MODEL MINORITY is proud to present THE TIGER SONS Tape, following up on their previous release, THE MODEL MINORITY REPORT.
On THE TIGER SONS, emcees D-One, Grand Master Chu, and Inglish continue to speak about the lives of young, modern, Asian-Americans with their signature wordplay. Humorous, self-deprecating, and thoughtful, they address a range of subjects from growing up in Asian-American households (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Sons), online romance (Twitter Girl), historical struggles against racism (Vincent Chin.), and drop bilingual party tracks like Xian Kan Kan Wo (a Mandarin cover of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now”) and Ooh It’s Just Genetic, Girl.
The lead single from THE TIGER SONS, Invisible People (Where’d You Go?), and its accompanying music video, are dedicated to those people whose voices and stories have been lost or ignored. With a music video shot in San Francisco, directed by Angela Yu, the song sees the three rappers speaking out against injustice in the classroom, courtroom, and media.
In March, Model Minority recorded "Vincent Chin." for our upcoming mixtape THE TIGER SONS, in the hopes of continuing to use music to educate our listeners and friends about the struggles and victories of Asians in America. With Thursday being the 29th anniversary of his death, we decided to release "Vincent Chin." early, before the rest of the project, as a sign of respect for those who have come before us, and in the hopes that the tragedy that ended his life would never be forgotten.
The video clips that play during the song are selections from Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña's 1987 documentary Who Killed Vincent Chin? and the instrumental is from Fort Minor's Kenji.
19 songs + 3 bonus tracks, featuring tracks recorded recently in Beijing, China, and over a four-year period from 2006-2010 in New Haven, Connecticut and Newark, Delaware. If you enjoy, please share with your friends on facebook, retweet, etc.
Two videos from the project are available on Youtube: the Bustout/60 video (filmed by D-One) and Bring Me Down. Full press release + other videos on the way...
For those of you who do not know... the last week has been really crazy up in here... pollution that was literally beyond hazardous (For 2/5 of the week it just read "Beyond Index"), pollution-induced illness, two-year-old bill payments being demanded, shady landlords, upcoming evictions, unpaying debtors...
I was riding the subway tonight and my emotions on the situation just started writing themselves into a verse...
The Devil tryin' to lie to me - friends try to get high with me People asking favors then turning a blind eye to me...
So I came home tonight and recorded then mixed this song about the emotions I've been feeling over the last week. I wanted to be honest and put myself out there in front of man - but more importantly, in front of God. You could say that Peace of Mind is a prayer of sorts... when I was feeling frustrated and absolutely knew that I would only get thru this with strength beyond what I myself could provide.
Over the past few months, I've been documenting via this blog, as well as my Facebook artist page, how my ex-roommate (now living in Taiwan) MC D-One and I have been putting together an Asian-American rap crew along with his brother.
This past weekend, we were proud to release Model Minority's first mixtape, The Model Minority Report.
I'm proud of the songs we made, and feel that it embodies the voice of our generation of young modern Asian-Americans, filtered through a hip-hop lens.
The lead single for the project, A.F.R. (Asian Food Rap), has a music video on youtube:
Our hope is that Model Minority will be MORE than just three rappers, but a lifestyle movement among Asian-Americans... something we can represent with pride and feel ownership of. A voice to speak out about who we are, where we come from, and the shared experiences that make us Asian-American. If the music resonates with you at all, if you feel like it speaks about your life, you ARE part of the Model Minority Movement.
Model Minority is a rap group made up of D-One, Grand Master Chu, and Inglish, three veteran Asian-American emcees who banded together to create a group to represent the lifestyles of young modern Asian-Americans of the 80's, 90's, and 00's. Covering topics like academic pressure from parents and self (Overachiever) to Asian food (Asian Food Rap) to romance (What's Your Name), audiences are sure to find something they can relate to.
The first rap group formed specifically to tackle the issues of growing up Asian-American, each rapper brings unique experiences to the table: Grand Master Chu has a degree in Philosophy from Yale, D-One started his own clothing brand in college, and Inglish has a budding stand-up comedy career.
