7 Artists Share What Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Means To Them
by Lisa Kocay
The month of May marks Asian Pacific American Heritage month. As it comes to a close, we asked seven artists to reflect on the month. From what Asian Pacific American Heritage month means to them to how they have been celebrating in quarantine, these seven producers shared with Forbes the importance of this heritage month.
Lisa Kocay: What does Asian Pacific American Heritage month mean to you?
TOKiMONSTA: “It means recognizing the accomplishments and important roles of Asians in the larger narrative of the US.”
Wax Motif: “I'm Australian and I'm not sure we have this in Australia, but I feel like it's the time to appreciate and respect the hard work of immigrant families to better the living situation for future generations. My parents are the hardest working people I know.”
AObeats: “I see it as an opportunity to provide a platform for Asian Pacific American artists to be seen and heard. Growing up in America, there weren't many Asian Pacific American artists to look to in music, but I think that has changed a lot over the past decade or so. I think the Internet, social media and streaming have brought forward waves of new Asian American artists who are breaking through barriers and reaching new audiences on their own, as well as having the ability to connect with each other now more so than ever.”
Jai Wolf: “It's a great way to discover emerging artists who are of Asian/Pacific descent. It's really cool to see a lot of streaming services highlighting these artists, especially new ones I haven’t heard of.”
Manila Killa: “Asian Pacific American Heritage month gives me a chance to reflect on all the hard work my family has gone through to give people like me opportunities to thrive and pursue my dreams in places like the United States. It's also a chance for me to take a step back, appreciate and discover other Asian American artists as well. Spotify has been running an APAH playlist every year that I always look forward to digging into just because there's a crazy amount of diverse talent out there, waiting to be discovered.”
Josh Pan: “Asian Pacific American Heritage month means a lot to me. Even though I was born in the United States, our family relocated to Taiwan when I was just starting elementary school. Moving back to the place my parents grew up in opened up my eyes in so many ways. What first started out as years of culture shock turned into a deep appreciation for my roots. I was able to learn Mandarin Chinese and everything about a culture totally foreign to me (but a part of my lineage). Living in a totally alien environment and slowly understanding each aspect of Asian culture opened up an entire world inside of my head. I wouldn’t be the same person if I had never lived in Asia and it gave me the confidence to explore the world and speak to people of all backgrounds. It also taught me empathy. It’s much easier to count your blessings when you see people who show gratitude for the smallest things and try to remain happy while living a simple life. Also, the food and people are amazing.”
Shawn Wasabi: “Being born and raised Filipino-American means a lot to me, but I’m also still learning and beginning to understand a lot of it. American history is very much controversial for a lot of us, and as Asian-Americans we’re still in the process of finding our blueprint and grounding for political activism, but history can happen at any time—and it’s happening now. I’m glad to see more Asian-Americans making their mark on American pop culture and media, and I’m seeing a lot more Asian-Americans speak up and be more involved in our communities.
“I take note of my political implications as an individual and as an artist—as much I love chaotic creative energy, I do my best to be mindful and understanding of the world out there. So much of my identity and understanding of American culture is characterized by my predisposition of being a Filipino dude in an immigrant family in Salinas, Calif. and having friends of many different backgrounds. My parents were just as new to the ‘American’ culture as I was, so they were learning, too. However, the way they approached American culture was from a perspective of safety and security. My parents lived in the very underprivileged Philippine countryside before coming to California. And I’m just here doing my best.”
Kocay: What are some of your favorite releases by Asian Pacific American artists that came out this month?
TOKiMONSTA: “ZHU came out with a wonderfully deep cut with Tinashe called ‘ONLY.’ Park Hye Jin has a super vibey house track ‘Like This.’”
Wax Motif: “TOKiMONSTA dropped a cool album. The new ZHU and Tinashe [song] is nice, too.”
AObeats: “Shameless self promotion, but a song I made with my good friend Satica and Kiana Valenciano just came out called ‘Ambrosia’ that's really great and you should listen to. I've also been working with this producer called Glasear from Atlanta who is super dope and has been working with a ton of cool artists and dropping stuff on Soundcloud.”
