I just read an article today by Josh Kun entitled, "Eastern Promise/Unexpected Harmony" which can be found Here.
In it, Josh writes about the rising popularity of Bay Area singing group "Legaci" through singing back up for current Teen Hearthrob, Justin Bieber. While my argument isn't with "Legaci", it is more about the context of the article. The way I had interpreted it is that "Legaci" is "opening up doors" for Asian-American acts through performing with Justin and through YouTube exposure. I admire Legaci's hustle, I really do. What I don't agree with is the statement that they're the ones opening the doors for Asian-American acts. My thinking is that they're re-opening the doors after years of stagnation from the Asian-American community.
If you don't know me personally, let me give you a background of my experience on the subject:
I was part of a group called, "Apex" that formed in the early 90's (1992 to be exact), that grew up in the Bay Area with the groups that Josh had mentioned in his article: Pinay and DnH (Drop N Harmony) and groups/solo artists that he didn't mention but have gained just as much popularity as the afformentioned groups: Jocelyn Enriquez, Innerlude, Touch, Buffy, and One Voice. Apex, after several roster changes, later went on to change their name to "Kai". By that time, I had rejoined the group as their Road Manager and followed them from beginning to end.
We were all in the middle of what we believed was our "Asian Motown" - groups were closely knit and we all tried our best to find connections with what we had so that we can all make it in one form or another. Classified Records did their part by releasing several compliations under the "Serenade" series. Acts found their way to local showcases, radio shows, probably released one or two albums independently, and kept the struggle going. It wasn't until Jocelyn Enriquez was signed to Tommy Boy Records that we believed that we finally had our "real" opportunity. Through hard work and dedication, Kai was able to turn their independent single, "Say You'll Stay" into a National hit, garnering radio play in markets such as Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, and other markets. This made major label Geffen Records take notice, signing us to a deal and bringing us to International status and charting as high as #59 on the Billboard top 100 (for more information, please check out their Wikipedia entry, which is probably the most accurate and concise history). At any rate, Kai, Jocelyn, and the other acts that made some noise came and gone, and unfortunately, there was no follow up by any other acts. Nobody, with the exception of acts such as 6th Day and Sway (formerly of 6th Day and DnH), failed to follow through. To this day, with the exception of Jocelyn Enriquez, no other Asian-American acts have come close to what we've accomplished. On top of that, this was all done without the help of social networking. To this day, brand recognition with the older generation acts is still high, despite most of them being "retired" for more than 5-6 years. You mention Kai, DnH, Innerlude, Jocelyn, or anyone else from that era and guaranteed you'll still hear statements like, "I listened to them back when I was in middle school/high school/elementary school!" Don't believe me? Check out this link. It was written last year.
Going back to my argument, I felt that after reading the article, our generation was too easily dismissed, despite all the accomplishments that we made. We sacrificed way too much with quitting jobs, leaving family behind, and countless hours travelling. I also dislike the statement that was made that Asian-Americans only have YouTube and social networking to get their music across. While it is true that it's the first time in a long time where we've been highly visible, why are we limited by that? If Kai and Jocelyn was able to do it without all of that, why can't everyone else? Were we just lucky to have the right staff with the right connections and the right know-how to achieve this? I'd like to think that Asian-Americans now would have just as many resources, if not more, as we had then.
I admire what Legaci has going on now for the pure fact that Asian-American acts are finally making some noise again. This is our opportunity to make that come back. I guess the good news that a lot of folks outside of the Bay Area don't know about is that a lot of groups from my generation, Sway, Innerlude, and other groups, are making comebacks and even scheduling reunion shows. Maybe this is their time as much as Legaci's? It's too soon to speculate, but I think it's prime time for us...this time around.
My statements are purely mine and nobody else's, so if you have any questions at all regarding this subject, please feel free to hit me up.
~Q~
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