Following in the footsteps of pioneers like The Mountain Brothers, Jin Tha MC, and Far East Movement, the trio also draws from artists like Eminem, Mos Def, and Jadakiss. With their entertaining brand of hip-hop lyricism, they have drawn comparisons to the "Wong Fu Productions of rap".
Some of my crew and I had a DOPE Christmas Night show at Section 6, Beijing's legendary hip-hop party, and I just got around to getting the footage up on youtube...
The song below is my remix of Airplanes Pt. 2, by B.o.B. featuring Eminem and Hayley from Paramore. I got my friend, Korean singer DK Choi, to sing the chorus, and we reworked the lyrics + chorus, which are copied underneath..
Verse 1: How can I catch the ears of America? Play a stereotype, or a character? Maybe if I was more what you want I would have a better chance of standing up in the front But could I stand that? Well, can I stand this? Ten years rapping, with no impact At least I got mentioned on some blogs Wish that I could tell the whole world to pause Life's real, my homey's kid had a fever He was screaming, MY BABY, like Justin Bieber At the hospital all day, at the end, there was nothing left to say, Baby passed away. So I fly on an airplane, and I land somewhere out in LA Standing in the runway, playing MJ Watch the sun fall as it fades at the end of the day.
Breakdown
Verse 2: Seeing three time zones in a single week, Not even sure what language I oughta speak And I'm not just talkin reckless Yellin "Fire!" in a house with no fire exit Check the seats for attendance And pay attention to the flight attendants Watch the windows as we take off, then watch the clouds wash over the wings as we take off... Caught between two different homes I find rest as I silence my cell phone Wake up like, did I ever even sleep? Or was the whole long trip just another dream? Out the window, I'm staring at night lights As the in-flight movie plays on Through the long night, am I on the wrong flight? Should my life have gone left, or did I choose right?
... for the last week, all the hip-hop blogs were saying that Lil Wayne and Cory Gunz (his artist... a REAL New York head spittin flames) were going to drop a monster single soon for his upcoming Carter IV LP, and it just came out yesterday... the beat is pretty fresh, so you know I just had to do my own take over it...
The song is also streaming at my facebook page. If you actually do enjoy it, you can download the MP3 here.
If you have any comments or feedback, let me know what you think in the comments!
-jglc
Verse 1: Askin for the beat up like I'm rappin with a glass jaw And I could turn the heat up even when I turn the gas off If the flow is bad you know it comes from an imposter I could try to act but I would never win an Oscar Step up in the studio like settin up a battlezone Indiana Jones, leave my whip up in the catacombs You got Game, Boy, but you never will Advance while I might catch a loss but I'll face down any man who stands...
(sample: 6 foot, 7 foot, 8 foot, 9 foot)
uh uh
Verse 2: Do it for the 16-year-old kid that I was back then For global fans that speak with non-Americanized accents Do it for the clubs - I'm just kidding, if you ever hear my song up in a club, call me up and let a brother hear I be chillin' late night in the apart-a-ment Wishin that I had two houses like the Parliament You'd get the joke if you knew the British government These four bars explain why I'll never make a hit I might never catch the ears of Clive Davis But I'd be happy to just own a lightsaber Fillin' reams of blank pages With verses to last through the Ice Ages I don't mean global warming but them three cartoon movies that was just a little corny Give a shout out to my shorty Jessii chillin up in Sac While some dude up on the chorus sayin somethin in the back he go
(sample: "6 foot, 7 foot, 8 foot, 9 foot")
Verse 3: Battleaxe assassin slashin syllables for fun Failed to pass gym cuz my uzi weighs a ton I mean I Chuck D's at the open mic for fun But the Flavor is exquisite when I'm goin' for my ones Half the cats hear but they do not really listen so I been workin on flows get their ears to pay attention Get they souls to spark a vision set the cancer in remission The doctors workin overtime to make the first incision I mean that I'm iller, but those bars was just a filler While I'm plannin out a Friday set with homeboy from Manila What up Abz? I be chillin' drinkin' milk with some vanilla In my studio listening to the 5th track on Thriller And I'm spillin' out the vowels like AEIOU While my consonants are competent in combat wit your crew Yall just messin with some snacks, I'm bringin em brain food So I'm up in the lab while you're cleanin aisle two
Last time I chronicled my journey around Beijing to find and purchase a dope mic and preamp...
well Monday afternoon after I finished everything else I had to do, I copped a mic stand and went IN!!!! Lyrics, samples, everything all done in one day and it turned out DOPE
co-starring Philip Lee and Sam Weatherford on the vocal samples...
and much respect to Just Blaze for the beat and Jay Electronica for SLAYING the original song...
