Dumbfoundead - Unapologetically Asian | Docs - video Dailymotion

EST Media

Just because you rap doesn’t mean you can battle rap! Dumb has been doing this for a minute. That’s part of the reason he’s so respected in most Asian creative communities. Korean-Argentinian-American rapper Dumbfoundead is a multi-talented artist, rapper, and comedian. He stepped onto the scene as a teen, spitting rhymes in the world of battle rap. Being one of the few Asian guys in the game, it was where he found his voice and learned to be unapologetically Asian. Battle rap can serve as an intimate battleground for exploring the complexities of identity. Dumbfoundead's experiences as an artist and storyteller, particularly as a battle rapper, have served as a vehicle for exploring the Asian American experience, both for him and his audience. While Dumbfoundead's lyrical legacy lives on as a prominent figure in the battle rap scene, he continues to grow as an artist and discover new forms of authentic self-expression.  Director Joy Jihyun Jeong Alison Boya Sun  Producers Alison Boya Sun Yuhong Pang Stephanie Tangkilisan  Editor Sabrina Sinaga  Director of Photography Justin Guo Alison Boya Sun  Editor-in-Chief Keshia Hannam  Head of Production Stephanie Tangkilisan  Senior Producer Joy Jihyun Jeong  Post Production Coordinator Skolastika Lupitawina  Assistant Editor Rendy Abi Pratama  Color Nadya Sabrina  Sound Ezound Studios  Original Theme Song & Music by Dumbfoundead - Cochino Dumbfoundead - Growing Young  Additional Music by Yarin Primak - Here We Go Captain Joz - Future Retro Teo Laza - Hope I Feel Better  Asian Pride - Got Rice? Yarin Primak - Buss It Yarin Primak - Bouncing Sax Yarin Primak - Fumble the Bag ATELLER - The Lights  Special Thanks Jonathan Park  Olivia Restaurant  Fast Lean Fit

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:01 - What's up guys?

00:02 Today we're in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

00:04 I'm about to go meet Dumbfoundead,

00:05 a rapper, artist, producer, and comedian.

00:09 A man with many talents.

00:11 I've always been a big fan myself.

00:13 Let's go check it out.

00:14 - Oh, this is the one against Tantrum.

00:18 Dumbfoundead versus Tantrum.

00:19 - Oh shit.

00:21 - That one really kind of changed my career actually.

00:24 - We're both Asian, but we were raised differently.

00:26 While I was attending funerals and smoking crime,

00:28 you were playing Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon.

00:30 - We said specific things like import car model stuff

00:34 to us playing StarCraft, you know,

00:37 like very specific Asian shit.

00:40 - Yo, I used to play Super Mario Brothers in the arcade.

00:43 You used to play Super Mario Brothers, the board game.

00:46 - I started battle rapping when I was probably

00:48 around 15 years old, but before then,

00:51 I was already clowning and we were roasting

00:54 each other back and forth.

00:55 As long as I can remember, I always had that kind

00:58 of spirit, like you make fun of me,

00:59 I'm going to make fun of you.

01:00 - I don't even know why the fuck I'm battling

01:01 this panhandling Mandarin Asian.

01:04 You used to manhandle pandas in cages for gambling wagers.

01:08 - But then when I started battle rapping

01:10 is when they started connecting with me.

01:12 Because in battle rap, you face your identity more.

01:15 They're attacking you with stuff that has to do

01:17 with your race.

01:18 I'm one of two Asian battle rappers that ever

01:21 like continue doing it.

01:23 Just because you rap doesn't mean you can battle rap.

01:26 There's only a handful who are really good at it.

01:28 - Representing Koreatown, Los Angeles,

01:31 battler to my left, introduce yourself.

01:34 - Dumbfoundead, what's good?

01:36 - Right hand side, representing Koreatown, Los Angeles.

01:39 - And Dumbfoundead.

01:40 - Dumbfoundead.

01:41 - Dumbfoundead.

01:42 ♪ I said I'm Korean ♪

01:44 ♪ Still called me a Chino ♪

01:46 ♪ What's a mommy, may I'm a dummy ♪

01:48 ♪ I said you must have lost your marbles or insane ♪

01:51 ♪ Give me the green light, I'll slap the shit out of 'em ♪

01:53 ♪ Hit a lick on a cracker like Squid Game ♪

01:56 ♪ I hate dorks that can't play sports ♪

01:58 ♪ But wear official gang shorts ♪

02:00 And then I remember I would say certain lines

02:02 that sound of people like reacting.

02:05 They're like, "Oh damn, you fucking killed 'em."

02:08 Like, "Shout out to Kinga that died in Novo one time."

02:11 I was like, "Oh shit, I like this."

02:13 I felt like that was like my first hit of like a drug.

02:17 You know?

02:18 - Hi.

02:19 - Hi.

02:19 - Hey.

02:20 - Hey.

02:21 - Hi.

02:22 - Hello.

02:24 (speaking in foreign language)

02:28 (laughing)

02:30 (speaking in foreign language)

02:34 (laughing)

02:36 (speaking in foreign language)

02:42 (speaking in foreign language)

03:10 My dad used to beat the shit out of me, you know?

03:14 I was raised like a Panasonic television.

