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| Popmatters |
 Asian-American rappers are no novelty, yet, even with the likes of Mountain Brothers, Jin, and Apl.d.Ap—not to mention the chart sensation Far East Movement—to give Asian-American hip-hop artists a good name, the unconditional acceptance of ‘Asian’ into the hip-hop lexicon remains a pipe dream. Is the general lack of seriousness afforded Asian-American rappers rooted in hip-hop’s vice-like grip on stereotypes? A skinny yellow kid with a pallid complexion, slinging rhymes about dope, bling, and booty when his nose isn’t in a textbook, seems risible right? And whatever Asian-American youth culture is, we know it doesn’t centre on a life of struggle meted out on the kind of grimy streets that nurtured hip-hop at its inception. “Hip-hop was created out of poverty, and this whole idea that Asian-Americans are the model minorities leads to the belief that they can’t possibly have struggles to talk about,” said Gordon Tsai (aka the rapper G.O.W.E.) in a recent article in the Northwest Asian Weekly. It’s a belief that inexplicably disregards racism, the most obvious and pervasive scourge that not even “model minorities” can fully ignore. No surprise, then, that if an Asian rapper wants to talk about struggle, his skin colour features high on the list. Different artists take different approaches. Some, like Jin, embrace it with irony and humour (“Learn Chinese” being the glaring example), while others, like Kero One, make it their aim to set the record straight: Anyone can rap, dammit. So why can’t hip-hop be colour blind? Maybe it can, if you rap in the universal language of clubs and parties, like the Far East Movement. But this isn’t everyone’s sizzurp. On “Let Me Clarify”, the opener to Kinetic World, the San Francisco-based Korean-American allows his detractors one line—“They say K you slanted eyed, from around the Bay / Did your race rice spark as long bangs in your face?”—before he puts them in their place with: “Here to raise the bar, watch your head when I move it / Give me one verse, I’ll leave your head with contusions / Egos are bruising with more flavour than cumin / Season it, chop it, dice it, fry it up and call it music / Chef Kero One here to slice through illusions / Give me one verse, I’ll clarify all confusion”....full text |
| Rapreviews |
| As self-produced underground rappers from California go, Kero One ranks at the top of most hip-hop lists with good reason. He got off to a well above average start on his first commercial album, 2006's "Windmills of the Soul," and subsequent follow up albums showed the "Early Believers" that they were right to hop on his bandwagon. His breezy style and infectious beats put him in the mix with veteran left coast artists like Hieroglyphics, Gift of Gab and Lyrics Born while simultaneously reinventing the potential of what hip-hop can be in ANY region of the United States. In 2010 Kero One should be considered a top dog but on "Kinetic World" he clearly feels he's still an underdog with much to prove. It's not accidental that his opening track is titled "Let Me Clarify" or that he feels the need to justify his spot in rap in his verses, because Kero is a book that has been judged by his cover once too often: "They say K you slanted eyed, from around the Bay Did your race rice spark as long bangs in your face? Did you commit misdemeanors wit'cha disagreements? Get all vehement and come out the mouth like bulimics? I have my moments, but I tried so many different things Good at most everything except listening BMX'n, skateboardin with black and the white kids Born a Pisces, license to put rap in a vice grip Round the age of 14, I wrote my first sixteen It was around 18 when I started beat makin Deejayin, mixtapin, freestylin on stations Sway gave my props to me, my first standing ovation Adjacent, to raisin, my confidence, replacin all those who said I couldn't rap cause I was Asian" Even in 2010 there are detractors and doubters who think race has more to do with hip-hop than talent, ability and hard work. While Kero One doesn't go out of his way to put his face and image anywhere on or inside "Kinetic World," it's not hard to find him on a Google search and see exactly what he's talking about. Then again there's no reason he should make it a focus, because as he points out on "Let Me Clarify" it's other people who have needlessly tried to make it important in needless ways. Look at the hip-hop diaspora ranging from Eminem to Lyrics Born, from Plies to Pitbull, from Muphin to DJ Honda. Every race from every land has a hand in rap music these days. It would be a better world if Kero had no need to address his detractors in the first place, but now that he's clarified the issue and moved on, let's move on too. There's so much more to "Kinetic World" than such trifling concerns. The title track featuring fellow underground favorite Fashawn is a bombastic brassy banger over a big beat sure to bump in trunks coast to coast: Fashawn: "A C-A state of mine every day I'm in Before I start my day, I pray, say amen In about every state in the U.S.A. got friends Uhh, I keep it movin nigga, K.I.M. Half a knot in my Aresu jeans, feelin fresh As I roll through the ep, shit changed since I left How you been? Maintainin in a daze I reflect on the days movin trays makin my way through the 'jects Yes! I'm back, made it 'cross the almanac Canada to France, but I plans to hit Japan Count some yen, couple grand, vacate, take the fam Hit the water, touch the sand, pack my luggage then scram" Guest stars are not the focus of "Kinetic World" but the ones that occur are certainly not unwelcome. The uptempo "We Stay Fly" bounces along with cameos by Dminor and Othello. The Tones join Kero One for "Time Moves Slowly" and while the track is an appropriate 5:13 long the smooth groove seems to go by far too fast. An all-star roster including Myk, Tablo and Dumbfoundead join Kero for the celebratory rap "Asian Kids," while Sam Ock provides a mellow croon in perfect keeping with the laid back plucky guitar strum of "On Bended Knee." Kero is just as good on his own though, giving us an amusing AutoTune/Kanye West impression on the hook of the college rap "My Devotion," or breezing over the cool out Cali cruising cut "Let's Ride," making you want to sing "la dah da da dah dahh" right along with the beat. He even dips into the deeply electronic (damn near chiptune) bass for "Remember All That" to close the disc, showing off his versatility as both rapper and producer for the whole album....full text |
| Limewire |
| Calling Bay Area rapper Kero One the Asian Eminem might at first seem like an exercise in stereotyping until you tune into the messages he’s delivering on his third album, Kinetic World. Centerpiece track “Asian Kids” pulls no punches in its penetrating analysis of the cultural conflicts and contradictions that come into play when it comes to assimilating Asians into hip-hop culture. Of course, a “conscious” underground rapper like Kero One doesn’t limit his cultural critiques simply to his own ethnicity — Kinetic World finds him taking on society at large with a nuanced, sophisticated lyrical approach that goes hand in hand with his turbo-tongued flow. But even before you start to dig into the impressive lyrical content of Kinetic World, there’s a whole other level to be appreciated; Kero One makes the most of juicy, jazz-soaked production throughout the album, sometimes harking back to the glory days of jazz-sampling pioneers like A Tribe Called Quest. Whichever way you enter this record, there’s a lot to think about and a lot to absorb, from the rhymes to the concept to the arrangements, and the beats that back it all up....full text |
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