For Forbes, Lisa Kocay spoke to ARMNHMR, Helang and Juelz for Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month (AAPI), about the legacy they have left within their communities from a dance music perspective:
Lisa Kocay: What does Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?
ARMNHMR: “We think AAPI means shining light on a group that contributes so much to the world. Asians aren’t just a specific group of people who fit into a mold. We’re not just engineers and doctors. We’re also artists, social workers, designers and everything in between. It’s our reminder that we all have a story.”
Helang: “I think it’s very significant that we’re highlighting this. It means that people like me have the opportunity to really showcase our skills, our talents and our dedication to our work. It’s obviously not talked about enough, but it’s nice that we have something like this to highlight our skills. It’s the chance for us to really speak up and I think break the barrier of being very kind of reserved, like how we typically are, because in the culture that I grew up in, we’re taught not to show our feelings or emotions and kind of keep things to ourselves. So I think this is a really great chance to break that barrier and showcase what we have to offer.”