Minority Voices in Music: The Asian American Conundrum

When it comes to Asian Americans in music, who comes to mind? It’s no coincidence that the biggest Asian American stars – Bruno Mars, Olivia Rodrigo, Anderson Paak, Saweetie, H.E.R., are all mixed-race individuals who don’t typically read as Asian. So why is that? 

 

This week we’re joined by music journalist Emily Tan to discuss how the music industry has seemingly left an entire race out of the conversation. From being told they’ll never make it as a star to not being Asian enough, there’s a never ending list of why Asian American musicians are underrepresented in the music industry. 

If you want to check out more of Emily’s work, you can do so here or follow her on Instagram or Twitter. 

 

Past episode of Name 3 Songs we think you’ll enjoy: Kpop, Capitalism and the Illusion of the American Dream (with Stephanie Parker from The Kpopcast) & Industry Plants and Internalized Misogyny (with Amanda Silberling)

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Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million

Sources for Minority Voices in Music: The Asian American Conundrum

What Is the Model Minority Myth? (Learning for Justice, Sarah-Sooling Blackburn, March 2019)

The lack of asian American Representation in american pop music (Pace University, Honors College Theses by Victoria Noriega, 2020)

What is Asian American Music, Really? (Pitchfork, Cat Zhang, 2021)

The Defiant Sound of Asian American Women in Indie Rock (Vice, Erica Eusa, June 2017)

The lack of asian American Representation in american pop music (Pace University, Honors College Theses by Victoria Noriega, 2020)

Why there are few asian-americans in mainstream US music (Bustle, Amen Oyibike, 2017)

How 88Rising Raised the bar for asian representation (Paper, Dan Q Dao, 2019)

Asian-Americans are Disrupting An Unwelcoming Music Industry (Buzzfeed News, Susan Cheng and Sarah Han, 2017)

Raising the Bar for Representation: Celebrating Asian-American Musical Artists (The Spectator, Zifei Zhao, 2020)

Asian Americans have never been welcome in music. In 2020, that’s all about the change (Very Good Light, Beatrice Hazelhurst, 2020)

What is Asian American Music, Really? (Pitchfork, Cat Zhang, 2021)

Rapper Saweetie Talks About Representing Her Heritage, Proclaims Filipino Cuisine Is ‘The Best Food’ (Asian Journal Press, August 2021)

SAWEETIE: A Filipina shines in American hip hop music scene (Manila Times, Mark Bonifacio, 2020)

Saweetie on Her “Car Rap” Days, Growing as an Artist, and Her Filipino Roots (Teen Vogue, June 2021)

Grammy-nominated H.E.R. admits: ‘I’m half Filipino and Filipinos love karaoke’ (ABS-CBN News, 2019)

Fil-Am singer H.E.R. talks of her Pinoy roots and writing the song featured in movie ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ (GMA News Online, JANET SUSAN R. NEPALES, January 2021)

Olivia Rodrigo Shared How Emotional It Is To Have Filipina American Girls Look Up To Her: “It Was Always Like, ‘Pop Star,’ That’s A White Girl” (Buzzfeed, Natalie Oganesyan, August 2021)

Olivia Rodrigo Is Asian American—and We Should Be Celebrating It (Marie Claire, Helen Li, August 2021)

Mitski Is Much More Than Another Sad Asian American Girl (Buzzfeed News, Zoe Hu, August 2018)

As an Asian American woman in the DIY scene, Mitski is the outsider. With the slow-burn success of Bury Me at Makeout Creek, that’s all about to change. (The Line of Best Fit, Andrew Hannha, January 2016)