[Vocal Sample Intro] I'm splitting atoms by spittin at em with written language got the scriptures so vision vivid from different angles catch the minds of imprisoned prisoners movin roman senators even Trojan men at war couldn't fathom the epic message that we bring to you from the streets of new York to the sands of Malibu got the gift of prophecy so my talent is the truth it's biblical reality I'm spittin in the booth and its nonfiction so I ain't fixed on fictions no tales of cocaine or life in prison ...that ain't a diss to nobody's art I just had a choice to make and i went smart got knowledge in my head and my heart and my hands and my feet on the path thru the dark got my brothers all around me they sharp with the darts we speak like lightning, thunder, sparks
(Tell em who you be) Grand Master in the house Came in the game, ain't nobody throw me out (Tell em where you go) I'm on the path Did the math, it's my time now
[Phil sample]
No Sean John, no Sean Paul when it comes to raps, I'm more John Paul with the bars I'm apostle Paul Gospel scrawled on high school walls when hell freezes like bboy stance I saw the Christ come down and give mad daps, razing hell of the hellraisers i'm like 8 mile meets wildstyle meets Brooke Fraser [haha] now I'm wildin a bit At the home studio got the mic in my crib got the ESV on my hip plus the two-tone black and white paint colors on the whip. car twenty years old, it can almost drink, ever since I seen the light I done start to think ...flashes comin faster now My passion written in the sweat of my brow...
After my trip thru the states I hit Beijing hyped up to take grand master to the next level. But determination must inevitably face trials if it is to be refined... that's why we say, Hiphop and you don't stop! So it came as no surprise that my perseverance was tested soon after I returned to the Beijing hood...
Last Sunday afternoon, three days after I returned to China, my producer hit me with a text letting me know that he had a new job and needed the mic setup I'd been borrowing from him (BIG thanks bent!!)... So my home studio was disappearing :/
This setback could have slowed the movement down... But no, we kept it hopping! Monday night I chopped it up with my Model Minority brother D-One a/k/a David Fung and benefited from his research and thought, then spent a couple of hours on Google hitting up the audiophile and recording gear message boards! A lot of good options came out of the woodwork, but in the end I know that I wanted something (a) reliable (b) within my budget and (c) that I could find and get set up ASAP to continue making that good music (no kanye west [but sometimes i wish i were])!
After doin the groundwork online, I hollered at my church buddy JOSH ONG who majored in music and runs the music teams for one of the church locations in town, I knew that he would have the hookup! And he did, he had a place that he usually goes to cop gear... right near the church location, actually. And even going above and beyond, the man offered to come hang out with me Sunday afternoon and walk around to see what might be available.
When I linked with Josh at the Zhongguancun subway station, I knew exactly what I was looking for... throughout the week, I went back and forth on what I wanted to cop and how much loot I wanted to drop on it - my thoughts ranged from a super basic entry-level setup for around $100 total, to a super advanced setup that would run me around $600 (in the US where electronics are cheaper... even though they're all made in China anyways, smh).
I finally settled on a top-quality vocal mic, the Rode NT1A ($230 MSRP, only one level down from the $800 Rode NT2A adjustable mics I bought for my college studio at Yale) and a slightly cheaper preamp/audio control interface, the M-audio Mobilepre ($150 MSRP for an OK preamp but most importantly, an audio => USB interface).
Of course, knowing what I wanted and finding it could be two COMPLETELY different things. After all, in China, brand names are not only often misrepresented, but viewed as even interchangeable. Not to mention, the quality of equipment that I was looking for - in terms of reliability and brand recognition - was a cut above what you usually find in China, super local brands like ISK and Takstar. Not bad, but not something I would be wanting to use 10 years from now.... whereas, decades from now the Rode could still pull its weight.
