By Eric Diep

In March, Okinawan rapper Awich brought together the biggest names from South Korea, China, Cambodia, and India for “Asian State of Mind.” It referenced Nas’ 1994 classic by name but stripped away the nightmarish themes of living on the edge and thinking of crime in New York City to create a moment of unity and spirits aligned. “Asian State of Mind” represented superstars from their countries, rapping in their languages, and showed the eastern part of the world had something to say. In some of their lyrics, Awich calls Wu-Tang Clan her “sensei,” while KR$NA references Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.”

Each has a special place for hip-hop in their hearts. For Awich, the military base brought a lot of American culture to Okinawa, including hip-hop, and planted the seed for her love of 2Pac. For Jay Park, a cousin put him on to Warren G’s “Regulate” and then further fed his obsession by getting into lyricists like Eminem, Canibus, and Nas. For Masiwei, it was using a VPN to access the outside world and an internet connection that got him into DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Big L. For KR$NA, he spent part of his childhood in South London, beginning to rap as a means to fit in with his peers. For VannDa, it was his older brother who showed him hip-hop, and his curiosity led him to make songs through a cracked version of FruityLoops.

Over 50 years after hip-hop was born on Aug. 11, 1973, at a party spun by DJ Kool Herc in the basement of an apartment in The Bronx, no one predicted it would be the most influential and dominant genre in the world. To examine the impact and influence of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) people in hip-hop, you have to start on the West Coast and the role Filipino Americans played in contributing to the culture. In The Bay, you had DJ Qbert, one of the founding members of Inivisbl Skratch Piklz, who, with DJ Apollo, became the first to operate as a turntablism band. DJ Qbert dominated the Disco Mix Club World Championships in the 1990s, winning three times and becoming an influential figure for his innovative approach to scratching and mixing techniques.

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