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Asian Americans in music

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Asian Americans have a documented history of making music in America beginning in the middle of the 19th and early 20th century,[1] alongside other arts and entertainment. As with Asian American literature,[2] much of Asian American history including in music, is in the process of being recovered.[3] Despite the rise in the popularity of artists from Asia (perhaps especially but not limited to K-pop)[4] and the recent widespread success of United Kingdom artists such as Rina Sawayama[5] and M.I.A.[6] and Australian artists such as Dami Im,[7] Asian Americans continue to face overcoming systemic racism[8] to gain popularity in America. Although progress has been slow, modern artists are continuing to break new ground within the music industry.[9]

Exclusion Era

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During the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act, people of Chinese heritage were barred from holding American citizenship status. For example, despite being a third-generation American born in the United States, actress Anna May Wong held a special "Certificate of Identity" issued by the US government and signed by an immigration officer describing her as a "Chinese person".[10] This time period saw much ghettoization and segregation. Immigrants from China during this time period came from the coastal regions (especially Taishan) of the Guangdong province, bringing with them a love of a form of narrative song tradition from Taishan called muyu (also known as muk'yu) and several styles of Chinese opera.[1] [11] Muyu covered a wide range of topics, such as histories and myths, and in America, also included songs about the experiences of Chinese Americans of this time period. Bruce Lee's father, Lee Hoi-Chuen, was a member of a touring group, the Cantonese Opera Company, who first came to America to perform opera music. San Francisco boasted of no less than four venues for Cantonese opera between the late 1870s and 1880s. Famous composers outside the community such as Charles Wakefield Cadman and Samuel Barlow based several compositions on themes present in this music.

Japanese American Internment

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While incarcerated during the Japanese American Internment at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center Joy Takeshita Teraoka[12] was among several Japanese Americans who joined the jazz band the George Igawa Orchestra[13] that performed across Wyoming. This was part of several musical projects formed at the camps and was the subject of a documentary "For Joy" by Julian Saporiti of the No-No Boy Project.[12][14]

Asian American Movement

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The Asian American movement was born out of the civil rights movement during the 1960s and 1970s. From this movement the album A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America, first recorded in 1973 and released by Paredon Records, was created and is the first widely recognized Asian American album.[15] The brainchild of Chris Kando Iijima, Nobuko JoAnne Miyamoto, and William “Charlie” Chin, chosen topics on the album ranged from those within the Asian American community to those in support of other civil rights organizations and causes.

Current issues

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Alongside many other non-Asian countries with nationals of Asian heritage,[8] the United States music industry's institutional racism[16][17] and racial harassment from spectators continue to include members of the Asian American community. This barrier spans genres from classical,[18] to country,[19] to heavy metal.[20] Only recently has there been more widespread recognition in hip hop. As noted by musicians in the classical circuit, sometimes apparent representation can conceal persistent stereotypes such as within the classical genre around the artist's ability to give a "non-mechanical" performance or to be "Western" enough.[18] A part of the picture also includes an element of appearances. Artists who appear less Asian and yet have Asian heritage will often be accepted more readily than those who appear more Asian. As stated by the artist Z.Woods in an interview with Bustle, "The reason why artists like Bruno Mars, Yuna, and Nicole [Schezinger] become so successful is due to the fact that [people] can't tell that they are Asian...They have the luxury of looking ambiguous".[21]

While an outgrowth of anti-Asian racism as a whole[22][23] (and inclusive of problems stemming from Asian stereotypes and exotification),[24] the rise in popularity of K-pop and other music from Asia has not directly translated into greater success for Asian American artists.[25] Knowing how to market artists has been one of many challenges that the industry faces.[21] It is also not unheard of for the intersectionality of racialized classification and nationality to help or harm a particular group. For example, in France, African Americans will oftentimes experience less racism compared to African immigrants to France.[26] Asian Americans have also had a difficult time breaking into the local market without first gaining fame in Asia. This trend has led some artists, such as Far East Movement to give the advice, "Go out to Asia. You are welcomed there. Get that following, and bring those global numbers back here.".[27] An early example of this trend was the band Solid, and Tiger JK has been noted as one of the more pinnacle examples.[28] This isn't entirely unprecedented in the American music industry as a whole. Stars like Tina Turner had more support in Europe than at home in the United States, despite the African American roots of genres like rock 'n roll, the mainstream industry had racialized it as 'white' music, making her "too white for Black [radio] jockeys and too Black for white jockeys" in the United States.[29]

Additional issues in music criticism such as the tug-of-war politics of the recognition of the value of Asian heritage and traditions in the American landscape,[30] as well as the perceived capability of Asians to enjoy[19] and perform "Western" styles[18] leading to external views of being not Asian enough or too "Western" have added an additional layer of difficulty for artists trying to break into the industry.[8]

This combined with the aforementioned finding of fame abroad for some Asian Americans has led some scholars to prefer the wider definition of 'Asian Americans making music' when studying the contributions of Asian American music artists[31] to avoid a myopic view and removing the breadth of Asian American musical production.

Further reading

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Books

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  • Wang, Grace (January 2015). Soundtracks of Asian America: Navigating Race through Musical Performance. Duke University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv11hpkf2. ISBN 9780822376088. JSTOR j.ctv11hpkf2.
  • Wong, Deborah (June 28, 2004). Speak it Louder: Asian Americans in Music Making. Routledge-Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 9780415970402.

