African-Americans have hip-hop (Sean “Puffy” Combs), and Hispanics have Latino music (Ricki Martin). Asian-Americans are one of the fastest growing groups in America, so why is there no popular music that is considered Asian-American?
What about LA Boys and CoCo Lee?
Of course, these examples bear out my theory that any ABC with a decent singing voice will concentrate on selling albums in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where he or she can make real money–rather than whatever pittance that can be earned in an extremely narrow niche market in the States.
If you look around in places like L.A. and San Francisco, you can probably find quite a few Asian-American performers. But agreeing with the previous post, it’s a niche market that isn’t going to generate a lot of money on this side of the Pacific.
Well the so called niche is already filled by the jap-pop and other stars across the pacific, the older age groups don’t really care what and if they prefer asian musical composure then they can listen to it. But for the most part, of my asian friends we listen to UK tech or cornelius or something like that. Americans like american music also.
J-pop is growing in popularity among anime fans and others who have an interest in Japanese pop-culture, I think it will gain more mainstream popularity eventually, but it’s time hasn’t come yet, and it may have to evolve to something more fashionable among Americans - one thing that I think is inhibiting it is that most Asian pop music is extremely upbeat and sounds very ‘teenybopper’. Closest equivelant would probably be boy bands like N’Sync and stuff like Britney Spears, which is popular among the pre-teen to teen girl market - but the American kids being exposed to it are teenage boys who are more interested in the darker elements of Asian pop-culture.
CA is where the Asian-American music is at. And its basically hip hop, pop, and rap. And actually, some of it is in fact mainstream.
Ever hear of Jocelyn Enriquez? She’s pretty mainstream. Not like Brittany Spears or Puffy mind you, but then again, Asian-Americans make up a little less than 1% of the U.S. population, 75% of which either live in CA or NY…so of course Asian American music will never be on MTV or VH1.
I think the OP is not talking about Asian-American artists who perform mainstream genres, but a genre of music with Asian roots or lyrics - like Latin music, Ricky Martin is pop but his music has strong Latin influences.
Otherwise, I would offer Shonen Knife as an example, they are a Japanese punk/pop band which has been around a while and has a modest following in the U.S., but there is nothing inherently ‘Asian’ about their music, they sing in English and their music style is the same basic stuff that Green Day played.
As far as import stuff goes, I’d have to agree with what’s been said so far. To add to what Badtz said about Shonen Knife, they had a bit part in Blade, even showing up on the soundtrack, IIRC (they showed up on the Blade promotional CD, anyway). Pizzicato Five also had a bit in Charlie’s Angels, supplying the background music during the “flip your hair” pseudo-Japan scene.
As far as Asian-American music in the US goes, it seems as if taiko drumming is gaining the most popularity, though this really isn’t saying much. The group Kodo has played down in Santa Monica on the promenade, a pretty darn mainstream venue IMHO (though calling it a ‘venue’ may be giving it more credit than it’s worth). Cirque du Soleil has also been using taiko drumming in some of its performances, most notably in Mystere and Dralion, IIRC.
What about American Indian music? Axel Rose of Guns’n Roses used to dance in what seemed to me to be a Native American-inspired way. It was great to watch and about the only Indian influence I was ever conscious of in popular music. Why has there never been an Native Indian performer who could bring more of that kind of thing to rock music?
Why is there no Asian-American music, you ask? Dear God, man! Have you heard Asian music?? It’s horrible! Korean pop music, IMHO, is JUST as bad as it sounds like it might be! [sup]Oh God! I’m gonna be taken to the Pit by Astrofiancee for this, I just know it![/sup]
In my limited experience, it seems like most Asian-Americans I know listen to Asian singers/bands. There is a Korean pop star named Seo Tae-Ji, who IIRC, lives in LA, and is quite popular here in Korea and also among the Asian population in CA…
The group Redbone, whose main guys were Native Americans Pat and Lolly Vegas, had two hits in the early 70s (“Come and Get Your Love” and “The Witch Queen of New Orleans”). However, neither was particularly Native American-sounding; they were both pretty straightforward rock/pop songs. IIRC, there were some cuts on their albums that were more directly inspired by Native American music.
Prior to this, “Witchy-Tai-To” by Everything is Everything – which was based on an authentic Native American chant – was a small hit. It was composed by Native American jazzman Jim Pepper, who re-recorded it on his own album “Pepper’s Pow-Wow.” Brewer and Shipley of “One Toke Over the Line” fame also did a cover version of this song.
But that’s about it.
P.S. Back to the OP, I was gonna cite Shonen Knife if no one else did. There are occasional genuine Japanese elements in their songs, but mostly they’re influenced by American punk (The Ramones in particular). Originally, they wrote and recorded their songs in Japanese and then did English versions, but I believe I read that more recently they’ve been writing primarily in English. Anyway, they’re great…among the most fun bands you’ll ever hear.
