Hey everyone, it's Julie Young
for Korean American Story and Not Your Average
Today, I am in LA with
two-thirds of Far East Movement
We got Kev Nish and
Prohgress
Oh, there we go
I kinda said that with a Korean accent
I thought you were gonna do the
and him...
and that guy
James Roh
Oh wow, you really did your homework
I don't speak Korean
I'm like impressed with myself
music
Kevin I met you a couple weeks ago
in New York after the YOX show
I have to admit that I hadn't
listen to Identity yet until after I met you
Appreciate it thank you.
Your spotify royalties are gonna go up a little bit
thats been on like non-stop repeat
yes
it is amazing!
thank you
good man to man promo right there
I like that
Seriously, I love every single song on it
thank you so much
and the art work
I see it up here
who did the art work for the cover?
Our in-house designer, Alex
from Transparent
I love it
Thank you
But I know you guys did-
its like all collaboration
right?
and although you are on some of them
right?
So, you did most of the writing and producing
for all the tracks on that
Well we collaborated with some
amazing writers and producers as well
The album was definitely
a different direction for us
I think its a little bit of a growth process
As we're more
involved behind the scenes
we really wanted to establish
the production side
not just the part rap stuff
that I think we we're known for
which we're grateful for but
Yeah, we grew up a little bit
So I want to start from the beginning
'cause I'm actually also very interested in your stories
personally
And yes Kevin we are giving you a past today
Nah, we got Proh here-
I'll be honest with you
this guy is actually more Korean
than any of us in this room
Loves Korean food
loves Korean women
loves everything Korean
I ain't mad at that
so, you're both from California
right? born and raised
and you grew up together?
like we're you from?
Since highschool
We met in K-town
Oh really?
Yeah
And we're you both already into music separately?
We weren't into music at all
yeah, it was like
The mayor of K-town and I was visiting
and we hang out in parking lots
and freestyle
and it just turned into
why don't we get behind
why don't we figure out how to record ourselves
and download
beats online and just rap
we started as West Coast rappers
mimicing like, Dogg Pound
but he had the more
of the intellectual taste
I was more into like
Intellectual meaning like
Never wanting to step into my car
'cause I was playing really
underground ass hip-hop
shout out to Def. Jux
thats the stuff I was listening to
You we're ahead
Now it's like Killer Mike
and it's all hot now
James you're Korean-American
did you grow up with a strong
sense of being Korean-American
was that apart of your identity
did you-
Yeah, definitely
my parents are both like really,
engrained in the Korean-American community
out in Los Angeles
I lived in Virginia
til I was like eight
But when my parents moved out here
my dad became a
radio talk show host
for a show thats on everyday
for like the last thirty-five years
Actually he's like the bigger celebrity in the household
whenever I go to places and ask for discounts
I drop my dad's name
and we get the hook up
Oh, that's cool
What's the radio show about?
It's called home sweet home
It's a talk show
they play alot of different types of music
He's always been a conductor
An artist, a producer, all that kind of stuff
so he has a big
a vast knowledge, when it comes to
types of music
and his own personal experiences
so he brings on different people from the community
talk about different things that are happening
plays music
conversates and
next thing you know it's noon
Kevin you're Chinese and Japanese.
yes
did you grow up with a strong sense of that identity or
No, we're fourth generation
Chinese and Japanese so,
I think I grew up more Korean
all my friends we're Korean
I mean, I'm very proud-
I think that
thats why I was really
passionate about learning it
'cause I came with
No knowledge of it
but treated like
I'm from there so,
So I saw and interview with you guys
back in
like, 2006 or seven
so this was before like a G6 you know
and you were already talking about
building community amongst Asian-American artists
So, has that been
sort of like a cornerstone of
who you've been
as a group?
as individuals?
I think when we first got into music we
felt, I mean
we felt under represented
we felt like the
automatic underdog
and I think that
one thing as a group
of Asian-American males
growing up on LA
We realize that
community is way more important
for
motivation to just do art
to do something that your parents
and your family and everyone else
don't want you to do
so, you do have to embrace the community
I think that
alot of entertainers we meet
alot people in
comedy
directors, writers, they're like
without each other
we wouldn't all be doing this
being in a group being a movement
is the only reason why
we would continue to do it, friendship
you know, we talk about that
if I didn't have a friend that did it with me
definitely wouldn't do it with myself
you're parents didn't know
you were doing this music thing for awhile
More interesting perspective
is definitely Proh's
Oh well, I mean
my parents are both musicians
so therefore like
they didn't want me to do anything that had to do with music
'cause they know how hard it is
my parents got very lucky
to be able to build
a sustainable business considering
what their skill set was
my mom was teaching piano lessons
since I was like three
but that was one of the reasons why
actually hated to do music
I didn't want to have anything to do with it
I didn't like blood
I was terrible at math
So I was like, I'll be a lawyer
but it's so weird
at the end of highschool
you know, what he was talking about
when we were rapping in cyphers and stuff like that
I just couldn't get it out of my system
so every weekend
and you know, I ended up going to school
over here as well
I would meet up with the guys
it was really funny too
the first time he's like
Hey
you know we freestyle alot
you guys have anything written?