Journals

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  • Wang, Oliver (Winter 2001). "Between the Notes: Finding Asian America in Popular Music". American Music. 19 (4). University of Illinois Press: 439–465. doi:10.2307/3052420. JSTOR 3052420.

Background

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Chinese American Song". Library of Congress. n.d. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  2. ^ Cheung, Floyd (2021). "Chapter 10: On Recovering Early Asian American Literature". In Nadkarni, Asha; Schlund-Vials, Cathy J. (eds.). Asian American Literature in Transition, 1965-1996. Vol. 3. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. pp. 187–207. doi:10.1017/9781108920605.012. ISBN 9781108920605. OCLC 1200832798.
  3. ^ Wang, Oliver (Winter 2001). "Between the Notes: Finding Asian America in Popular Music". American Music. 19 (4). University of Illinois Press: 439–465. doi:10.2307/3052420. JSTOR 3052420.
  4. ^ Billboard Staff (April 21, 2021). "Billboard Explains: The Rise of K-Pop in the U.S." Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Fox-Suliaman, Jasmine (August 10, 2022). "Rina Sawayama is Redefining what it Means to be a Pop Star". Who What Where. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  6. ^ Levin, Harry (June 11, 2019). "M.I.A. inducted into Most Excellent Order of the British Empire". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  7. ^ Vincent, Peter (September 29, 2013). "X-Factor's Dami Im set to be first Asian-Australian pop star". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Wei, Whitney (March 26, 2021). "We Need to Address Anti-Asian Racism in the Music Industry". Electronic Beats. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  9. ^ Cheh, Carol (May 13, 2015). "Mountain Brothers Broke New Ground for Asian Americans in Hip Hop". First & Central: The JANM Blog. Japanese American National Museum. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  10. ^ Blue, Victoria (May 10, 2022) [March 30, 2021]. "Chinese American Actress's Story Illustrates 'Othering' of Immigrants". National Archives News. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Yung, Bell; et al., eds. (May 2014). Uncle Ng Comes to America: Chinese Narrative Songs of Immigration and Love. MCCM Creations:Zephyr Press. ISBN 9789881521842.
  12. ^ a b Nakayama, Takeshi (February 18, 2020). "Film uncovers little-known story of music in camp by incarcerated Nikkei". Nichi Bei. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  13. ^ Spitzer, Tanja B. (May 12, 2021). "Music at Heart Mountain - The "GI" Band that Crossed Borders". The National WWII Museum: New Orleans. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "For Joy". Films of Remembrance. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Kim, Sojin (Spring 2011). "A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America". Smithsonian Folkways Magazine. Asian American Music. Smithsonian Institution.
  16. ^ Leight, Elias (June 5, 2020). "The Music Industry Was Built on Racism. Changing It Will Take More Than Donations". Music. Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Turman, Katherine (June 30, 2020). "Radio Pulled Violent Songs Off Air After 9/11 — But It Won't Reckon With Race". RS Pro. Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c Hernández, Javier C. (July 30, 2021) [July 21, 2021]. "Asians Are Represented in Classical Music. But are They Seen?". The New York Times.
  19. ^ a b Chu, Josephine (April 6, 2021). "As an Asian American, I don't look like the country music artists I love". USA Today. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  20. ^ Staff (June 29, 2020). "Andrew Lee of Ripped to Shreds on Ending Racist Stereotypes Against Asians in Metal". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Oyiboke, Amen (May 15, 2017). "Why There are Few Asian-Americans in Mainstream U.S. Music". Bustle. Entertainment. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  22. ^ Hazlehurst, Beatrice. "Asian Americans have never been welcome in music. In 2020 that's all about to change". Very Good Light. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  23. ^ Guy, Jack (March 30, 2021). "K-pop stars BTS share racial discrimination they faced". Entertainment. CNN. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  24. ^ McMahon, Serena; et al. (March 22, 2021). Miller-Medzon, Karyn (ed.). "A Century Of Objectifying Asian Women: How Race Played A Role In Atlanta Shootings". wbur. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  25. ^ Aran, Isha (March 1, 2018). "America is in Love with Asian Music, but Asian American Artists Still Can't Catch a Break". Splinter News. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  26. ^ Hill, Mariah (Sep 29, 2017). "Is Paris Blurring: When talking Race in France, same problem, different accent". Medium. The Amherst Collective – via Amherst Media.
  27. ^ Cheng, Susan; Han, Sarah (October 13, 2017). "Asian-Americans are Disrupting an Unwelcoming Music Industry". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  28. ^ Park, T.K.; Kim, Youngdae (February 7, 2019). "For Asian-American Artists, K-pop is A Homecoming: Just as their parents saw the U.S. as the land of opportunity, Korean Americans with pop-star dreams now see Korea as a place to make it big". MTV. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  29. ^ Turner, Christina (April 22, 2021). "How racism pushed Tina Turner and other Black women artists out of America". PBS News Hour. PBS. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  30. ^ Zhang, Cat (May 31, 2021). "What is Asian American Music, Really?". Pitchfork.
  31. ^ Wong, Deborah (June 28, 2004). Speak it Louder: Asian Americans in Music Making. Routledge-Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 9780415970402.

See also

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