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.
01:41 - 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)
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08:23 (upbeat music)
08:26 you
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