DJ named Luther Campbell invited the group to work with him there. Vielot would quit the group shortly after. They then released the lyrically sexually charged single called "Throw The D" in January 1986 gave a permanent blueprint to how future Miami bass songs were written and produced. [3] At the time Fresh Kid Ice was the only MC in the group and featured on the track. The fact that he was alone made him the first Miami Bass Rapper. [4] It is rumored that he coined the term Miami Bass as well. [5] Shortly after, Campbell would join the group as the hype man and Brother Marquis took over Amazing Vee's place.
The 2 Live Crew's debut album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are (1986), and their second Move Somethin' (1988) both went Gold and were comedic albums with sexually explicit lyrics. Fresh Kid Ice and his group mate became American rap superstars of that area.
The group became notorious, influential, and legendary in 1989 with their third album As Nasty As They Wanna Be , along with its hit single "Me So Horny", proved more controversial still, leading to legal troubles getting obscenity charges for both 2 Live Crew and retailers selling the album (all charges were eventually overturned on appeal in the 1990s). The controversy lead to the album going double platinum.Fresh Kid Ice, would make two more best selling albums with 2 Live Crew before disbanding in 1991. In 1992, he made his first solo album The Chinaman . The Chinaman is the first American hip hop album to embrace an Asian heritage. It inverts Asian stereotypes into prideful declarations of self-identity. [6] On the Billboard 200, it peaked at No. 38 and stayed two weeks on the Heatseekers Albums , and was No. 56 for ten weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. [7] [8] Various reunions of the 2 Live Crew would occur. All the albums produced from that point would chart, but all them would have one or two members of the original line up missing, however Fresh Kid Ice was the only one always present until the last official 2 Live Crew album The Real One in 1998.
In the early 2000s Fresh Kid Ice released three albums Still Nasty (2000), Stop Playin' (2003), and Freaky Chinese (2004). Due to the graphic sexual nature of his lyrics, his music video could only be played on BET Uncut. Freaky Chinese is noted to be the first album where Flo Rida performed, whom he discovered and hired on to be his hypeman.
In the mid 2000s Fresh Kid Ice and Brother Marquis decided to relaunch 2 Live Crew. They toured and released singles. Fresh Kid ice left 2 Live Crew in 2016, and died in 2017 due to health issues.
In the early 1990s, two hip hop turntablists of Filipino descent came to prominence DJ Qbert, Mix Master Mike, they were both founding members of the group Invisibl Skratch Piklz. [9] [10] In 1990, DJ Qbert won the DMC World DJ Championships, the following year he was joined by his group Shadow of the Prophet (later known as Invisibl Skratch Piklz) which included Mix Master Mike. Together they won for three more consecutive years.
They released as a group and solo many Albums, Mixtapes and various other projects. Through these, they are known for the inventions of the "crab scratch", "tweak scratch", "strobing", and furthering the development of "flare scratching". [11]
Mix Master Mike's most high-profile work has been with hip-hop group the Beastie Boys. Mix Master Mike worked with the band on Hello Nasty (1998), and To The 5 Boroughs (2004). In 2018, it was announced by BReal of Cypress Hill that he would be joining Cypress Hill.
In 1992, apl.de.ap a Filipino descent rapper, with his group mate will.i.am, and several others had their group Atban Klann sign to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy-E). They made their first appearance on Eazy-E's EP, 5150: Home 4 tha Sick on the track entitled "Merry Muthaphuckkin' Xmas". Soon after, the duo recorded their debut album, Grass Roots which was to be released on October 6, 1992; however, the album was shelved shortly before its release. The duo would stay with Ruthless until they were dropped from the label after Eazy-E's death in 1995. [12] Soon after they changed their name to Black Eyed Peas. Another vocalist would join Taboo, and they made their critically acclaimed debut Behind the Front.
In 2000, apl.de.ap and The Black Eyed Peas released Bridging the Gap , who met with critical acclaim.
For their third album in 2003, female singer Fergie joined and they made Elephunk . In the United States, Elephunk reached number 14 on the Billboard Top 200 and was their first album to chart in the top 15. On the UK Album Charts it reached number 3. It has sold over 1.6 million copies in the UK and 8.5 million copies worldwide. [13]
In 2004, their album Monkey Business was also a big success. Afterward the group went on a hiatus. They came back in with the album 2009 The E.N.D. , and 2010 The Beginning . Both albums did well on the charts.
