Kev Nish and James Roh are members of Far East Movement, one of the earliest Asian American hip hop groups and the first Asian American group to earn a #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2010 with their hit ‘Like a G6’ and now work with artists in Asia and the West through their own agency Transparent Arts.

Show notes:

3:00 The differences for a hip hop group trying to make it now vs back in the early 2000s

5:00 Some of the biggest challenges and keys to their success

8:45 Negative stereotypes in hip hop and how they approached their music differently.

11:00 The double edged sword of being labelled as the ‘Asian’ rap group

14:00 Whether at the time they had any idea that their 2010 hit “Like a G6” would be a global success

16:00 The motivation behind working with more international artists

19:30 The surprising success of K-pop in the West

25:40 How important is it for Asian artist to gain recognition in Western or English speaking countries

31:20 Thoughts on the narrative in the US about how China’s influence is in some way negatively impacting some of the American entertainment industry, be it Hollywood, the NBA, or even music.

33:00 Working with more artists from China and other parts of Asia in the future