boston progress radio

1. Prince
I don’t know how this rumor started, but I’ve heard people saying for years that he is one-quarter Filipino. The only proof I can find is one website that makes no references to any sources. He has many Asian qualities: awesomeness, badassness, able to dance in platform shoes, but as much as I would like to claim Prince as one of our own, it would be irresponsible pseudo-journalism to do so. Speaking of which…

2. Jay-Z
I think I can trace the origins of this one. At some point, A. Magazine wrote an article that had something to do with music, and included a sidebar claiming Jay-Z was half Filipino. I remember the exact moment I read it, in a classroom at UMass-Boston, and I remember doubting it right away. My guess is this falsehood cropped up because of Jay-Z’s description of Foxy Brown on “Ain’t No N—,” in which he said she was “fresh to death in Moschino/Coach bag, looking half Black and Filipino”. Someone must have thought he was talking about himself. By the way, turns out Foxy isn’t Filipino either, but is of Indo-Trinidadian descent. Although, I seem to remember her saying she was Chinese Jamaican at some point. Eh, identity’s fluid right?

3. Mya
Perhaps this one started when her first video came out, and she was dancing around with Sisqo while wearing various outfits, some with vaguely Orientalist design elements. There was also a scene where she was fencing, which I think was a first for R&B videos. Regardless, the rumor was that she is part Indian, but as one of my friends went to high school with Mya, I have confirmation that neither of her parents is of Indian descent. I also tried to get my friend to give me Mya’s number so I could ask her personally, but for some reason she refused.

4. Sticky Fingaz
I read an interview with Sticky in The Source several years ago in which he said he thought his grandfather was Japanese, but wasn’t sure. Now I cannot find anything even hinting at Sticky being part Asian, and I’m thinking I might have imagined that whole thing. Kind of like that time I called Mya on the phone. Anyway, I actually think Sticky is a really good actor; too bad that that since he’s started acting, he has been offered mostly shitty roles. Hmm… maybe he is Asian after all.

5. Wu-Tang Clan
In the early-to-mid 90s, a bunch of New York rappers started to rep martial arts to varying degrees of authenticity and seriousness, including Jeru the Damaja and Afu-Ra, but Wu-Tang is obviously at the top of this list. RZA of Wu-Tang is still down with the sound, still studying under a former Shaolin monk whose love of partying may give us clues as to why he is a former monk. Most of the members of the crew, however, were likely more taken with the imagery and themes of Asian martial arts and gangster movies than an actual desire to study ancient philosophies, which accurately describes basically all people who have seen The Killer, including Asian Americans. It ended up making a lot of people confused, leading to countless clueless entertainment reporters referring to Raekwon as Ray Quan and U-God as Yu Gaht.

6. Madonna
Wait, you mean she’s not Hindu? Or a Geisha? Or Angelina Jolie?

7. Jason Mraz
I know nobody thinks he’s Asian, but judging by the fact that his Top Whatever on myspace is populated almost entirely by Japanese women, you might be fooled into thinking Mraz is short for “MR. AZiaphile.”

Last 5 posts by giles

• Love or Something or Other - July 15th, 2008
• Hollywood? - July 9th, 2008
• That's All You're Good For... - June 25th, 2008
• Apologies to My Man - June 20th, 2008
• Sublingual - June 10th, 2008

Tags: Commentary.