Mountain Brothers are considered cultural pioneers, being one of the first Asian American hip-hop groups and also for the lack of sampling of other music in construction of their own. [14] Mountain Brothers released two critically acclaimed albums, Self Vol 1(1999) [15] and Triple Crown(2003), the first of which is widely considered to be an independent hip-hop classic. [16]
In 2001, MC Jin had a break came when the BET program 106 & Park began inviting local rappers to hold battles in a segment known as Freestyle Friday. He won seven battles in a row, enabling him to be inducted in the Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame. [17] Unlike other competitors, Jin occasionally spoke Cantonese in his freestyle verses.
After that he signed a deal with the Ruff Ryders label. His first single under Ruff Ryders was titled "Learn Chinese" featuring Wyclef Jean. The album The Rest Is History debuted at the No. 54 on the Billboard 200 and spent 3 weeks on the charts debuting at No. 54. The album also spent 7-week on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums debuting at No. 12. It also spent two weeks at the Billboard Top Rap Albums debuting at No. 8. The album to date has sold over 100,000 units in the United States and over 250,000 worldwide. [18]
Kero One is a Korean-American hip hop MC, producer, and DJ from San Francisco, California. [19] He has been recognized for re-introducing the jazz rap sound in the early to mid 2000s with his groundbreaking jazz-hop album Windmills of the Soul . [20]
This article needs to be updated.(March 2022) |
Ever since many Asian rappers have emerged in the US, including Traphik, Jay Park, Dumbfoundead, Heems, Anderson .Paak, Awkwafina, and Rich Brian.
Far East Movement became the first Asian American hip hop act to attain mainstream success with their single "Like a G6" in 2010. Eric Nakamura of Giant Robot likens the group's success to Jeremy Lin signing with the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first Asian-American to sign with the NBA since 1947. [21]
Model Minority, a hip hop trio consisting of The Fung Brothers and Jason “Grandmaster” Chu, released a parody rap of Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" in 2011. [22]
N.W.A was an American hip hop group formed in Compton, California. They were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential groups in the history of hip hop music.
Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida—often titled “The Big 5,” five states which constitute the "Southern Network" in rap music.
Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper and unofficial member The D.O.C. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group."
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system and/or broadcasting equipment so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists typically manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth, all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records.
Luther Roderick Campbell, also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke and simply Luke, is an American rapper, promoter, record executive, actor, and former leader of the rap group 2 Live Crew. He is known for having helped create the Miami bass genre, for establishing one of the first rap groups and rap labels in Southern hip hop, and his sexually crude call and response lyrics which were unique for the time period. He also starred in a short-lived show on VH1, Luke's Parental Advisory.
Praxis is an experimental rock project, led by producer/bassist Bill Laswell and featuring guitarist Buckethead and drummer Brain in nearly every incarnation of the band.
Filipino hip-hop or Pinoy hip hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans.
Richard Quitevis known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is an American turntablist and composer who has heavily influenced the History of DJing. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champion 1991 (solo) and achieved titles as DMC World Champion in 1992 and 1993.
Christopher Wong Won, better known by his stage name Fresh Kid Ice, was a Trinidadian-American rapper and a Miami bass pioneer. Wong Won was born and spent his early childhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, before emigrating to the United States. In his early twenties, Wong Won was in the United States Air Force and he co-founded 2 Live Crew while he was stationed in California. Early 2 Live Crew singles gained so much traction in Florida that they relocated there. By 1986, the group released the single "Throw The 'D'"; it is now considered the blueprint of Miami bass.
Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4 is the sixth studio album by Miami-based hip hop group 2 Live Crew. It was released on February 1, 1994 via Luke Records and was produced by Mike Fresh, DJ Slice, Professor Griff, DJ Spin Felix Sama & DJ Laz. The album became a moderate hit, peaking at #52 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Two charting singles were produced, "Hell, Yeah" and "You Go Girl" who were both made into music videos. For this album the group was billed as the new 2 Live Crew as Brother Marquis and Mr. Mixx had left the group, the line-up for this album was Fresh Kid Ice, Luke and new member, Verb. It is the last 2 Live Crew album to feature Luke.
DJ Disk is a turntablist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is of Panamanian, Colombian, and Nicaraguan descent. Born Luis Quintanilla on October 7, 1970, in San Francisco, Disk began scratching and mixing vinyl at a young age. In 1992, he joined his long-time friend DJ Qbert among the Rock Steady Crew DJs, later changing the group's name to the Invisibl Skratch Piklz.
Dirty rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that contains lyrical content revolving mainly around sexually explicit subjects.
Asian hip hop is a heterogeneous musical genre that covers all hip hop music as recorded and produced by artists of Asian origin.
David P. Hobbs, also known by his stage name Mr. Mixx, is an American musician and record producer who is the co-founder of the controversial rap group 2 Live Crew. In 1986, the group released the single "Throw The 'D'"; it is now considered the blueprint of Miami bass.
Shake a Lil' Somethin' is the seventh studio album by Miami-based hip hop group 2 Live Crew. It was released on August 6, 1996, via Lil' Joe Records and was produced by Mr. Mixx. The album made it to #145 on the Billboard 200 and #33 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and three singles: "Shake a Lil' Somethin'", which peaked at #11 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, "Do the Damn Thing", which made it to #24 on the same chart, and "Be My Private Dancer", which peaked at #34. At the time of this album, Fresh Kid Ice had left the New 2 Live Crew and Luke Records to re-join original members Mr. Mixx and Brother Marquis. However, the reunion would be short lived as Mr. Mixx would leave the group after this album and Marquis would leave after the next album.
Dave Cuasito better known by his stage name D-Styles, is a hip hop producer and DJ. He has been a member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, and Third Sight. He has also been a resident DJ of Low End Theory. D-styles is an instructor at the Beat Junkies Institute of Sound.
Mark D. Ross, better known by his stage name Brother Marquis, was an American rapper and a Miami bass pioneer. Ross was born in Rochester, New York. In his teens, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, California. By the early 1980s, Ross started to release music and made an impression on DJ and producer David Hobbs. Hobbs was part of the group 2 Live Crew, who had just created the Miami Bass blueprint, and were successful in Florida. This led Ross accepting an invitation to join them. Due to his comedic sensibilities, Ross integrated easily into the direction the group was taking. Alongside Hobbs, Christopher Wong Won, and Luther Campbell, they became the most well-known line up of the group. In 1986, they had a breakthrough with their Gold-certified debut album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are.
The 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida that had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known lineup was composed of Uncle Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and Brother Marquis. They were considerably controversial in the U.S. due to the sexually explicit content in their songs, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be.
The Chinaman is the first studio album by American rapper Fresh Kid Ice of the 2 Live Crew. It was released on July 15, 1992, by Effect Records.
Dmitry Vinokurov, also known as DJ Tactics — DJ, sound producer, and cultural figure from Russia, Moscow. His career has started in the late 1998 as a DJ and sound producer. His scene name comes from the parallel to the ways of using different tactics in approaching particular styles and genres, it sends a message of diversity that can be applied to mixing, recording and scratching. His style is described by Rolling Stone magazine as “Addicted to phat beats and making the crowd head nod over the beats”. His main styles are Hip-Hop, Electronic, Funk/Soul and Turntablism.
Miami Bass, Booty Bass, Booty Music, or whatever you want to call it, changed the scenes of hip hop, dance music, and pop forever...The story of music's dirtiest genre reaches back to the '80s with roots set firmly in Afrika Bambaataa's elektro-funk...foundational artists Amos Larkins and Maggotron, both of whom have been credited as kicking the regional sound into motion. According to Stylus Magazine, Larkins and the Miami Bass conception can be traced back to the movie Knights of the City...Inspired by the humid and vice-ridden melting pot of cultures, ...MC A.D.E.'s "Bass Rock Express" gets the title for first hit of the genre, but it was 2 Live Crew who became the poster boys of movement. Record store owners who sold the album were arrested and charged with crimes of obscenity, and 2 Live Crew members were arrested just for playing shows...US Appeals Court system ruled rap was protected by First Amendment rights...2 Live Crew made it safe for hip-hop as we know it to exist. The influence of the genre is far-reaching...Miami Bass remains not only one of the most ridiculous and enjoyable genres of music in recent memory but also one of the most important.