Album Highlighting Asian American History Released for AAPI Heritage Month

May 10, 2021

A hip-hop album that highlights Asian American history was released on May 7 for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

About the album: “Face Value” celebrated the Asian American community and shined a spotlight on the recent surge in anti-Asian hate crimes, according to ABS-CBN.

Asian American rappers Alan Z and Jason Chu, who led the project, collaborated with other artists from different areas of entertainment, including Malaysian actor Ronny Chieng, Filipino American artists Ruby Ibarra and AJ Rafael, WWE star Zeda Zhang and many more.
“Our pain and power are grounded in 170+ years of oppression and solidarity,” Chu stated. “Recent tragedies have been reminders that ‘Asian America’ was born from struggle and unity. I hope this music helps our communities and friends find strength, through stories that have too often been silenced, but could never be erased.”
The album, presented by XRM Media, received support from Andrew Chau (co-founder and CEO of Boba Guys), John Kim (founder and CEO of Kobunga Korean Grill), Kevin Lin (former COO of Twitch), Michael Y. Chow (co-founder of XRM Media) and OCA-APA Advocates, among others.

Hard-hitting lyrics: According to The Hype Magazine, two singles from “Face Value” were released.

The album’s first single, “Model Minority,” includes references to recent attacks against Asian Americans, including the assault of Filipino American Noel Quintana in New York and the murder of Thai American Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco.
The first single features Jason Chu, Alan Z, Filipino American artist Dante Basco and Indian American singer Neela, while the second single, “Making the Banned,” features Jason Chu, Alan Z and Humble the Poet.
“Model Minority” and “Making the Banned” are now available for streaming, while the full album will be released this Friday.

Featured Images via @alanzmusic (left), @jasonchumusic (right)

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