@Onitarō
As a Bay Area native, a lifelong hip-hop fan, a history student, and an independent Japanese-Latino American hip-hop artist, the fields of hip-hop and Asian American history have always been important to me. As I entered university (after a long and arduous journey), I decided to make the two my historical focus, specifically through combining them. I made this website as a comprehensive baseboard, so people can learn about the contributions of East and Southeast Asian Americans in hip-hop history without having to scour the internet. This website is for a school project, so my time was limited. I fully intend on keeping up with this website, making it as comprehensive and in-depth as possible. That includes the eventual inclusion of MESA hip-hop artists, as they are Asian American as well and in solidarity of pan-Asianism I feel like we all deserve representation even if our life experiences and how people view us are different. While the stereotypical view of Asia tends to have a “Yellow” tinge, we are Tan and Brown too.
My journey into hip-hop started at the age of thirteen, when I was introduced to breakdancing. I was terrible. Didn’t have much coordination and being chubby didn’t really help. I could pop, lock, and do minor tutting to an extent, but couldn’t do a Baby Freeze if my life depended on it. Regardless, I fell in love with the culture. I would attend World of Dance when I was around fourteen or fifteen. I loved everything about it: the people, the music, the aesthetic, the diversity, the idea of expression through creativity, and of course, the dancing. Youtube was another entryway for me, especially when it came to Asian American hip-hop/RnB artists. I would be introduced to artists such as Timothy DeLaGhetto, D-Pryde, JR Aquino, and Dumbfoundead. Asian American creators and comedians like NigaHiga, Kevjumba, and Wong Fu Productions started making waves. Many would even collaborate with Asian American hip-hop artists such as b-boy D-Trix and other members of Quest Crew.
For the first time in my life I felt like I belonged to a community, and more importantly, I felt represented. Hip-hop would continue to be a foundational part of my life going through my teens and into my twenties. When I hit sixteen, I started getting really into rap. I was heavily inspired by artists like Childish Gambino, Kanye, Watsky, Dumbfoundead, Wax, etc. Lyricism was always something that I held in high regard. I would start writing poetry that same year. I always wanted to rap, ever since I was in middle school, but I didn’t have the gumption to try until my early 20s. One day, a friend of mine showed me a friend of his who “rapped.” He played the song in front of me and a few friends and I thought it was atrocious. I told him so and he exclaimed, “What? Do you think you can do better?” I said yes. I would go onto rap on and off for a bit.I had decent lyricism, but not much else. Eventually I would take a four year hiatus, as I became despondent for a time and thought that rapping was a foolish endeavor and that I had no musical skill, even though it was the only thing I’ve ever felt passionate about.
I came back to the game at the end of 2022, hungry as hell. In 2023, I started posting on soundcloud and eventually streaming services under a new name, reinvented myself, and started putting as much into my performance as I did my lyrics. I started doing small promotions on reddit and people were receptive towards my sound and style. I’m a very small, very independent hip-hop artist, but my passion for the culture and its history are essential aspects of my life. I have big plans in terms of my career as an independent artist, but I’m also a full-time history major at University.
If I can end this with one thing, it’s this: hip-hop saved my life, multiple times. And I wanna play my part and show people what I got, as a rapper and a scholar.