For Taiwanese-Australian multi-instrumentalist Matt Hsu, his 70s soul-inspired hip-hop track “Welcome to the Neighbourhood: Taiwan” (????), which won an award at the 2022 Queensland Music Awards (QMAs) earlier this week, was part of a process of coming to grips with internalized racism from growing up in Australia.
The groovy track, which snagged the QMAs World category award Tuesday, used over 15 different instrumental layers featuring classical Chinese phrases and harmonic lyrics from Australian-Taiwanese jazz/R&B singer Cait Lin (??) and hard-hitting rhymes from Taiwanese rappers Chunyan (??) and Ill Mo (??), while inviting listeners to feel at home when visiting Taiwan.
During his acceptance speech on stage at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall, Hsu said “this song has been part of a process of me coming to grips with my internalized racism of questioning why I tried so hard to fit in a dominant white culture, a dominant white music industry, and realize how awesome it is to be Taiwanese and Australian.”
Born in Brisbane in 1986 to Taiwanese immigrants, Hsu said in an interview with CNA on Saturday he tried to be as white as possible while growing up to fit in with other kids to avoid racism directed at Asian people at the time.
At school while growing up in Australia, Hsu would experience or witness white Australians randomly tell Asians to go back to their country of origin, graffiti in public toilets telling Asians to go home, and other types of harassment at public venues.
“So, I’d try to be as white as possible, so I don’t get victimized and in doing that I figured the best way to be as white as possible is just to be a ratty indie kid, skateboarding, listening to metal and punk music, just being so far from the Asian stereotype of piano and violin, and being good at math and science,” Hsu said.
Hsu, who now heads 20 members in his ensemble, Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra, and won his first award at the QMAs in 2020, is planning to visit Taiwan this year.
His ideology for the ensemble is underpinned by inclusiveness, gender equity, inclusion, and visibility, which is reflected by the diversity of the group, which comprises indigenous First Nations, black, and other people of color, and non-binary and trans artists.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel