are spoken word people really asian?

[kasia]

or are they just wannabes?

[DaBestSpooner]

some are asian

[kasia]

[quote:3784f623d5="DaBestSpooner"]some are asian[/quote:3784f623d5]

i know--i meant, are the asian ones truly asian?

so many of them act as though they are representatives of the asian community--yet most i have met are pretty white-washed.

[DaBestSpooner]

I was just playing, some of them annoy the shit out of me too. I say half of the ones I met are these people who recently rediscovered their asian roots and want to be our spokesperson. Even worse are all the "rice kings" who try to be experts on the asian community and culture.

[quote:df1daf28fa="kasia"][quote:df1daf28fa="DaBestSpooner"]some are asian[/quote:df1daf28fa]

i know--i meant, are the asian ones truly asian?

so many of them act as though they are representatives of the asian community--yet most i have met are pretty white-washed.[/quote:df1daf28fa]

[thaite]

What the hell are spoken word people?

[achtungbaby]

http://2tongues.com/

[kasia]

[quote:5a1342e5f8="buoywonder"]What the hell are spoken word people?[/quote:5a1342e5f8]

they're the ones who talk like this:

"hey you asian fetish whities, yo, listen to me,
i'm not your geisha doll, suzie wong, oriental queen."

k...so i can't really rap. but that's what they all sound like. and they say, "BAM" a lot, too. :wink:

[deez nuts]

arooooo?

Never met any Asians in NY like that, guess I'm lucky?

[thaite]

I looked over that site. I dunno, seems all right to me if someone wants to speak out about their experience. The only real problem I have is that spoken word artists tend to toe the liberal line a bit too dogmatically.

I've been accused of being whitewashed by Asians who don't know my experience. Those are usually the ones who think that Asians must all think alike, act alike and come from the same corner of the world. It's really annoying.

[kasia]

that's true--definitely not all asians are the same.

however, spoken word artists, many, come across more like white liberals with asian faces invading our territory and taking up our causes, rather than asians speaking out as asians. all of their songs concern issues discussed in introduction to asian american studies.

i think it's great that they are finding out about their own culture, etc.--but the anger they feel--yellow fury , etc.--i'm skeptical of it all. how much of it do they really feel? and are they only desperately clinging onto the cause?

[achtungbaby]

[quote:b5f39b4000="kasia"]i think it's great that they are finding out about their own culture, etc.--but the anger they feel--yellow fury , etc.--i'm skeptical of it all. how much of it do they really feel? and are they only desperately clinging onto the cause?[/quote:b5f39b4000]

Who knows? Personally I don't think it's worth it to waste time/energy by scrutinizing the real-deal passion that these people have -- I give them respect for at least [i:b5f39b4000]saying [/i:b5f39b4000]that they do, which is saying a lot in this day and age where Asians are constantly trying to laugh everything off and accept things (Hello, A&F!). I don't know any spoken word artists personally, but the ones I have dealth with in promoting the site have been the real deal.

[kasia]

there is a reason to scrutinize--b/c some of these people, who claim to be grassroots and really are not--can take up the already limited funds/resources given to asian community and misuse them.

sure, spoken word performances are great. but what can they do for the low-income asian families that are on welfare? perhaps our resources should be spent on creating bilingual programs to aid these families instead? but some, let's say most, spoken word artists don't speak an asian language--they'd would feel left out if the money went there--and they would try really hard to hold onto the funds so they can continue "speaking out" against the injustices.

i have witnessed firsthand some of this...not saying that all spoken word artists are selfish and self-promoting--but some people tend to forget that liberals, just like conservatives, are very political.

[DaBestSpooner]

Hang out at Parsons, SVA, FIT, and the Lower East Side, tons of em, but they're mostly originally from SF. Fuckin tree huggers

[quote:15c39724fb="Chasiubao_Boy"]arooooo?

Never met any Asians in NY like that, guess I'm lucky?[/quote:15c39724fb]

[achtungbaby]

[quote:befde9da24="kasia"]there is a reason to scrutinize--b/c some of these people, who claim to be grassroots and really are not--can take up the already limited funds/resources given to asian community and misuse them.[/quote:befde9da24]

But you can scrutinize anyone supposedly doing good for the community. Corruption isn't limited to people who rap slowly!!

[quote:befde9da24="kasia"]but what can they do for the low-income asian families that are on welfare?[/quote:befde9da24]

They can do what they can -- and that's exactly what they should be doing. If they're good at it, they can educate through it, and if they can even get some personal satisfaction out of doing it...more power to 'em! I don't think activism should be confined to the guys that pour sackcloth and ash over their heads...

[kasia]

well, i'm not condemning what they do. just questioning the efficiency of it.