Jeff Chang Quotes (7 Quotes)

I'm glad that the book has been recognized by people that I work with, but I'm a little disappointed that it's not seen for what it is.

I remember when (graffiti film) 'Wild Style' came to the (Honolulu) Academy of Arts. We loaded up the family in the station wagon. At the theater it was us and a couple of hippies from UH.

It's interesting to me that the questions assume that because I'm Asian-American and Pacific islander that I'm an outsider. But I'm not an outsider to the culture. In hip-hop, you either have something or you make way for someone who does. If you don't have it, step out and learn. I feel I've had to earn my stripes.

There is so much about hip-hop culture that is peculiar to New York, and I got to understand it from that point of view.

It was just one of those nights. It was an out-of-body experience.

That's what it's supposed to do--speak truth to power. I'm not surprised by this...hip-hop tells the micro history, but it also tells the counter-history to the official narrative.

I entered at an interesting time, after the L.A. riots, when the field was in crisis. A lot of the movement was down with solidarity with other races, but the riots were a shock. The focus became interracial relations, and they wanted to know what I thought. It gave me a weird credibility in the field. A lot of us got published in academic journals right away.