and I was like, "Yeah!"
proud, pulled out my one sheet
with my one sixteen bar verse and I rapped it
and Kev was like, "Oh cool"
and he pulls like this bible
it was like this big full with just written rhymes
but it was definitely something
that was just hard for me to get out of my system
and in the beginning my parents called it a hobby
and like, kinda laughed it off
but
when I dropped out of law school
they definitely didn't like it as much
yeah
but I came back I finished up got all that done
you know when things started-
getting rolling and stuff like that
they're definitely happy about it
they're proud
I'm just grateful that things
ended up the way they did for sure
My parents were really like, hippies about it
whatever you want to do
as long as you do well
you know, as long as you love it
I guess
It was always just I just had to prove it
to my family, you know
but yeah I don't know
they've always kind of just been indifferent about it
Was it always your goal?
to make a living from music somehow?
Nah nah, I wanted to be like a
professional skateboarder
then a hockey player
any one where there was an Asian person at the lead
so like, Steve Caballero was a big skater
and he had this Asian vibe
so I was like, I want to be him
and then we had Paul Kariya who was playing hockey
I was like, "Oh I want to be him!"
Realizing that I just
gravitated towards
wherever there was a role model I think
and then music there was the Smashing Pumpkins
guitarist, James Iha
I was like, "Oh I want to be him!"
And then we had Linkin Park
It's getting closer, I want to be something
it just kinda went that way
you know, I've read how
you guys were trolled
you know on the internet
for being Asian-American
when you first came out like, hard
right?
first of all does that continue
things have definitely changed
I think over the last two years
the internet and the explosion of K-pop and fashion
it's not like that anymore
it's kinda nice
yeah it is
I'm like, "Asian-American guys are having a moment right now."
No, they really are
it was a tough time for us though
it definitely makes you doubt like, what you're doing
I don't know
alot of identity crisis type things
Yeah, it was a rough time.
Yeah, were you getting that
even when like a G6 was out?
hell yeah
that was when it was the worst right?
You know, I also read that you guys got alot of
feedback from record labels and stuff
that it was too Asian
What did that do to you
as far as your ambition
and wanting to move forward
Made us question
everything as far as marketing
there's four guys
how do you market four Asian dudes
first of all you're trained to think that
Asian males are not sexy or marketable
then second of all you got four of them
You know, so we were always getting like
maybe they should add a girl
You know like, maybe they
should add the girl from the song
The Black-Eyed Peas model
There was always that then its like
they need to have crazier clothes
become like, the power rangers
or you know like
there needs to be a marketing point
from the fact that you're Asian-American
so then it came down to like glasses
if they wear glasses, there's this thing that-
you know
and it was during the time of amazing
like, pop-artists
like Lady Gaga thats when it was really poppin'
that's why we signed on to that label
LMFAO and so everthing had-
it was like every artist was a professional wrestler
you know, and where did they fit
can't just be normal Asian dudes signing on to a pop label, so
you know, we're regular-
when people meet us they're like -
you know, we're just very very like-
we grew up down the street type dudes, so
it was really hard, I think
identity-wise to like
try to figure out
how to fit in
how to fit in and open up for Lady Gaga
tomorrow when we just got signed
came from K-town came from the Korean barbecue
and oh we gotta open for her?
we better throw something on you know
you better figure it out
because it was like
you know, for lack of a better term
like, zero to one hundred
real quick
what was that like? zero to one hundred?
you make alot of mistake, definitely
and you have to try and overthink it
and compensate
get thrown in the studio with David Guetta
and not figure out how to do that
we just made this at home
on our computer
how do we play with Will.i.am and
and Pharrell and open up for him
so it was constant catch up
and I think through that
constantly reading online
'cause we started as like how Linkin Park started
being on the forums
feeling apart of the community and the fans
and then seeing like
just constantly being trashed
decision after decision
video after video
song after song
when really we just wanted to make pop music
you know we're like
'cause we we're very
we we're very socially conscious
back in the day we were throwing
community events together
one thing that was always is why don't you
complain more in your songs
and create change
and we always came from the perspective like
is that change?