Jai Wolf: “This came out a few months ago, but ‘Regardless’ by Anik Khan and Robin Dey. Both are Bangladeshi New Yorkers like me. It's incredibly rare to see other Bangladeshis in the music scene, so it's been exciting to watch them go off.”
Manila Killa: “One of my favorite releases of the month is by a few friends of mine - ‘Ambrosia’ by Kiana Valenciano, Satica and AObeats. It gives off this really smooth R&B vibe that encapsulates all three artists' styles quite well. It was really cool to watch how these three banded together to work on music after meeting last fall.”
Josh Pan: “This month has been a really weird one in terms of the way I have been consuming music. I tend to not listen to too much music when I’m working on new music (lots of stuff in the pipeline) just for the sake of not being influenced too much during the creation process. It seems like people are finding ways to pivot during these strange times and are holding on to a lot of the music they plan to release.
“A few other Asian Pacific American artists I thoroughly enjoy are: Cehryl, Flawed Mangoes, Graves, Juelz, Dumbfoundead, West1ne, Anderson .Paak (Canadian/North American), Year of the Ox and Joji. Swimcoach is also an interesting one.
“Also, I’ve tuned into Mr. Carmack’s stream a few times and really enjoyed his music-making livestreams. He’s one of the greatest music heads in the world. I love all of his work.”
Shawn Wasabi: “Check these out. Some of these are really talented friends and some of these are people I'm just a really big fan of and enjoy listening to:
Renzo - ‘Dizzy’
Mxmtoon - Dawn
Luna Li - ‘Afterglow’
Rekstizzy - ‘Young Adult Fiction’
Dumbfoundead and SATICA - Inside / Outside
KIL - ‘Just A Little Bit’
Far East Movement - ‘We Are the Truth’
Charli XCX - How I'm Feeling Now
TOKiMONSTA - Oasis Nocturno
Joji - Gimme Love
Rich Brian and Guapdad 400 - ‘Bali’
“I also love, listen to, and enjoy all the featured artists on my album: Raychel Jay, Chevy, SATICA and Spacegirl Gemmy. Hollis co-wrote some of the songs on MANGOTALE with me, as well.”
Kocay: How have Asian Pacific American artists been coming together to empower one another this month?
TOKiMONSTA: “There are so many amazing ways we are visibly empowering each other. I’ve seen some amazing streaming concerts focusing on Asian musicians. There are also outreach programs aimed to help the Asian communities. They have been providing aid and services during these difficult times.”
AObeats: “I've seen a lot of great cross-promoting by artists coming together to help push each other's work to be heard.”
Jai Wolf: “Although it's a month-long celebration, empowering and supporting other artists of Asian/Pacific descent is something I try to be conscious about year round. Whether it’s bringing them on tour or including them in curated playlists/mixes, I always try to support fellow artists of Asian/Pacific descent. I feel like there's definitely a solid support system, particularly in the electronic community.”
Josh Pan: “I was a part of 88rising’s Asia Rising Forever digital festival earlier this month. Watching the concert introduced me to a lot Asian talent from around the world (many living in America). I’ve always wondered when Asians would be appreciated as more than just funny stereotypical caricatures. For a long time, people in the States only thought of Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan or Lucy Liu when thinking about Asians in entertainment—now you have a wide range of Asian American directors, actors and actresses, even winning movie awards. Until recent years, there weren’t that many Asian American musical artists on billboards or playing on the radio either. Now, you have creative powerhouses like 88rising on major festival lineups. I’ll be releasing some projects with them very soon. Being an inaugural member and long-time collaborator with 88rising on multiple projects since the beginning, it’s been really exciting to see how we’re finally being recognized in the entertainment/music industry. In addition to being a singer/songwriter, I’m also DJ/producer. Having toured for a few years, I’ve made so many friends in the electronic side of music as well. People like Jai Wolf, Manila Killa, Hotel Garuda, Mike Gao, TOKiMONSTA, Nosaj TThing etc. have made such an impact in the production world. ZHU is also a great one.
