DJs will scratch records and discuss struggles they’ve faced as Asian American musicians tonight in one of the last events celebrating Asian American/Pacific Islander Month. The Multicultural Center’s hip-hop exhibition, which will feature DJs Effin and Blindside, will take place from 8 to 10 p.m. in Philips Hall, room 124.
“They did their own programming, and they’re going to give a tutorial about what they do and how they learned to do it,” said Shariq Hashmi, the event coordinator and diversity advocate for the Multicultural Center. He added that the end of the night will consist of a scratching demonstration and a discussion about being in the industry.
Though hip-hop music and culture are typically considered to have African-American roots, those of Asian decent have long been a vital but less recognized part of the hip-hop scene.
“I wanted it to be about breaking stereotypes,” Hashmi said. “A lot of times in the music industry and the media we don’t see Asian Americans, and I wanted to have fun and bring that to the table and show that my friends are accomplished musicians and they are also Asians.”
Hashmi said he hopes the event will help people respect Asian Americans as talented individuals, especially within hip-hop and the music industry.
“Hopefully we can start to challenge and critique stereotypes and show that Asians are on par with many mainstream musicians,” he said. “But really I think people should come because of the music. What I wanted to do was just have fun and allow my friends to showcase their skills.”
“We’ve been highlighting Asian performers and artist all month,” Multicultural Center coordinator Renoda Campbell said. “This will just be a fun battle between the two DJs and a talk about what it’s like being an Asian American hip-hop artist. They’ll discuss whether being an Asian performer has had any influence on their success or whether it’s made any real difference at all for them and their music.”
“It’s really in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in general, and will just be a fun time to listen to music and enjoy what is being offered,” Campbell said.
Asian American/Pacific Islander month takes place in May to commemorate two important anniversaries: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to America on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, which Chinese Americans helped build.
The month of festivities will conclude on Saturday when the local Hawaiian song and dance group “Na Mele o ke Kai” performs a musical celebration of Hawaiian, Tahitian and Maori culture in the Spanos Theater from 7 to 10 p.m.