Jaeki Cho, Creative
Born in Korea, immigrated to China before immigrating to Queens, New York, Jaeki has never been afraid to follow his passions and to try something new.
What hasn’t Jaeki Cho done? He’s been a music journalist whose works appeared in Complex, Billboard, and more. He produced “Bad Rap,” a documentary about Asian American rappers featuring a pre-Hollywood Awkwafina, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and later streamed on Netflix. He’s been quoted and appeared in The New York Times, GQ, BBC, Forbes, MTV, and more. He’s hosted “$6.99 per Pound,” a podcast that featured guests from entertainment, journalism, and politics. He’s also a partner and creative director for NYC-based lifestyle boutique Alumni and marketing agency Essentic. And most recently, he took to TikTok (420K followers) to record his cooking tutorials and highlight restaurants in NYC in need of support during the pandemic. Interview by Hyun Kim
TRENDVUE: You have done a lot of things across a lot of different fields, is there a common thread that connects your work?
JAEKI CHO: I think for me, a lot of it has to do with being a child of the late ‘90s, early 2000s entrepreneurial rap generation where so many of them like Puffy and Jay-Z branched out into different industries. So I guess I was inspired by a hybrid of hip hop, being Korean, being an immigrant, and being from Queens. I never really excelled at one particular thing before I dabbled in something else. The ideal situation was always to do something that I was passionate about as a creative but also figuring out how to monetize it.
T: You've been putting in work for the Asian American community for as long as I can remember. From your hip hop showcases featuring Asian American rappers in New York to you producing “Bad Rap,” you’ve been consistent. How do you feel about all the attention that Asian Americans are getting these days?
J: This could sound problematic but this how I’m feeling about it. I think there are the “Born Again Asians,” who before were like, “Oh yeah, y’all hang out with Asians but I don't.” And now they’re going extra hard on Twitter like, “Yo, I’m for my Asian brothers and sisters!” Which I appreciate because maybe 10 years ago they wouldn’t have. And then there are like the “Boba Liberals,” who are from the Asian enclaves like San Gabriel Valley and Flushing where they grew up in an environment where being Asian was never really a huge issue until they entered the corporate world. Their roots are in the Korean and Chinese churches, probably went to high schools that were majority Asian. They have the sentiment like, “Yo, I've always hung out with Asians. I don't really understand allyship that well, but I speak for my people.” There have been people who have been advocating in and for the community on the ground level for years. Now, there's a whole plethora of people coming in like, “I speak for us!” but they weren’t there five years ago.
T: How much does representation matter in terms of a brand featuring an Asian American family on a national TV campaign. Does that resonate with you at all?
J: Maybe you and I are just past that. Maybe it doesn't affect us anymore. But I think it is important and I think it's gonna be even more and more important, not only on a representation level but from a commerce side because these consumers are going to be like, where's me, I don't see me. The younger generations who are growing up today are seeing more of themselves represented than we did when we were their age and they are going to be very cognizant of representation their whole lives because they were exposed to it from an early age.
T: A lot of the attention our community has received recently has come, unfortunately, as a result of the media coverage around the anti-Asian attacks. There has been some anger and frustration directed at companies and brands to address it. What’s your take on their role or responsibility to the issues?
JK: I'm mostly fearful of the band aid effect. The wound has existed for us. And it will take time to heal. It's kind of like the difference between Western medicine and Eastern medicine. So I just don't want the brands to be like, Oh, here's a T-shirt, here’s an Instagram post, we are going to donate some money. It’s easy to just throwing a band-aid to cover up the wound. I don’t want us to be just a trend. I want us as a society to have a sense of civic duty to and for one another and for us to continue it.
T: Are brands even capable of doing anything meaningful or impactful for the community in this climate?
J: I honestly think it has to start from a very grassroots ground level. The investment of resources has to go to the kids. It’s about giving communities access to information, access to mentorship, and access to education. There has to be multiple levels of efforts. Like help fund a community program that isn’t just about rounding up a bunch of cool influencers for a few months. Really become a part of these communities. Make it a consistent initiative. Allocate a set budget and make the financial and time commitment to actually nurture and grow the future generations from these communities that they claim to care about so much. Like I said, these things take time but also require real resources and commitment.
Asian American Trendvue provides strategic insights to companies, brands, and organizations regarding the interests, needs and purchasing patterns of the Asian American consumer. We’re a resource and research partner with a dedication to bring research content and custom research services to connect with the vital and significant Asian American populace. Asian American Trendvue is a division of House of Marketing Research.