VICE: Asian Rap's Biggest Fan Is a White Guy from Staten Island

 

VICE- Mark Seaquist

via VICE by @zach_two_times

So, apparently the biggest fan of Asian American hip hop is this white dude, "Mr. Behind-the-Scenes", Mark Seaquist.

"When I first heard about Seaquist and his love of Asian-American rap, he sounded like an eccentric white guy with a cultural fetish. But when more and more artists vetted the claim that this guy was an important thread in a rather disparate music scene, I became curious."

There's some powerful commentary by Mr. Seaquist and the author of this post Zachary Schwartz about the struggles of Asian American rappers trying to succeed in hip hop. For example:

"In America, in the mercurial lens of hip-hop, Asians have to wonder about where they fit in. Asian-American hip-hop doesn't necessarily sound any different from other types of rap, but in an art form where personal history, identity, and geography often provide the backbone for the music, especially with regards to lyrics and narrative, ethnicity can be a defining characteristic."

Read the full article here: http://www.vice.com/read/asian-raps-biggest-fan-is-a-white-guy-from-staten-island-111