The Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles is featuring a new exhibit called: ‘Don’t Believe the Hype: LA Asian Americans in Hip Hop’. It examines hip hop’s influence of resistance, refuge and reinvention for Asian Americans. CGTN’s May Lee reports.

The exhibition examines hip hop’s influence of resistance, refuge, and reinvention for Asian Americans.

The gallery includes all aspects of hip hop culture including music, graffiti, painting, and video.

“People expect hip hop to be one thing, so we’re trying to shift that framework, and let people see that there’s a whole wealth of community members and artists and musicians in LA who identify as Asian Americans who are hip hop, and love all who are breaking that stereotype and being part of a really integrated community,” Curator Justin Hoover said.

Chinese American rapper and poet Jason Chu is featured in the exhibit.

“The first time I ever heard it being cool to not be normal — and by normal I mean white, I mean middle class, I mean all of that — the first time that experienced somebody who was proud of not being normal was through hip hop,” Chu said.

“Hip hop is resilience. Hip hop is clinging to an identity that we’re told we’re not allowed to have.”

Photos from ‘Don’t Believe the Hype: LA Asian Americans in Hip Hop’: