As (2016) producer Salima Korona observes, hip hop culture and Asian Americans are generally perceived to be polar opposites: "To be honest, what hip-hop is perceived to be is the antithesis of what Asian Americans are considered to be in this country." With "Green Tea", however, Asian female rapper Awkwafina (Nora Lum) - who became an indie feminist darling with 2012's "My Vag" - demosntrates how the 'message rap' form can be utilized by Asian performers to address the complex intersection of gender and race in America.
While Dumbfoundead's "Safe" timely addressed the issue of Hollywood whitewashing and the 'whiteness' of the 2016 Academy Awards, Awkwafina teamed up with Korean American comedian Margaret Cho to address older stereotypes associated with Asian femininity:
'Yellow bitches in the driver's seat (x3)Bitch drive that Corolla right into the streetsYellow bitches in the driver's seat (x3)Bitch drive that Corolla right into the streetsWe got that bomb pussyThat Long Duk Dong pussyMake you call your mom pussyGet a pair of TOMS pussyGot that Soon Yi pussyBe all you want to be pussyThat Giving Tree pussyYou belong to me pussy
Lyrics: Genius.com
Cho and Lum are ideal candidates to take down the submissive 'lotus blossom' stereotype of East Asian women, which they mix up with stereotypes of Asian women being bad drivers and having tighter vaginas, a noteworthy cinematic stereotype of Asian men, and the general phenomenon of yellow fever. The outcome is clear message of Asian female empowerment, which goes down easily with Lum and Cho's comic spin (and multiple costume changes) - Cho's accent and outrageous conflation of sex work with foreign aid to the Third World is subversively hilarious - on an issue that could provoke far more rage and bile.
