This year, the Kollab Blog is closing out the year by asking our editors (and a few friends) to call out 5 things they’d like to recognize in the landscape of Asian America. Our first list comes from our Associate Editor, Lauren Lola, a writer and novelist based out of California’s Bay Area.
2015 oversaw an increase in better representation of Asians and Asian Americans in the mainstream media. At the same time, we also had a turnout of viral videos and momentous happenings that weren’t scripted in advanced or, at the very least, expected. With the year drawing to a close, in no particular order, let’s look back on the top 5 positive moments of 2015.
1. The 6-year-old girl who drops some wisdom for recently divorced mom.
If this little girl ever decides to run for president one day, she already has my vote. In the wake of her parents’ divorce, she sits her mom down for a very serious talk about how she wants her and her dad to be friends and how she simply wants everyone to get along and smile. This girl defies what it means to be a peacekeeper and the 7 million views this video has since received can only encourage the likelihood that many viewers agree.
2. Two fans ask J.J. Abrams about potential Star Wars Asian characters at Comic-Con panel.
Ever since the first teaser trailer dropped last year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become one of the most anticipated films of the year. Naturally, the franchise would be featured at this past summer’s San Diego Comic-Con and as one would at these panels, questions of high anticipation would be asked. Two fans came up to the mic at one point and rather than prodding George Lucas’s replacement for what he can reveal, they instead addressed the very prevalent issue about diversity in movies and asked if we can anticipate Asian characters in the film at all.
3. 5-year-old boy reenacts Bruce Lee nunchuck scene from The Game of Death.
If Bruce Lee were still alive today, then this kid may as well have him on a run for his money. With The Game of Death playing in the background, complete with Lee’s iconic yellow jumpsuit, the boy performs the nunchuck scene from the film, in perfectly precise precision. The video has gotten over 9 million views since first being posted in May and if you see it, you’ll see why. The boy’s got SKILLS!
4. Ruthie Ann Miles accepts Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
At the 69th Annual Tony Awards, the revival of Roger and Hammerstein’s The King and I brought in four wins that night; one of which went to Broadway newbie Ruthie Ann Miles for her role as Lady Thiang. Evidently moved to have won, she turns to her iPhone (“Please recycle”) as she reads out in a shaky voice her witty acceptance speech and thanks the people who have helped her get to this point in her career. It’s rare to see Asian and Asian American actors on Broadway, and so to see one other than Lea Salonga win a Tony was remarkable to see.
5. “They might have guns, but we have flowers.”
The world was blatantly shocked when the terror attacks in Paris took place in November. Within the days following, flowers and candles appeared near the places where the shootings took place, including outside the Bataclan Theatre. In a moment captured by Le Petit Journal, a father tells his young son that there’s no need to move away because France is their home, and despite the violence brought upon them, love will always prevail. This guy definitely wins Father of the Year in my book, for what he said brought forth a light in darkness.
“This edition of the Kollaboration Green Room features Ruth + the Library, an up-and-coming band based in Los Angeles, combining funky, jazzy beats with the unique vocal styling of lead singer, Ruth Cho. They are currently in the running for the Grammy Amplifier competition so if you like what you hear, send them some hits at http://www.grammyamplifier.com/artists/submission/songs-balcony-my-love
Hear more from Ruth + the Library at http://www.librarycollective.co/ and visit their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiOzb_3XKJhhAd9UVICuykQ
Setlist:
“”Who Knew that Love””
“”Still””
“”Eventually””
Special thanks to Zenith Division for their assistance in making this video.
Back in November, a panel featuring three members of Buzzfeed, directors Eugene Lee Yang and Abe Forman- Greenwald, and senior business analyst Mallory Wang was held at UC San Diego for the 16th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival (held annually by Pacific Arts Movement). The panel, moderated by actress and internet personality Anna Akana, explored Buzzfeed’s success in internet video over the past two years from both creative and business perspectives.
Here are five lessons that we learned from this panel:
Abe Forman- Greenwald, Mallory Wang and Eugene Lee Yang at SDAFF – Photo by Jose Bucud, Pacific Arts Movement
1. Buzzfeed is always learning
Every time you watch a Buzzfeed video or read a Buzzfeed list, they’re learning a little bit more about what kind of content people want to see. They test everything, from who’s in the video all the way to the way the titles are worded, and they iterate to test theories and patterns. While it sounds scary and big brother-like, it’s actually what led them to realize the demand for culturally diverse programming. Thanks metrics!
2. What all the colored Buzzfeed channels mean
The color titles for Buzzfeed’s many channels represent the general themes of the videos in each. Violet represents “You”, character driven videos celebrating what makes people unique, Blue represents “Science”, and the cool stuff that occurs in our world, and Yellow represents Identity (nope, it’s not yellow as in Asian people), a celebration of culture that originally began with female-focused videos.
3. “If Asians Said the Stuff White People Say” started a movement
It’d be an understatement to say that “If Asians Said the Stuff White People Say” was just a popular video from Buzzfeed. The company’s first racially-focused video was a groundbreaking achievement that set the tone for their future work. Originally inspired by a Facebook post by Jeff Yang (pioneering APA writer and father of Fresh Off the Boat star Hudson Yang), the internal Buzzfeed brainstorming thread exploded as the concept “opened a floodgate that was begging to be opened.” After the success of the viral video, Buzzfeed does what it does best and iterated on the idea to what we see today, expanding to other minority group and exposing audiences to alternative perceptions.
4. Buzzfeed will never run out of ideas
In just a few years, Buzzfeed Motion Pictures has grown from 20 to more than 200 producers! With each of their producers being encouraged to create their own content, and the quick turnaround on projects (many with only a 2 person crew and $300 budget), Buzzfeed isn’t worried about the well running dry anytime soon. In fact, Buzzfeed is expanding its production scope by developing scripted content, social media focused video, and even documentary features.
5. Advice for young creatives
The panel offered this solid advice to up-and-coming creators, “keep making stuff!” A lot of the most popular content produced at Buzzfeed occurred because opportunity collided with the drive to create. “Parents imitate their children” came to be because Eugene’s mom just happened to be in town, and led to parents of Buzzfeed staff being involved in more of their content. In addition to taking advantage of opportunities, it’s also important for creators to find unique perspectives from their own point of view. It may be harder, but the crew challenges up-and-comers to “figure out your voice and then push as hard as you can!”
The Buzzfeed Panel @ Atkinson Hall, UC San Diego – Photo by Jose Bucud, Pacific Arts Movement
At Kollaboration, our objective has always been to come together as a community and battle negative stereotypes and the status quo via “empowerment through entertainment.” Over the years in getting to know the numerous artists we’ve been honored to work with, we’ve seen a number of collaborations come about through the various mediums in the entertainment industry; from dancers choreographing a piece together, to stand-up comedians putting on a show, and musicians working together to make an awesome new song. Of the collaborations that have taken place, there are always those that are merely dreams at the moment, in hopes of one day becoming real.
We recently reached out to a few entertainers in the community and asked them the following: If you could collaborate with anyone at all that you haven’t collaborated with yet, who would it be and why?
Christine Chen at the LA Pacific Asian Film Festival – Photo by Steven Lam
Christine Chen, Film Producer (Wong Fu Productions)
My dream collaborator(s) would be both Bubzbeauty (Lindy Tsang) and … OPRAH! Sorry I couldn’t just pick one. And since it’s DREAM collaborator, I had to aim high like OPRAH. If you can’t tell I’m super excited about them both. Both women represent everything true, genuine and pure in trying to fulfill one’s purpose in life. I’m a firm believer striving to fulfill what you were meant to do in this life should be your highest priority in life. Whether that purpose is to make videos on YouTube to connect with thousands if not millions of people, be the best parent to your 3 children, or having a TV show like “The Oprah Show” and help share all kinds of people’s stories so others can take away and learn more about themselves through the paths of others. And even though Bubzbeauty and Oprah have reached success on so many levels, they continue to push themselves to be better and seek even more ways to help others.
Jenny Yang, Comedian
Mindy Kaling! She’s badass and a trailblazer and I want to raise my funny to her level of dopeness.
Jenny Yang – Photo by Jim Seida / NBC News
Dan AKA Dan at Kollaboration Star 2014 – Photo by John Zhang
Dan AKA Dan, Rapper
Dream collaboration is with Malaysian artist Yuna! She’s amazing – super talented – I’ve been following her for a long time. If not her…. a music video by the amazing Spike Jonze would be incredible.
Samantha Futerman, Actress
Jenny Yang!! It’s not everyday you come across such a funny, talented woman like that!
Samantha Futerman at Kollaboration Star 2014 – Photo by Rahuk Alfar
The Kinjaz at Kollaboration Star 2015 – photo by Jimmy Page
Ben Chung, Dancer (Kinjaz)
I don’t know if this is a “dead or alive” question, so I’m just going to go with the biggest influencer in my life from childhood to present day…and that is the legendary Bruce Lee. This man’s philosophy of movement transcends way beyond just martial arts, but it is applicable to life holistically. He spoke on being like the nature of water. Water flows…it pushes…it receives…it is both forceful and yielding. This concept absolutely applies to the way I’ve learned to receive and move to music. When music hits my ears, however my body receives and moves to it in that moment, without thought…that is the most honest and free expression of movement. Bruce is the truth!
Amidst the hustle and bustle of families, tourists, and people on their lunch breaks mingling in the open-air Japanese Village Plaza, I sat down with Café Dulce founder James Choi to learn more about the man who, against formidable odds, built up one of the most popular cafes in Little Tokyo.
Café Dulce boasts a mouthwatering spectrum of in-house baked treats (who doesn’t love a melt-in-your-mouth fluffy green tea donut?), carefully crafted coffee beverages using beans from roasters such as Verve and Heart Roasters, and, best of all, some of the most down-to-earth, all-around-day-brightening baristas you’ll be pressed to find in Los Angeles. After hosting a series of pop-up cafes throughout the rapidly developing downtown Los Angeles, Café Dulce has recently opened up their second brick-and-mortar location this past January in Alameda Square, a stone’s throw from Little Tokyo.
Choi had no idea he would become the mastermind behind one of the most popular cafes in Los Angeles when he went to college. He’d entered the University of Southern California to pursue a career in professional golf, but ended up entering the accounting field through Ernst & Young after realizing that his mother was going through some financial trouble.
Cafe Dulce in LA’s Little Tokyo Neighborhood – Photo: Amparo Rios
“During that time, my mom had been out of work for around 6… 7… 8 years, and she was constantly trying to start businesses. She had worked for the Mirage Hotel in Vegas, when the Mirage was the best hotel, when it was new. So she was the international marketing hostess there, and there was a huge thing that happened where the Mirage used her as a scapegoat. She spent time in jail in Korea… and she was actually in a huge lawsuit with Mirage Resort and the casinos and Steve Wynn and all that stuff,” explains Choi.
“So anyways, that had kept her from working for a long time. And she was like, I want to start a business. So I was trying to figure out what it is that she could do.” Soon after, they opened up Teuscher Swiss Chocolates at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto.
There was no rest in sight for the both of them. “So for the first year, what I would do is, I’d work Monday through Friday at Ernst and Young, and then fly up to San Jose and drive to Palo Alto on Friday night … work Saturday Sunday, and then fly back down Sunday night and go back to work on Monday… I did that straight for like six months, and did that every other week for another six months,” recalls Choi.
Soon, Choi realized that his mother was really unhappy at the store, and shortly after his grandmother passed away, his mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. He needed to get his mother out of there. Teuscher was soon sold, and the money from selling the store went to supporting his mother’s hospital bills and their living expenses.
Choi’s mother was not one to wait around to let life pass her by, however. She told Choi, “I’m not going to wait around and die. I’m going to open up a bakery in Little Tokyo.”
Choi was resistant at first, and for good reasons. First of all, neither he nor his mother had any bakery experience. The chocolate boutique, in contrast, had been a much easier store to operate. All that was required was keeping track of inventory, hiring staff, ordering chocolates from Switzerland, and packaging and selling the chocolates. Café Dulce, on the other hand, has three relatively chaotic operations in a small store: an in-store bakery, a strong coffee culture, and a popular lunch program. “Of course, we weren’t like that when we first opened,” remarks Choi. “But thinking about that sort of thing, a bakery’s not easy.”
On a more personal note, Choi was also hesitant because he knew that his mother’s declining health was heavily interlinked with stress. Choi recalls trying to convince his mother, “Mom, you should just chill. I’m going to work. You don’t have to worry about anything. You just have to relax.”
Upon revealing that she had a baker partner who would be in charge of operation, Choi finally relented, “If that’s the case and that’s going to make you happy, then go for it.”
Choi and staff at Cafe Dulce – Photo: sprudge.com
As luck would have it, however, the partner bailed after a huge disagreement with Choi’s mother, three weeks before the store was set to open. So with no further ado, Choi put in his two-week notice at Ernst & Young and prepared himself to learn how to run a bakery in three weeks.
“When other people say, is there a word of advice… this is not something I recommend for people to do. When I talk to other restaurateurs or people who’ve been in the restaurant business for a really long time, they say that we’re the exception to the rule,” he admits with a laugh. “My mom had $500 in her banking account. We didn’t even have flour to bake with.”
Credit cards were maxed out over the next 6 months and payments were floated with abandon in a desperate attempt to keep the doors open. “So, what are you gonna do? She’s already spent all the money [on building out the store]… If you’ve started something, you’ve gotta at least see it through. You know, sink or swim.” And with that, Choi put his head down and faced the hurricane.
“First year and a half, it was more of, which bill could I pay last?… You quickly realize that the electric company and the gas company, they don’t charge you late fees until they actually come to your store and ask for a check. And they don’t cut your power. So we were… two, three months behind on our electrical bill and our gas bill.” It is hard to imagine that what is now such a thriving café had once been on the brink of existence.
Up and running, Café Dulce is an invaluable pillar of the Little Tokyo community, with Choi as the café’s backbone. Where community comes in, Choi’s dreamer side emerges in full force. Any chance he has to bring the community together, Choi takes initiative.
One idea he has is to turn the Japanese Village Plaza into the “Haunted Village” during the month of October every year with fog rolling in while costumed folks wander around, creating a spooky and festive atmosphere.
“The stage – that’s not being used at all in October. So I was like, let’s turn that into a pumpkin patch, bring a bunch of bales of hay, do face painting for kids, and create an environment for kids to come in and trick-or-treat,” Choi says, eyes glowing. “This year was the closest we got. We got Tanaka Farms to be down to donate a bunch of pumpkins… I think we’re a little bit closer… every time I share this dream with people, everyone gets excited. So I think, one year, before we close down as a shop, we will do this. That’s one way we try to be invested in the community.”
Another idea churning around Choi’s mind is to create an opportunity for a group of young Asian American artists to come together during the month of December to go caroling through the Village. In the winter of 2013, Café Dulce collaborated with the band Run River North, and ended up packing the entire center of the plaza. “I took a picture and sent it to the manager and was like, ‘This is the way the plaza should look. It should be filled with people.’ If there’s a crowd, you’re gonna at least check it out. You’re gonna be like, ‘What’s going on?’ You see these young Asian artists playing really cool music, and you hang out and check it out.”
When the Japanese American National Museum hosted their Giant Robot Biennale 4 in October, Café Dulce was there to support with nifty giant robot donut toppers. Choi describes Café Dulce’s role in the community as, “being not just a business in the community to be in business, but to really spread more awareness about the community… If there’s something going on in the community that we can help out with, we try to do it.”
This mentality translates to each experience Choi wants customers to have at Café Dulce. By spreading goodwill and goodness to each person that comes in, Choi hopes that it’s paid forward in their respective areas of work and community. “We want to change the community and the world, one person at a time. If you come into our store, we hope that you leave happier or at last you feel better about your day after you leave our store.”
“One thing that we always talk about during our leaders’ meeting, is ‘Who is Dulce? What is our Why? Why do we operate?’ A big thing is sure, we sell coffee, we sell donuts, we sell pastries, we have lunch. But that’s what we’re doing. That’s not why we’re doing it,” explains Choi. “There should be a greater purpose, hopefully… I always tell our guys when we’re training someone on bar, we don’t serve drinks, we serve guests.”
In the process of opening Café Dulce, Choi lost his mother after a tough fight against ovarian cancer. “I went through my toughest times here at this store… after we opened this store, she was good for another year, and then the cancer recurred… she was in remission for a year, and then it came back after we opened the store, and she chose not to do chemo until the doctor said she had to, so that was another year and a half or two of fighting for her. And then it was more surgery and more hospice care, and that was tough, and opening the store was really difficult,” explains Choi.
Yet in spite of his rocky past, Choi remains strong, “It really shaped me into who I am today, and it continues to drive the person that I want to continue to be, or become…. I think one of the biggest things that God’s blessed me with, is the ability to just put my head down and be patient… and having an undying optimism that [things are] going to work out.” That undying optimism permeates the operation of Café Dulce, and is clearly evident through the work, soul, and heart Choi pours out into the vibrant Little Tokyo community.
Matt Almodiel is a singer/songwriter and LA transplant by way of the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia). An alum of the 2011 Kollaboration DC showcase, he headed west to attend UCSD before moving to LA to pursue his musical dreams. A master of the mash-up, his infectious melodies will have you humming and dancing for hours after he’s finished playing.
Hear more from Matt at https://soundcloud.com/mattalmodiel and visit his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/MattAlmodiel/
Setlist:
“Into You”
“Nothing Left to Lose”
“No Big Deal”
Special thanks to Zenith Division for their assistance in making this video.
Fresh Off the Boat caps off its midseason finale with its very first Christmas special, “The Real Santa.” In this week’s episode viewers are treated to new perspectives to typical holiday shenanigans, including the search for the perfect gift and maintaining the illusion of Santa Claus for children still young enough to believe in him, all with a Huang-twist.
The holidays have arrived as we’re introduced to Jessica’s miniature holiday town, or as she calls “Jessica Town.” As she admires her set-up, she vents her concerns to Louis about her dismay over the portrayal of Santa Claus as a blue-collared, overweight Christmas icon. In usual Jessica fashion, she takes matters into her own hands; first by bringing on Honey’s husband to pose as an Ivy League-educated, physics-crazed Santa Claus at the holiday party at Cattleman’s Ranch. However, when Mitch accidentally breaks the illusion, Jessica rewrites Santa’s story even further by telling her son Evan that Santa is Chinese, much to Louis’ disapproval. All is well until Evan speaks out on how Santa should be present at his school’s assembly, rather than the “politically correct” gray blob mascot that replaces him, and everyone in the room cheers him on up until his comment about Santa being Chinese. The lies have caught up with Jessica, as she must find a solution to Evan’s confusion once and for all.
From my point of view, Jessica’s storyline is a polarizing one. Her disapproval of Santa lacking a degree from a university, specifically from the engineering field, is perpetuating a damaging stereotype. Yes, people may laugh and only consider the comical story of Jessica taking the legend of Santa too seriously, but with the model minority myth still strongly believed in society today, the direction she went with rewriting Santa’s story only reinforces it, especially when she later tells Evan that he is Chinese.
On the other hand, having Jessica say that Santa is Chinese also sheds light on a subject that’s not as thoroughly discussed. Why does Santa always have to be white? While one may argue that it’s because he hails from European folklore, considering the number of people of different ethnicities who celebrate Christmas, it’s wise to consider the possibility that it doesn’t always take a white man to be Santa (as Jessica proves near the end of the episode). Through this lie, she provides an opportunity for Evan to see how someone of his race can bring holiday cheer to children all over the world.
Meanwhile, Emery has put together a wonderful gift for Jessica for Christmas by creating his own replica of the bakery missing from Jessica Town. However, when Honey presents her a bakery that she found, the poor boy it stooped as he doesn’t know what to give to her with only days left until Christmas. He turns to Eddie, who doesn’t have a gift yet for Jessica, for guidance. Much to Emery’s dismay Eddie suggests to keeps it chill by taking “action with inaction.” Eddie eventually churns out a poem that he suggests can be from both of them and Emery makes it look presentable by rewriting it on a scroll. However, when he realizes that the poem wasn’t Eddie’s handy work but rather the lyrics to Tupac Shakur’s “Dear Mama,” Emery is at a roadblock again over what to give his mom. Fortunately for him, and as predicted by Eddie, it all works out in the end.
It’s uncommon to see just Emery and Eddie together in a storyline for a whole episode. It was hilarious to see just how opposite their personalities are as their ideologies collided over strategizing gift ideas for Jessica. My only complaint was that due to their plot not being as big as Jessica’s, we didn’t really get to see too much of them together. Hopefully we’ll get a larger story with them in the future, for actors Hudson Yang and Forrest Wheeler work really well together.
I was also psyched to see that Eddie is a Tupac fan. From the minute we were introduced to him in the first season, I was always curious as to whether or not he was, given his love for rap music. I was able to pick up on Eddie’s admiration for Tupac the minute he read “his” poem and not later when Emery saw Grandma watching the “Dear Mama” music video.
This episode of Fresh Off the Boat nicely concludes the show’s first full year on the air. The second season continues when the next episode airs on February 2, 2016. Until then, Happy Holidays everyone!
Over a year after the release of her sixth album, 1000 Forms of Fear, Australian singer-songwriter Sia is back with a new album underway. With her seventh album, This Is Acting, set for release on January 29, 2016, she’s already beginning to promote it with the release of three of its tracks and on November 5th, she released the music video for the lead single, “Alive.”
Similar to her previous music videos, Sia is nowhere to be seen as we are instead treated to a choreographed piece performed by a child in the trademark bob wig. Unlike the previous music videos, the one for “Alive” has martial arts rather than a dance routine, and instead of 13-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler, it’s 9-year-old Japanese karate star Mahiro Takano who dons the bob.
All focus is on young Takano who appears to be alone in an empty room. She is meditating and stirring tea at the beginning of the video, and then performs a number of moves as Sia is heard belting out the song. Conceptually, the video is an interesting take on a song about overcoming struggles and becoming a fighter, especially in the parts where she looks as if she’s sparring an invisible opponent.
I could see this music video as an extension of a listicle I did last year about music videos that respectfully depict Asian culture. There are many examples where Asian culture is objectified in music videos, such as Avril Lavigne’s “Hello Kitty” and Nicki Minaj’s “Your Love,” but this music video is one of only few examples that doesn’t resort to cultural appropriation. Sia, who also served as the co-director for the music video, made a respectable and creative choice of using the Japanese martial art as a symbolic visual for her song by simply having Takano show what she knows.
In addition, it’s also wise to note that a young Asian girl is the star this time around. According to Entertainment Weekly, Sia found Takano online after coming across videos of her on YouTube. In fact, one of Takano’s demo videos went viral last year, where she is seen performing Kanku Dai kata (a karate form), and it has since garnered nearly five million views. Much like the music videos for Sia’s previous album, as author Shannon Carlyn observes in her article for Bustle, the casting of young girls has not only been a way of filling in for her absence, but also as a way to empower young girls and women to not feel limited in what they can or cannot do.
Ziegler, who beforehand was known for being on the reality show Dance Moms, gained wider notice after appearing in the music videos for Sia’s “Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart,” and “Big Girls Cry.” Due to the seldom appearance of Asians in music videos, the fact that Takano might receive similar attention for her performance in “Alive” is a really exciting possibility. It does, however, depend on her deal with Sia. While Ziegler was signed on to do three music videos, it is currently unknown as to whether or not this will be the only one Takano appears in.
The music video does have the potential to be subjective to enforcing the stereotype that all Asians know martial arts. Ideally, I’d like to think that we’re in a time now where people would know better, but if that were truly the case, then the stereotypical roles and lack of visibility of Asians in the media wouldn’t be as significant an issue as it is. But considering Takano’s background in martial arts, I hope that the music video can be seen more as a way of showcasing her talent, similar to how “Chandelier” showcased Ziegler’s. Besides, it’s not that often where martial arts are included in a music video. Unlike mainstream martial art films where they’re made to look flashy with post-production visual aesthetics, Takano makes it real by simply demonstrating the moves she has learned that has led to her earning a black belt.
This past year, we’ve begun to see a turnout in better representations of Asians and Asian Americans in the media landscape. With this music video out there now starring a talented Japanese girl, my hope is that it ignites the move to diversify actors and performers in the future of music videos.
Judith Hill has been a backup singer for musicians like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and was to serve as one for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” Tour. She was featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom and was a contestant on the fourth season of The Voice. But Friday, October 23rd, marked the beginning of a new chapter for the singer-songwriter, for her debut album, Back in Time, was at long last released.
Back in Time is an R&B/soul funk album from NPG Records. Co-produced by Prince and recorded at Paisley Park, it was originally released as a free download on SoundCloud for a limited time last March.
The album has a retro feel in its overall sound, for Hill, as the daughter of funk musicians Robert “Peewee” and Michiko Hill, really digs deep into the genre. It’s one of those albums where each song—more or less—is going to have you bobbing your head or tapping your foot in sync with the beat.
There are a couple of songs that really stand out. One of them is the opening track, “As Trains Go By.” Beginning with only Hill’s vocals that sound like they’re coming from a crackly record player, the song is a strong kick off to Back in Time; it sets a general sense of what to expect from the sound. Thematically, the song doesn’t shy away from the repetitive police brutality that’s been hitting the headlines over the past year. One line she repeats throughout is, “Might as well be famous, since I ain’t gonna be white.”
The third track on the album, “Angel In the Dark,” is a unique song as far as its sound goes, as it has the highest amount of production value, giving it a more modern vibe. The production doesn’t hinder Hill’s vocals, but instead compliments it. It’s a standout on the album as she briefly takes a step away from her overall retro sound and experiment with the present.
“Beautiful Life” is more slowed down, as it demonstrates Hill’s vocal ability with power ballads. She thrives in this song, as her voice takes its time building up to a chorus about how life is quite beautiful, despite the downfalls. However, after seeing her duet with Jackson on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” in the This Is It documentary, it doesn’t surprise me that she has the capability to sing this way.
“Cry, Cry, Cry” is likely to be the most musically explored song on the album. Hill channels her inner Aretha Franklin on this one, as her vocals are sung in a way where it’s unlike any of the other songs on the album. This song has the most soul of them all, as she pours a lot of it into each passionate line she hits.
As much as Back in Time is a quality record with its 60s and 70s-sounding vibes, there were a few songs that could have been a little stronger; in particular “Cure,” “My People,” and “Wild Tonight.” With the tempo for those songs being very similar, it started to sound a little redundant after a while. In addition, the songs that made up a core portion of the middle of the album seemed to play at a slow tempo for a little too long. In fact, by the time we arrive at “Jammin’ In the Basement,” the song’s sudden pickup in pace is practically unexpected.