03:17 Something's broken, you hit that shit.

03:19 You don't read the instructions.

03:21 You hit it until it's fixed and there's no more static.

03:23 My mom went through a lot, you know, in the household.

03:26 So she's a soldier for that.

03:28 And the city kind of raised us, you know?

03:30 Like LA really raised us.

03:32 I came to the US when I was three years old.

03:37 And the first apartment we lived

03:39 was like a few blocks away from here

03:40 in Koreatown, Los Angeles.

03:42 I was like a nerdy dude.

03:44 During that time, there was this AZN pride

03:47 and there was actually an identity of what being Asian was.

03:51 And I didn't really fit into that.

03:53 Got rice, got food, got soup, got spice,

03:56 got brains like us, got skills like us,

03:58 got cars, got clothes, got girls like us.

04:00 I loved hip hop.

04:01 It was raw, unfiltered, and it was unapologetically black.

04:06 Which actually helped me become unapologetically Asian.

04:09 So after battles, after I started getting, you know,

04:12 some notoriety off of battles, I was like,

04:14 yeah, I want to put out albums, I want to tour.

04:17 So I was one of the few battle rappers

04:18 that was able to actually do that

04:20 and make that transition into music and touring.

04:22 So every college in the country started booking me

04:25 for all the Asian student organizations,

04:27 the KSA, everything.

04:30 They've paid my rent for quite a long time.

04:32 But that was always a cool feeling

04:35 'cause I dropped out of high school.

04:36 And then to perform all of a sudden in Ivy League colleges,

04:39 like, as a high school dropout was pretty cool, you know?

04:43 I had so many odd jobs.

04:45 And at the same time, I was rapping.

04:47 No money, just rapping everywhere.

04:50 I come back home, I'm getting ready for bed,

04:52 and I lay down on the pillow,

04:54 and I'm like, all in a day's work.

04:56 Yo.

04:58 ♪ Be a man, John, be a man ♪

04:59 ♪ Used to get them all pearls for dad ♪

05:01 ♪ It made me feel grown ♪

05:02 When I was rapping,

05:03 I felt like a totally different person.

05:05 It was a good defense mechanism for me.

05:08 I just wanted to leave the house.

05:10 ♪ But I never grew up at all ♪

05:12 ♪ And now I'm womanizing and cheating ♪

05:13 ♪ Drinking heavily in the PM ♪

05:16 ♪ Having myself a monster's ball just like my parents ♪

05:18 - What's up, man?

05:19 Good to see you.

05:20 - Let's get it. - Let's go.

05:23 (rapping in foreign language)

05:30 - This is how I start my mornings off.

05:32 I think a lot of people are being a lot more

05:34 health conscious around the neighborhood

05:35 and just thinking more about the future, including myself.

05:38 So I think this part of my life is like

05:41 just trying to look into the next 10, 20 years,

05:46 you know what I mean, have longevity.

05:48 I think that's one thing I pride myself on in my career

05:50 is having longevity.

05:52 - John?

05:55 - What's up?

05:56 - Wow, you cleaned up.

05:58 What's going on?

05:58 - Late again. - Whoa!

06:00 - Late again. - A suit?

06:01 - It's been like three years, maybe three, four years now.

06:06 Like once a week, I put out an episode.

06:08 It's very therapeutic.

06:10 I think that's why I do podcasts.

06:11 It's my way of avoiding therapy.

06:13 If you were willing to joke about dark stuff,

06:16 like I think that's a big thing.

06:18 We are willing to laugh about really dark moments.

06:21 That's all you can do.

06:22 I guess you can cry too, but.

06:23 I had never had a call with my father

06:27 that lasted longer than 30 seconds.

06:30 - Mm. - In my life.

06:32 - Have you ever had like a substantial,

06:34 like a deep conversation with your boss?

06:36 - No. - Never?

06:38 - Tonight, he's hosting his monthly comedy show,

06:43 Cry Later, with a bunch of talented comedian here in K-Town.

06:48 Let's go check it out.

06:50 - Check one, two.

06:56 - Jericho, good Jericho.

06:59 I just don't want any of those blinky lights.

07:01 In 15 seconds, I want you to name four Asian actors.

07:09 All right, here we go, 15.

07:12 My journey as an artist and an entertainer

07:19 has been a rollercoaster, you know.

07:22 But I think the blessing about putting your head down

07:25 and working and you can kind of really look internally

07:28 and it really gets you more in tune with reality.

07:31 A lot of people who've been following my career

07:40 will know like my songs when I was younger,

07:42 as a kid was really like fantasy driven.

07:45 Like my relationships and love was like,

07:48 but now as I got older, I realized actually

07:50 that's the part that people are more connected to.

07:54 Those kind of dark and funny little nuggets of life,

07:58 you know, so I dive more into the very specific moments

08:02 and I want to elevate the level of storytelling.

08:05 You know, I've always told my stories to,

08:08 whether it's comedy or podcast or a song,

08:11 and I still feel like I haven't created like my masterpiece

08:14 and I want to do that.

08:15 (upbeat music)

08:18 (upbeat music)

08:20 (upbeat music)

08:23 (upbeat music)

08:26 you

Dumbfoundead - Unapologetically Asian | Docs

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