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Shuffled! is a weekly column appearing every Thursday here on BPRLive. Each week, we welcome a person from the APA community to share some thoughts about the music they listen to. Check out the Shuffled! archive for past articles.

Today’s Shuffler: Kit Yan

Kit is a transgender slam poet originally from Hawai’i but like many argyle wearing transplants traveled to Boston for college.

He attended a conservative, stiff, snobby business school only to graduate and become a full-time loud mouth slam poet as part of the Good Asian Drivers, a music and spoken word duo that only pretends to gig and mostly uses touring as an excuse to eat random foods. Occasionally, you might catch Kit and Melissa Li (the other half of the GAD) perform about topics such as queer and trans life, APIA issues, and other politics. Kit has performed and competed all over the country at the National Poetry Slam, Individual World Poetry Slam, and numerous stages in over 20 states. Kit Yan is as obnoxious as Melissa says he is. He attributes it to his veganism and overall badass nature.

[Editor's Note: The Good Asian Drivers return to Beantown on October 7, 2008. Check them out at Northeastern University at afterHours. Oh and from what I know, Kit is only obnoxious when he hasn't been fed in awhile.]

And now, on to the shuffle…

Blink of an Eye from Hum the Bass Line
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
I was there the night that Iyeoka came back from a trip in which she describes a plane full of strangers holding hands, prayers said, and people who thought that they were about to take their last breathes. As the plane began to plummet, she also thought she was about to die, but fortunately she made it safely back to Boston where she read this poem about thoughts and realizations during your last moments and challenging life by trying new things, revisiting, and remembering once insignificant moments. It is a poem that brings me as close to tears as a tranny can get.

Maunaleo
Keali’i Reichel
I admit, I used to hear this song all the time in hotels, elevators, restaurants, and all over the place, but I never gave it much thought until now. This is one of Reichel’s most famous songs, sung in Hawaiian about his mother. I needed google to help me figure out the song and I found this online at http://lionheart.blog.drecom.jp/archive/190.

“written for Keali`i’s mother, Lei, she is compared to the majestic sentinel mountain, Maunaleo, who guards, comforts, nourishes and loves her people. Malie is the gentle wind of the area. As we say back home, “nuff said.”

Freedom Fighter from The Circle
Natural Vibrations
Very vague, very catchy, but ridiculously positive; I love my islands. One day I got real nostalgic and bought 6 contemporary Hawai’ian boy band CDs this one being among them. Unlike the common new Hawai’ian songs that are upbeat love songs that sound similar to one other (I admit, I love those too) this one tackles the topic of coming together for a common good, coming into today, and leading the new generation. This is a rarity in the new generation of Hawai’ian songs—the ones that carry the laidback beats of Island life, but speak to today’s issues and people—whoa, I need another hit.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World
Braddah Iz, israel kamakawiwo’ole
You love the originals, they are beautiful songs that many know and love, especially us queers (Over the Rainbow.) But if there was one man that could take these songs and transform them into one beautiful ballad woven like an expert kupuna can sculpt lauhala, it’s Braddah IZ. Braddah’s voice will move you; the softness of even his belting can tug at your heart. He changed some of the lyrics to reflect island life, which is my favorite part of the song, because he so accurately captures our lifestyle, “I see friends shaking hands saying—howzit, how you? They’re really saying—I, I love you.”

Does anyone watch the Simpsons? “I bring you love…”

Toad Song from Pride of Punahele
Keali’i Reichel
I wanna say I get this but really I don’t. This song has a lot of toads croaking and then Reichel singing something that sounds like the kinds of Hawai’ian songs they made us sing for May day in elementary school. I couldn’t even find a translation, so if you speak Hawai’ian, please help.

Last 5 posts by shuffled

• Shuffled! Wendy Hsu - January 1st, 2009
• Shuffled! Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai - December 18th, 2008
• Shuffled! Theo Gonzalves - December 11th, 2008
• Shuffled! Scott Kurashige - December 4th, 2008
• Shuffled! EyeASage - November 27th, 2008

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