Sean Miyashiro’s 88rising, the self-described hybrid media collective spotlighting Asian and Asian-American rappers such as Rich Brian and Joji, is the subject of a new documentary dropping on Friday — for which an exclusive clip is available to watch here.
Miyashiro’s company produced Asia Rising: The Next Generation of Hip-Hop in partnership with Red Bull’s music initiative, and the film is available on Red Bull’s YouTube and the Red Bull TV site. Rich Brian, Keith Ape, Higher Brothers, Suboi, Jin Dogg and Awich star in the documentary, which chronicles the twists and turns of the artists’ cross-cultural rise to fame, as well as their collaborative work as part of the 88 creative family.
“The reason for why this is working is a myriad of factors,” Miyashiro says in the clip. “It’s certainly the Internet and accessibility. The world is more open, and I think that we are certainly bringing it closer together.” (The company, only a few years old, has already launched a dozen careers and embarked on festivals, tours and fashion partnerships.) Awich puts the film’s purpose thusly: “Can people relate to our stories and how we came to hip-hop to express ourselves? If so, that’s a real game-changer, for us and for the world.”
“I think we’ve just scratched the surface,” Miyashiro told Rolling Stone last November. “We’re now in a position of representing somebody and something, and we have an opportunity to improve how close the world is. Now we can really elevate it, be this shining beacon of light for what a company can do, what a collective of people can do. That’s what really excites us. But it’s also like — hey, we really gotta deliver now.”