While the album is evident of Hill’s soul funk background (and love for the genre as well), it would have been interesting to see her experiment more with the sounds of her songs. The combined elements of both the old and the new made “Angel In the Dark” particularly intriguing.
Ultimately, Back in Time is a love letter to the soul funk genre, and people who are into that kind of music will most definitely enjoy it. Hill’s voice is a sound that, I feel, has been lacking in contemporary music, and given the album’s cover art of her as a toddler jamming on a toy piano, one can imagine how this first body of work—of likely many more to come—has been a lifetime in the making.
This week’s episode of Fresh Off the Boat is all about relationships. Whether if it’s with a friend, a love interest, or a family member, the relationships you have with people are some of the most valuable things in life. Though sometimes, there are just some relationships that are meant to be let go.
The joint house restoration business between Jessica, Grandma and Honey is off to a rough start. Any suggestion that Honey makes is frugally dismissed by Jessica, even though on her end, Jessica spends $500 monthly to consult Madam Xing, her fortuneteller. When Honey calls out Jessica over taking her fortuneteller’s advice over her “partner’s”, a frustrated but prideful Jessica decides to end their relationship. For a while Jessica seems content with the decision, but after realizing that she doesn’t want to wind up “alone and right”, like Grandma Huang, she attempts to make it right with Honey. Unfortunately, Honey is in no position to forgive. What is Jessica to do?
Meanwhile, Louis is also dealing with a friendship at odds when his former roommate Barry comes to stay for a few days. Barry is nowhere on Jessica’s good side, because he never paid back a loan that Louis gave to him for a vitamin company they attempted to start back in the day. So when Louis finds himself face-to-face with another investment deal, he must decide between loaning over money he’ll likely never see again or save himself a lot of hardship and let go of this guy once and for all.
What I liked about these two storylines for Jessica and Louis was that they really tested their personality traits. Jessica is headstrong, stubborn, almost never admits she’s wrong when she is and rarely ever apologizes. Louis has an open perspective on life and tries to see the good in people. In the episode, they were each challenged with having to do the opposite of what they would normally do. Jessica had to swallow her pride in order to save her friendship with Honey and Louis had to stand up for himself and not let Barry talk him into giving him anymore money. I found these instances to be an interesting path for the writer (Ali Wong, one of the several Asians in FOtB’s writing room) to present.
Similar to the Chinese superstitions examined in the season one episode “Very Superstitious” (which Ali Wong also wrote), it was interesting to see how the practice of Chinese fortune telling was incorporated into this episode. While Jessica didn’t dive too deep into why knowing her fortune was very important to her, fortune telling is a respected practice in Chinese culture used in social and business decisions even to this day. Looking back on the episode, while Honey was in the right for calling out Jessica’s willingness to listen to Madam Xing over her, she could also have been seen as insensitive for not respecting a part of Jessica’s culture. After all, as we see by the end of the episode, Madam Xing was technically right about when they should sell the house.
It wasn’t just the adults who were at odds with the relationships in their lives. Eddie wants to buy a $50 necklace for Allison for her birthday, and in order to raise money to buy it, he takes up a new job at the house of his new neighbor, rapper DMX (or Earl when in the presence of his baby daughter Genesis). Not only is Eddie forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but he’s also given so much work to do that he becomes so tired and grumpy at school, not even Allison wants to be around him. At a loss over being away from her, Eddie’s new boss takes him under his wing (as well as his greenhouse of orchids) and teaches him how “presence triumphs presents.”
Once again, this episode shows how far Eddie has come along since the first season. Before when he wanted to buy something, he was told to get a job to earn the money. This time around, he instantly went looking for work when the price of the necklace was out of his budget. At the same time, Eddie also shows how much Allison really means to him by putting in all this effort to give her something nice for her birthday. It’s a sweet gesture and a trait that’s not always found in middle school boys.
This week’s episode was another score for Fresh Off the Boat!
