Julie Chen is a senior at Princeton University majoring in Philosophy. She is originally from San Jose, California and has no idea where she'll be next year. While she is uncertain about many things in her life, she knows that she likes discussing Asian America, pop culture, and critical theory, and can be reached at chen.julief [at] gmail.com.
2016 has been called a turning point for Asian American representation in media. But in hip-hop, we still have a ways to go. In the 2016 documentary “Bad Rap,” a number of music critics and representatives were asked: “Name one Asian American rapper.” Nearly all were stumped. The one exception suggested Keith Ape — a rapper who isn’t an Asian American, but a Korean national most famous for his 2015 track “IT G MA.”