Right around the ZGC subway station lie several large electronics markets... I'm talking multiple buildings, multiple floors, all crammed with tiny booths and slightly larger but equally transient retail layouts, 20 service workers all trying to pull you towards their shops as soon as you set foot on the floor, etc. You might have one modestly sized store selling Sennheiser headphones (super high quality, my favorite brand) right next to a tiny booth jam-packed with low-quality karaoke equipment and unbranded webcams, mouse pads, USB gadgets etc. I really wasn't looking to roll dolo through this environment so I was really happy Josh came through with me...
Anyways we linked up and walked in and asked one of the first market workers we saw where we could buy a 麦克风 (microphone), and she said 3rd floor so we walked up to the 3rd floor and saw nothing... i'm talking super simple joints, even the few microphones were the local ISK brand junk (OK for a podcast, something like that, but nothing even touching pro quality!) but that was just in the front of the floor. The more pro-level shops are in the back: with no impulse buys in stock, they don't need all that foot traffic and they can have a quieter and more professional atmosphere for buyers looking to drop more than a couple hundred RMB (~20 bucks) on simple gadgets.
Walking back, Josh and I were approached by another persistent worker, trying to draw us into his store... well we weren't going to have it but I just said "you guys got microphones?" to the worker and he said yeah, plus the store looked on the up-and-up and large enough to have good 关系 (connections) with suppliers large enough to stock good brand names. So we went in and he had me write out exactly the model numbers of what I was looking for, then went running around to various stockrooms pulling out exactly what I wanted.
Eventually they had everything I wanted out there... the Rode NT1A package with pop filter and shock mount, plus the Mobilepre preamp/Audio interface package. Haha, the salesman even asked me BOTH TIMES about the price like "are you sure you want this one? 这种有点儿贵" (This kind's a little expensive). But I told him I knew what I needed, and I was willing to pay for the quality.
But remember I said that things usually cost more in China?? Because of taxes and general shadiness on the part of foreign brands, etc. So they were asking 1850 RMB ($278) for a $230 mic package and 1380 RMB ($208) for a $100-150 preamp... ummm not cool. But with the equipment lying right in front of me, in good condition, I felt like making my move. After all, time was burning and the sooner I got my new studio setup done the better, right?? So I put my 8 semesters of Mandarin into play and bargained/cajoled the worker into hitting me with both for 3000 RMB total = 450 USD. NOT CHEAP but not expensive either, especially given how shipping the two from the US would have cost > $80 plus potentially taken weeks! AND having to go collect the package at some post office, plus the possibility of its breaking en route.
And you know the way I knew it was a decent price, the salesman wasn't happy with me after we sealed the deal! When we walked in talking about buying a high-level mic they were all getting us seats and bringing us hot water... but you know, if the staff is smiling at you and acting happy once you put the cash on the table, you did NOT hold up your end of the bargaining in this town!
We wrapped up the interface and mic in plastic bags, and i transported them back on the subway... soon you'll get a chance to hear how that new home studio sounds! By my estimates I'm thinking 10-20x the vocal audio quality.....
PEACE y'all!
BONUS FOOTAGE: I hung out with China's #1 hiphop DJ, 3x national DMC champion DJ Wordy this last week... kickin it in the studio, building on the musical level, and killing Nazi zombies in CoD! I got some footage of Wordy mashing-up, mixing, and scratching for me!
I arrived at Beijing's Capital International Airport at 4:30 this evening... grabbed my bag and took the airport rail line back home... hit church to link up with my Embassy fam, then went home...
And what did I do there???
Forget going to sleep, D-One was jumping on a track so you know we HAD TO GO IN!
Check it out... Black & yellow... for our people worldwide:
Another week and we still keep it rolling onwards!
Another video shot and edited in BEIJING by D-One! Two tracks off my upcoming mixtape re-release, Grand Master Vol. 1: American Dream, Chinese Hero (美国梦想，中国英雄). Watch it and you'll see: even when we're eating (饺子), we're still spitting like we're hungry!
Connect with my facebook artist page for the latest updates on music, videos, and shows.
More videos and mixtapes dropping throughout December and January!
Yesterday when I was hanging out in New Haven with my old roommate Ray, we decided to hit up East Rock for the sunset overlooking the city. Thinking back on my years here I thought I'd spit my first verse EVER recorded for yall! Peace!