or, maybe if
we're always about
how can we put a positive thing on that
so we're like
what if we were to just make a song
that
everyone loved and then
maybe they'll realize
holy shit
they're Asian?
is that change? is that social change?
we're like lets try that approach
so thats what really drove us to pop music
we're like, pop
can change culture or can
can seep into culture the way that
being in
like we were doing songs
complaining, we were doing all that
you know, and we loved that
Like folk music stuff?
No this was before that
we we're putting out just like
you know, written poetry
things that frustrated us being Asian-American
and during that time it was alot
I don't know pop was that perspect-
which is really thought
identity, not meaning to go back to that
not trying to promote it but thats
no we're going back to that
it meant alot
there was alot of frustration when we thought were doing
trying to do something for the community
and feeling like
through the early part of our promotion
working G6 and stuff it was like
there is no identity for Asian-American artists so
everyones like are they K-pop?
and we we're always fighting that
oh no, we gotta stay away from that
so people just see us as we are
as LA guys, always represent the west
always put that in our press releases in all of our interviews
K-town
LA
Downtown
because you go to France
and they're like Oh K-pop
You know, and thats just what they know
and so we were always battling that
there was a constant identity
problem
and so when we went back to Asia the second time
kinda just not wanting to do music
it was enlightening
in a sense that we started to embrace the culture
we started seeing that
everything that frustrated us
and everything that we were kind of like
trying to figure out how to not
not associate with was actually a
point of power
I think it was actually a huge risk for us
at the same time because
we had a song that we knew was like
was the song Freal Luv
Do you point on Wiz Khalifa on the second verse
or do you throw
someone that can't fully speak
you know, english on that
They're like "Why would you sabotage a hit?"
And we're like "Nah we're not chasing that right now."
it's a new direction
a new mentality for us lets just follow our gut
one of the songs that
I think means alot to the group
was the song "Fighter" with Yoonmirae
Not just the fact that we respect her so much
and it was an honor working with like a living legend
in a sense but
more that, that was during the time when
we need the inspiration
really therapeutic for us in a sense
the melodies and the chords
are of inspirational tone
when you are doing the discovery thing
and wanting to quit
we literally were like
lets just be managers
lets just forget the music stuff
lets not make another album anymore
that song and
the process of making it really drove us
finish it
yeah
I have this quote I don't know where I got it from
It's from one of the interviews
I saw of you guys
It's a beautiful things to have something you can believe in
thats bigger than yourself
and if society won't let you in create your own
thats what you guys have done now right?
we try
I think thats always been our
unofficial like
moniker and mentality
because we've always felt
and I'm sure that you know,
as Asian-Americans you guys feel that too
society like
never wants to let you in
unless you fit the framework
but thats not gonna stop an American dream
an immigrant family
people that just
that believe in something, so
we call our company International Secret Agents
for purely the fact that
it's made of a group of people that
aren't given a direct way in
so you have to be secret agents about it
and go through the secret doors
and go through- climb a rope
ladder, but we're all still gonna get there
right
there's no doubt about it
creating your own path is always the way to do things
you guys started Transparent when?
it was built off of survival and necessity
'cause when we got signed to a major
you realize
you're not given the road in
you're literally
have to do it with your team on your own terms
because if you just wait for an executive
to open up a budget
And do things for you
you're gonna get shoved you're gonna die out
and we're all not gonna be able to do what we love to do
Transparent was I'd say
our solution to
to consistently do what we love
Okay, so you guys have worked with Snoop
and I heard that, that was sort of
one of your biggest thrills as artists right?
In many ways
We did this show once in Malta
it was like an MTV show
Snoop had us come out during of his sets
Oh, word
I think he deleted like "Gin and Juice" or something for that
when we came on though
he had the homies pass us our mics
when they were on stage so literally Kurupt
Daz and was it Warren?
and Warren G
passed us the mic
we went with their mics
to get up out there
crazy, 'cause thats like the stuff that we would
always listen to and that inspired us
and you know what I love that he said is
he was like
you guys don't really have a genre you're just your own selves
I think that is so true
and I love that he appreciates that
and sees the talent
and he gets that
we've always been unashamed about just loving music
whether it's pop or
you got Dumb and hip-hop
we just love music