Asian American hip-hop artists create album dedicated to the history of AAPI
Asian American History Through Music
An Atlanta hip-hop artist uses his music to teach the history of Asian Americans.
ATLANTA – Two hip-hop artists use their talents to educate listeners about Asian-American history.
Atlanta-based Alan Z and Los Angeles-based Jason Chu set out to make the first hip-hop album, dedicated solely to American-Asian history, culture, celebration, and discrimination.
The album, “Face Value,” features fellow Asian and Pacific Islander Americans such as Ronny Chieng, Dante Basco, Ruby Ibarra, AJ Rafael and Zeda Zhang.
“It’s an album that I’ve wanted to do my whole life, but I was just scared to do it,†said Alan Z.
The songs on the album are about things like the Chinese exclusion law, Asian American activists to the recent assaults on Asian Americans and the shooting in Atlanta and Cherokee County.
“It’s such an opportunity to change people’s hearts, to open their eyes because it gives them the opportunity not to be preached, but to welcome something,†said Jason Chu.
Atlanta-based Alan Z and Los Angeles-based Jason Chu drew on their own experiences of discrimination and struggles as artists and as members of the Asian-American community.
“I want them to see fully that this is what life is. This is what we go through. This is what our people are going through,” said Jason Chu.
They also want the album to remind people to be proud of who they are, which the two have learned to do over the years.
“I remember having a turning point where I realized that this weakness or perceived weakness was actually my superpower. It is something that all of us, those of us who identify as Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, experience this sense of being “altered” in the West. . But if we come together and mobilize and also use our voices to speak for each other, then we have this unique story that no one else can claim, â€said Alan Z.
The album was released during AAPI Heritage Month and following reports of violent attacks on Asian Americans across the country.
“If other people don’t tell our stories or tell lies about us, this is a chance to set the record straight. This is why it was so important to Alan and I that our staff understood very diverse Asian American voices. we could go there contributes to the tapestry of who the Asian American is, â€said Jason Chu.
You can listen to Face Value here: https://orcd.co/jasonchu-alanz-facevalue
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