8 AM - wake up. dress. 8:10 AM - hop on the bus to work 8:35 AM - arrive at my internship 8:40 AM - 5:30 PM - work. sit in on meetings, do some reading, send emails, write letters. 5:45 PM - 7:15 PM - prepare for large group. 7:20 PM - 9:10 PM - large group meeting. 9:30 PM - 11:00 PM - late-night after large group with friends from church. 11:00 PM - 11:15 PM - hop a taxi home from the restaurant. 11:15 PM - 12:00 AM - catch up on emails at home. change clothes. 12:00 AM - 1 AM - head to the nearby bar/restaurant/shopping district. hang out with rap friends - the top emcee and radio DJ in the city. The #1 DJ in the country. Meet the top house music DJ in Taiwan and his new assistant. 1 AM - 3 AM - Wes and Marcus know a guy having his birthday party at another club. hit the club. 3:15 AM - back home. brush teeth, check emails. mess around online. 4:30 AM - sleep. prepare to wake up at 7 AM to pick someone up from the airport. tomorrow, I meet up with friends, go shopping, head to a recording studio, go out to a work dinner with my best friend, and maybe go to see Chozie DJ at a club.
The homeboy Derek representing SBTG/Royalefam just friended me on facebook. I assumed that he friended me through my facebook connection to Mark "SBTG" Ong and thought, cool, good to network with a fellow Asian streetwear/lifestyle head - and maybe we can build, at some point after I move to China, connecting the bustout movement + Royalefam.
But it turns out that he had more of an immediate concern - in the last royalefam online mailer, they announced a simple enough giveaway: a silkscreened SBTG hoodie to a randomly selected respondent who could identify one of their AJ5 customs.
And so, a few minutes after Derek friended me, I'm tagged in this image:
(Bustout X SOS New Haven, representing in the studio! I miss those guys, thorough hip-hop heads and emcees to the fullest!)
"Derek says: Royalefam would like to thank all our die-hard fans for taking part in our hoodie giveaway contest! Out of the 300+ entries we have received, we have randomly picked Jason G.L. Chu as the winner! Congrats! Thank you all for participating, look out for our next giveaway contest!"
(1) in some circles - of as-of-yet undiscerned radius - "I'm a blogger" serves as a credible shibboleth. this weekend marked the first point at which I realized that my stringing together a couple of words here and there on the internets actually means something to someone not related to me (hi mom). in this world of hyperattenuated attention spans, the blogs are the go-to media incarnation.
thus embodied, my digital voice translates into physical form, an even tangible perk. or so it felt as I fingered the press pass hanging around my neck, stretching out to push my voice recorder (read: cell phone) a foot away from KRS-One.
Chilling with the Blastmaster behind closed doors because it's 2010 and the blogs is watching.
(2) if you have a camera (particularly in conjunction with a press pass - see the first point), you can do some real wild things that would otherwise be thoroughly gauche. at one point, my cameraman/bboy was up to battle, and so he passed me the camera for an hour or two. within 15 minutes, i found myself kneeling, craning, and instinctively pushing to the front of crowds, knowing that the camera i held was enough to grant me respected access to the attendant goings-on.
Wielding that power authoritatively - confidently - allowed me to interface with people around me in new ways. Strangers who might otherwise give me the ice grill would hear - hey, can i get a picture for the website? - and subsequently pose, shuffle about, even contort themselves to allow my gaze to fall upon them. i felt like Buscape' in City of God - the ultimate observer-participant, caught up in the front lines but set apart, objective, even judgmental - granted the decision of selecting those sufficiently noteworthy to rate the camera's flash.
and that judgment could be used foolishly or with discernment: i discovered how easily i took to being invasive, inhuman as i "went for the shot". but then, the next moment, the camera might become a tool for unity - joy, even - collecting groups of mutual strangers and binding them together - eternally in that moment - with the honesty of the flash, the revealing, recording, light. discernment.
things looked different through the glass eye. midway through the bboy battle, when the camera's batteries finally ran down, i realized that i had been missing the flow of the dance almost in its entirety. obsessed with capturing a clever, well-framed, energetic glimpse, i had forgotten the movement - drama - action of the dance. the very geist i had been seeking to exemplify, i had missed. foolishness.
