4/11 "DJing as a Filipino Thing"

As a Filipino-American myself, I have always admired my culture for always carrying extreme pride in the practices and traditions of our people. That is why it is not surprising to me to read how the Filipino youth sought out a way to authenticate their own narratives in hip-hop. I did find it intriguing to discover that DJing was used as a tool for Filipinos to create an image that represented past the general categorization of Asian-American, and that the music essentially helped bring a sense of recognition and belonging for Filipinos in the United States. The article relates to Raymond Williams article because it explores hip-hop, an artistic creation with an African-American origin but development into a widely contributed cultural expression by multiple ethnic groups. It additionally relates to Stuart Hall’s concept of “popular culture,” in which he notes that “popular culture is one of the sites where the struggle for and against a culture of the powerful is engaged” (Hall). Filipino DJs, specifically, must face the issue of respecting the origins of hip-hop, while also making a name for themselves by being authentic and truly representing their Filipino background. While I agree with the claims in the article that acknowledge hip-hop as a universal platform for different ethnicities to join together, I also believe that it can be used for individual cultures to narrate their own voices. An interesting connection I made with the article's concept of "music implying race," is the event that occurred around October 2016 at UC Davis when a Facebook post about Chance the Rapper's rap concert struck a debate between the students about the targeted racial audience. This controversial event signified a deeper issue of racial inequality among the University, similar to this week's article.