Bear something in mind: a century ago, if a 5 year old Irish kid came to Boston or New York with his parents, he probaly lived in an all-Irish neighborhood, and grew up associating almost exclusively with other Irish. There were no mass media, so his exposure to American popular culture came slowly. Most of the songs and dances he learned were the same ones his parents had known and loved in Ireland. So, as he grew older, if he learned to play an instrument, he’d almost certainly play music with an Irish flavor. So, for several generations at least, there’d be lots of “Irish-American” music.
Today, however, a kid who comes to New York from Beijing or Calcutta grows up in a house with a TV and a radio, and goes to school with kids of many racial backgrounds. Today’s Asian immigrant is exposed to all kinds of music, through the media and through friends and classmates. By the time she’s 12, a girl from China or India is likely to be listening to Brittany Spears and 'N Sync, just like her classmates. It takes very little time for immigrant kids to embrace American pop culture. Their PARENTS may still prefer stuff from the old country, and may buy CDs from Hong Kong or India, but the kids become Americanized so rapidly, that very little worth calling “Asian-American” is generated.
There is a flourishing genre of Iranian-American pop music centered in L.A., where there are a lot of Iranian emigrés. (Iran is in Asia, remember.) Most of the stuff is not worth mentioning. But there are two excellent California groups that combine Iranian and American members, and fuse Persian with Western music: Axiom of Choice and Vas.
(Axiom of Choice was formed by two mathematicians and is named after a concept in mathematics. Vas has got to be one of the few groups named after a male sex organ.)
There may be a future of Indian-American pop on the horizon. Sheila Chandra and Monsoon already pioneered Indo-British pop (following the lead of the Beatles). And then there’s the mass “Bhangra” craze in England. There are two American groups called Rasa and Sorma that make Indian-inspired fusion music (although they don’t have any Indian members). The late, great Dead Can Dance sort of loosely incorporated Indian sounds into their jams. Algerian-born DJ Cheb i Sabbah of San Francisco took traditional Indian music and remixed it with electronic beats and came up with the album Shri Durga.
Actually, Sorma is led by a Japanese bloke named Yoichi Shimada and includes other Asian musicians, blending Japanese, Pakistani, Indian, and Mongolian sounds. How’s that for Asian? I haven’t really listened to them yet, but maybe I will like this.
Jomo Mojo - FWIW, and as many here undoubtedly know, Queen’s Freddy Mercury was Iranian.
Many also undoubtedly know that KISS’ Gene Simmons is from Israel.
Not in line with the OP, I know.
Freddy Mercury, born in Zanzibar in the community of Indian emigrés, was a Parsi whose parents were from the Parsi community of Bombay who had been in India for over a thousand years, so yeah he was Iranian in the sense of having Iranian ancestry way back in time.
How about Vanessa Mae? Plus she’s One Hot Babe.
Besides Shoen Knife, there’s lots of great punk rock in both Japan and China. I am specifically thinking of Guitar Wolf and The Boredoms. Guitar Wolf is a pretty straightforward three-piece, three chord rock and roll type thing (not much asian musical influence there!). The Boredoms are…really weird is the only term I can think of to describe them. They do have some Japanese musical influence, but they are such a mishmash of influences and outright craziness that I don’t know what you would call them. Their singer Yakzuma Eye (don’t have a clue if I spelled that right) was also in Naked City with super-strange saxophonist John Zorn.
Their lyrics aren’t English, but they aren’t Japanese, either. I think “inpired gibberish” is the only way to describe them.
Here are my WAGs:
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The vast majority of popular music is derived from West African syncopated rhythms of the 4/4 time signature (hip-hop, rock, and most popular Latin music). It’s simple, satisfying and catchy. Traditional Asian music isn’t known for having similar rhythms and doesn’t translate well into modern global pop music.
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Enormous pressure on Asian-American youth to choose careers that are highly-educated, well-paid, secure and possess a certain level of prestige. Musician isn’t often an Asian parent’s first choice.
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General invisibility of Asian people in American popular culture. We’ve had one TV show and few celebrities. What is the role model for Asian-American musicians?
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Out on a limb here, but I think choosing to be a pop musician usually involves a huge over-estimation of one’s talent (see Britney Spears for further evidence). You have to believe your own hype to have the courage to perform on stage to thousands when you can’t sing a decent note (see Jennifer Lopez). Asian folks aren’t encouraged to have large egos–humility is a big virtue.
When I tell people I’m a fan of hip-hop, jazz and funk, they often take this to mean I’m trying to be Black. But if you’re an Asian-American trying to enjoy popular music, what choices do you really have? Are you trying to be white if you listen to rock?
Check the ** Mountain Brothers**, 3 Chinese guys from Philadelphia for some good hip-hop. And before they broke up, the **Invisibl Skratch Piklz **, Filipino guys from San Francisco, laid claim to being the best hip-hop DJs on the planet.