Jonnie Park: The Asian Kid Hip Hop Wasn't Ready For

About this episode

Jonnie Park discusses his journey as an Asian battle rapper and the cultural complexities he navigated growing up in America.

Jonnie Park was born in Argentina to Korean parents, crossed the US-Mexico border undocumented at age three, carried by a mother with two toddlers and nothing but courage, and grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles, caught between Korean, Latino, and Black American culture. He became one of the only Asian battle rappers in history to gain mainstream notoriety, starred in Run DMC, appeared in Awkafina is Nora from Queens, voiced a character in Raya and the Last Dragon, and now he's written a memoir, Spit: A Life in Battles, which drops on April 14th. In this episode, Jonnie and Sadia get into what it actually felt like to step into a battle rap circle surrounded by hundreds of people, how hip hop taught him to be unapologetically Asian, the complicated relationship with his father that he had to write about first before anything else, and why immigrants, including his mother, built the best parts of America. This episode covers: undocumented immigration, Korean American identity, battle rap culture, cultural appropriation vs. appreciation, Asian American representation in Hollywood, memoir writing, and generational trauma. Join us in creating new intellectual engagement for our…

People in this episode

Host: Sadia Khan

Guest: Jonnie Park

Topics covered

• undocumented immigration
• Korean American identity
• battle rap culture
• cultural appropriation vs. appreciation
• Asian American representation in Hollywood
• memoir writing
• generational trauma

Keywords

• Jonnie Park
• battle rap
• Asian American
• memoir
• cultural identity
• undocumented immigration
• Korean American

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Spit: A Life in Battles, Run DMC, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Raya and the Last Dragon

Places: Argentina, Koreatown, Los Angeles

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