what's good everybody! hope everyone had a blessed week and looking forward to the upcoming! back on deck with the check in on...
so there are two sisters. their names are knewdles and sos. together they make up Misnomer(S). I met these two young women back in 2006 when someone suggested to me that I check out their music because what they were doing was unique, one rhymed and the other played the violin. they were creating Hip Hop music, telling their own story in their own way. oh, and they're Korean. so my curiosity was piqued.
since then I have watched these two sisters grow as Hip Hop artists and artists in general. so because these are ma gurls, I had to introduce you to them if you don't already know. what they are doing is different and FRESH, which why this week, "They So Fresh"..ha!
Knewdles (Kickin New Elevation When Daily Life Expects Sobs), holds the mic and is responsible for production. artistically, she feels deep, digs deep and comes through with songs speak about life, growth and gaining understanding of the world around us.
Sos (pronounced "sauce") (Sis On Strings), has blessed the music of artists as diverse as her own group Misnomer(S) to Jay Z and Alicia Keys. she molds Classical with Hip Hop with Jazz and, as co-producer, compliments Knewdles' flows creating a fresh dimension of sound.
and Misnomer(S) is introducing the world to their sound through the conviction that's evident in their live performances as well as their radio and television appearances. building a steady following across a diverse audience, they're now focused on self producing and recording their album American Eyes, while still performing and contributing to their BedStuy Community through their open mic "The Age of Hip Hop: Youth Open Mic and Workshop".
I asked the sisters about their journey...and they each had their own answers..honest and real:
me: let's lay it out on the table, what is it like being female, korean hip hop artists?
KNEWDLES:yo... i could go ON & ON. the short answer is that i like to say im the minority within the minority within the minority. female, asian, and my partner is not my producer or DJ or even another MC, but a violinist-- and my sister at that (so u can add another "minority" to the mix). when your status is that black sheep, it is what it is. 2 sides to 1 coin, with advantages and disadvantages. some people expect less, theyre thinking, "how good can they be?" and others expect more, like, "if they have the balls to be who they are and do hip hop, then they'd better be bringing that next level shit". whatever the case and wherever it's coming from-- from audiences to fellow artists to industry folks-- i can always tell what attitude im working with. its important to know, because it helps in maneuvering. all the gimmicky aspects in us that people react to make it easier for me to navigate thru the real and bull shit-- especially once they've heard our music or seen us perform and it's clear that we're not just some gimmick.
SOS: My first answer is... it's dope! I feel like I have access to a world I never thought I would be a part of growing up. I never imagined as a kid that I would be making hiphop music and so to be doing so now, as an adult, in this age at this time, I am rather amazed at the journey which has led me here and the choices I have made to be doing what I do.
My second answer is... it's challenging because there is no path laid out before us or examples of other female, korean american hiphop artists for us to watch or learn from -- either successes or failures -- but that is also what is very exciting about it. we're forging a new frontier!
me: how does your family feel about the path you ladies have chosen?
KNEWDLES: my family supports the choices we've made. but it's not a blanket thing. they are old world immigrants who made good in a new country and they only trust quantifiable measures of success. so if i'm in the same place in 5 years, or even 1 or 2 years, then i'm sure their occasional "why don't u go back to school and get a higher degree" comment will become a lot more frequent. in my opinion, i think they quite believe in what we're doing, but they lack some faith that the world might actually accept and facilitate it.
SOS: it has taken some time for them to really understand what and why we are doing what we do but in the process of watching us struggle, determine and create they have come support us and enjoy our music. what they fear most for us is that we are not happy and victorious in our lives, so as long as we feel good about what we do and continue to grow as human beings, women and artists and support ourselves as well, then they are happy too.
me: have you ever experienced any sort of discrimination, sexual, racial or otherwise? if so, how did you deal with it?