“A lot of Asian artists have also been streaming on Twitch. Yesterday, I linked up with Rekstizzy, MaryjLeeee and Mike Gao to judge an ASMR songwriting challenge hosted by our startup, Matter. I didn’t realize the entire judging panel was Asian American until we were live on the stream, but seeing that nobody even mentioned the fact that we were all Asian in the livestream chat goes to show that people don’t focus on skin color nearly as much as they used to. The world still has racism for sure, but I do believe that we’re moving in the right direction. Hopefully, people from every race will learn to appreciate people from every culture. The world needs to focus on appreciation rather than appropriation. I have faith.”
Shawn Wasabi: “The world is in a traumatically isolating moment right now. It’s difficult to create, express and be productive when you’re not entirely secure about the world around you. So for all the artists out there who have the willpower to still create, you’re definitely doing a lot. Most of us are just confused. If you’re confused too, that’s okay.
“Out of all the things that are/could be empowering for us, I feel it’s most important that we communicate and have conversations with each other and also with people of different communities around us. This means ourselves (Southeast Asians and South Asians, too) but also our friends of color and our LGBTQ friends who, although have experienced different traumas and turmoils, have faced adversity in this country throughout generations and built the cultures that make up ‘America’ from scratch.
“A lot of Asian-American small businesses have been feeling the impact of 2020, both financially and socially. I’ve been streaming my friends’ music as much as I can. So many artists are communicating with the world by streaming live on social media. Pretty much every artist collaboration that’s happening nowadays is through the Internet since we can’t go to the studio. And for a lot of us, this is our therapy. It’s empowering to express in music/art what you can’t express in words alone.”
Kocay: Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage month is pretty differently this year with events and tours being canceled. Have you been able to celebrate at home, and if so how?
TOKiMONSTA: “As a community, I feel as though we do our best to look out for each other on a regular basis. Being Asian isn’t just a month for us, it’s our identity. That being said, this month typically gives us more visibility in front of the rest of the country. Though we cannot do in-person events, the Internet is holding the keys to our presence and active participation in celebrating what it is to be Asian/Pacific American in the US.”
Wax Motif: “My family is currently based all around the world, so FaceTime has pretty much been the norm for a while now.”
AObeats: “I've been making lots of songs and cooking lots of food.”
Jai Wolf: “I've definitely been calling my parents a lot more and video chatting with my relatives around the world. Even though things may seem bleak in the world, it has definitely brought me a little closer to my family.”
Manila Killa: “Cooking. Because now there's a lot of time spent at home, I've been honing my cooking skills and delving into Filipino inspired recipes my mom prepared for me while growing up in the states and the Philippines. I once made this popular chicken dish stew called Adobo—didn't completely nail it as well as my mom did, but it's a work in progress.”
Josh Pan: “I don’t know if ‘celebrate’ is the correct word, given the circumstances, but for the most part, I’ve been completely isolated and working remotely from my home with my cat. My family and loved ones are doing the same remaining isolated in their own homes and it’s pretty hard for us all. However, I do count my blessings daily and realize how fortunate we are compared to so many people who are suffering all around the world. Most people living in most Asian countries are really struggling through these times. This month, I spent quite some time discussing Asian history with friends and family. Asian history is really quite fascinating and it was nice to refresh my memory on so many things I learned in the past.”
Shawn Wasabi: “Honestly, this whole month I’ve been home alone working on my album MANGOTALE. It has a lot of influence from Asian-American culture, if it counts? The creative process behind manifesting this project has been fun and it’s taught me a lot about myself, but I am extremely exhausted. I’m very happy and proud of it, but also it’s taken so much out of me mentally and physically. It’s going to take me a bit of time to return to reality.
“I have Filipino friends here, but I’m the only one in my family who lives in Los Angeles. I called my mom on Mother’s Day because she lives back home in Salinas. My partner is at my house too, and sometimes I visit her family.”