KNEWDLES: on some level i feel like the discrimination is always there, both sexual and racial. but i can't quite pinpoint this or that experience to show u what i mean. it's just steeped into everything, in terms of the gigs we get asked to do, the people who approach us, the opportunities that are presented to us, etc. i think exploitation goes hand in hand with discrimination, and in that regard i can think of definitive experiences we've had where people (men) looked at us and saw dollar signs, or saw us as the way to break into the asian market. i am all for exposure and international success, but i will only work with people who respect me for my talent and my saavy, people who aren't solely interested in milking me for whatever they're trying to get out of the game.
SOS: being female and playing the violin in the hiphop world has made certain opportunities available to me that have not been to my male counterparts, like playing with some of the big name (always male) hiphop MCs -- they always want to be backed up by female string players! on the other hand, because the opportunity is available to me precisely because i am female and qualified can sometimes mean that there is a certain casualness in the interaction (not necessarily with the artist themselves, but with their crew) that can be iffy or challenging to negotiate at times.
me: how often do you create together? or do you create separately and come together with your ideas?
KNEWDLES: to be honest, we have been so consumed with our own hustles and with seeing our album and tv show to the finish line that we haven't done much creating together in recent times. being sisters makes it both incredibly easy and and incredibly difficult to be creative together, especially with the kind of crazy relationship we have. in the past, i was pretty isolated in my process, i would come up with lyrics or a beat and then sos would come into the picture. but i'm much more interested now in having a truly collaborative process, both with my sister and with other producers and artists i want to make music with. i was just saying to sos today, i think our debut album "American Eyes" is more like a historical greatest hits album, because it kind of covers the past and all that we had to go through to clear the slate clean, if that makes sense. now that we kind of know what we're doing and what we want, it's like we're finally ready to move forward and do things truly together. or maybe i should say "i" and let her speak for herself, lol.
SOS: hard to say. it's been a little bit of both and both together at the same time.
so keep checkin for Misnomer(S)! because you could be walking through Target one day and see them looking down at you from the commercial and print campaign they did for Converse One Star for Target. or download the ringtone done in conjunction with Target/Converse One Star. or catch them on the mic at a show, or on Pandora Radio. these sisters are on their grind and coming to ear near you!
so til next week peeps! I <3 u all supporters of sistas in Hip Hop!
so there are two sisters. their names are knewdles and sos. together they make up Misnomer(S). I met these two young women back in 2006 when someone suggested to me that I check out their music because what they were doing was unique, one rhymed and the other played the violin. they were creating Hip Hop music, telling their own story in their own way. oh, and they're Korean. so my curiosity was piqued.
since then I have watched these two sisters grow as Hip Hop artists and artists in general. so because these are ma gurls, I had to introduce you to them if you don't already know. what they are doing is different and FRESH, which why this week, "They So Fresh"..ha!
Knewdles (Kickin New Elevation When Daily Life Expects Sobs), holds the mic and is responsible for production. artistically, she feels deep, digs deep and comes through with songs speak about life, growth and gaining understanding of the world around us.
Sos (pronounced "sauce") (Sis On Strings), has blessed the music of artists as diverse as her own group Misnomer(S) to Jay Z and Alicia Keys. she molds Classical with Hip Hop with Jazz and, as co-producer, compliments Knewdles' flows creating a fresh dimension of sound.
and Misnomer(S) is introducing the world to their sound through the conviction that's evident in their live performances as well as their radio and television appearances. building a steady following across a diverse audience, they're now focused on self producing and recording their album American Eyes, while still performing and contributing to their BedStuy Community through their open mic "The Age of Hip Hop: Youth Open Mic and Workshop".
I asked the sisters about their journey...and they each had their own answers..honest and real:
me: let's lay it out on the table, what is it like being female, korean hip hop artists?
KNEWDLES: yo... i could go ON & ON. the short answer is that i like to say im the minority within the minority within the minority. female, asian, and my partner is not my producer or DJ or even another MC, but a violinist-- and my sister at that (so u can add another "minority" to the mix). when your status is that black sheep, it is what it is. 2 sides to 1 coin, with advantages and disadvantages. some people expect less, theyre thinking, "how good can they be?" and others expect more, like, "if they have the balls to be who they are and do hip hop, then they'd better be bringing that next level shit". whatever the case and wherever it's coming from-- from audiences to fellow artists to industry folks-- i can always tell what attitude im working with. its important to know, because it helps in maneuvering. all the gimmicky aspects in us that people react to make it easier for me to navigate thru the real and bull shit-- especially once they've heard our music or seen us perform and it's clear that we're not just some gimmick.
SOS: My first answer is... it's dope! I feel like I have access to a world I never thought I would be a part of growing up. I never imagined as a kid that I would be making hiphop music and so to be doing so now, as an adult, in this age at this time, I am rather amazed at the journey which has led me here and the choices I have made to be doing what I do.
My second answer is... it's challenging because there is no path laid out before us or examples of other female, korean american hiphop artists for us to watch or learn from -- either successes or failures -- but that is also what is very exciting about it. we're forging a new frontier!
me: how does your family feel about the path you ladies have chosen?
KNEWDLES: my family supports the choices we've made. but it's not a blanket thing. they are old world immigrants who made good in a new country and they only trust quantifiable measures of success. so if i'm in the same place in 5 years, or even 1 or 2 years, then i'm sure their occasional "why don't u go back to school and get a higher degree" comment will become a lot more frequent. in my opinion, i think they quite believe in what we're doing, but they lack some faith that the world might actually accept and facilitate it.
SOS: it has taken some time for them to really understand what and why we are doing what we do but in the process of watching us struggle, determine and create they have come support us and enjoy our music. what they fear most for us is that we are not happy and victorious in our lives, so as long as we feel good about what we do and continue to grow as human beings, women and artists and support ourselves as well, then they are happy too.
me: have you ever experienced any sort of discrimination, sexual, racial or otherwise? if so, how did you deal with it?
KNEWDLES: on some level i feel like the discrimination is always there, both sexual and racial. but i can't quite pinpoint this or that experience to show u what i mean. it's just steeped into everything, in terms of the gigs we get asked to do, the people who approach us, the opportunities that are presented to us, etc. i think exploitation goes hand in hand with discrimination, and in that regard i can think of definitive experiences we've had where people (men) looked at us and saw dollar signs, or saw us as the way to break into the asian market. i am all for exposure and international success, but i will only work with people who respect me for my talent and my saavy, people who aren't solely interested in milking me for whatever they're trying to get out of the game.
SOS: being female and playing the violin in the hiphop world has made certain opportunities available to me that have not been to my male counterparts, like playing with some of the big name (always male) hiphop MCs -- they always want to be backed up by female string players! on the other hand, because the opportunity is available to me precisely because i am female and qualified can sometimes mean that there is a certain casualness in the interaction (not necessarily with the artist themselves, but with their crew) that can be iffy or challenging to negotiate at times.
me: how often do you create together? or do you create separately and come together with your ideas?
KNEWDLES: to be honest, we have been so consumed with our own hustles and with seeing our album and tv show to the finish line that we haven't done much creating together in recent times. being sisters makes it both incredibly easy and and incredibly difficult to be creative together, especially with the kind of crazy relationship we have. in the past, i was pretty isolated in my process, i would come up with lyrics or a beat and then sos would come into the picture. but i'm much more interested now in having a truly collaborative process, both with my sister and with other producers and artists i want to make music with. i was just saying to sos today, i think our debut album "American Eyes" is more like a historical greatest hits album, because it kind of covers the past and all that we had to go through to clear the slate clean, if that makes sense. now that we kind of know what we're doing and what we want, it's like we're finally ready to move forward and do things truly together. or maybe i should say "i" and let her speak for herself, lol.
SOS: hard to say. it's been a little bit of both and both together at the same time.
so keep checkin for Misnomer(S)! because you could be walking through Target one day and see them looking down at you from the commercial and print campaign they did for Converse One Star for Target. or download the ringtone done in conjunction with Target/Converse One Star. or catch them on the mic at a show, or on Pandora Radio. these sisters are on their grind and coming to ear near you!
so til next week peeps! I <3 u all supporters of sistas in Hip Hop!
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