Sandra P.: Hey y'all, I'm Sandra Pham.
Minh V.: And I'm Minh Vu.
Welcome to our season three premiere of Asian in Austin.
Sandra P.: Wow, can you believe we have made it?
We're on season three.
I mean, it's awesome.
I think we always take a moment to reflect on previous seasons
and our intentions for new season.
So I'm excited about this one.
I think we're super grateful for our listeners and those that have really
supported us from the beginning.
But it's, it's pretty incredible for us to say we're on season three.
Minh V.: Yeah.
And I think being able to take these breaks at the beginning
of the year really does help.
Kind of sit with the stuff that we've been able to do when we go out and
like, go to different events and we hear from the listeners from y'all about
how you've been able to engage with the podcast and the episodes and how some
of the episodes really resonate for you.
It really does, I think, give us an even bit of a bigger boost of
energy going into the new season to be able to still provide these
important stories from our community.
So we really appreciate y'all for supporting us like Sandra was saying
and continuing to just be there for us.
And yeah, we're excited to continue to share these stories.
Sandra P.: It's also, uh, an important month for us and we're always center
our seasons around launching and premiering around this month, but
for those that don't know, it is a AANHPI Heritage Month, which is really
important and kind of a pretty staple to the podcast and how we operate
here, but how are we feeling this year?
Obviously, you and I have already been involved in a couple events and it is so
nice to be within community in person.
Minh V.: Yeah, it is always fun to be in a majority room full of Asian
Americans and just being able to feel the community and be in community in ways
that may not be always so consistent.
You know, I was, I was thinking about this growing up, like, I've had a pretty,
I feel fortunate to have a pretty, like, diverse group of friends, not leaning
in one majority or, or the other.
It does feel nice that, you know, to have this month and really be grounded
in this aspect of our community, our identity, and things like that.
And yeah, I don't know.
I think it's especially -- with everything, you know, there was a recent
demographic report that came out and this continues to be the trend for Austin, but
the Asian American population being one of the fastest growing demographics in
Austin is just still kind of blows my mind a bit and, and to see how the community
shows up, continues to evolve, continues to provide resources, figuring out what
our needs are has been really cool to see.
And in some ways to be part of that feels like a small contribution
through this podcast or what have you feels like a privilege.
Sandra P.: Yeah, for sure.
I think compared to other large cities where there are much larger AAPI
populations and communities, I do think Austin is very unique in that
it feels a little bit rare to be in a room with majority Asians, right?
I think you have to be super aware.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah.
Intentional about creating those spaces and finding those spaces versus like an
LA, Orange County, Houston, you name it.
I think you could walk anywhere and you know exactly where you're going
to find that crowd versus Austin.
What we hear from a lot of our friends who have moved here from California,
they're like, where are the Asians?
Where do they hang out?
Like, where's y'all's Chinatown?
Where can I find community and my people?
And to be honest with you, it's it is harder to find, and so I am
definitely encouraged by the spaces that you and I have been invited
into and seeing that more frequently.
And, you know, even coming up this month, obviously, with it being AAPI
Heritage Month, a ton of night markets are popping up, meetups, like all, all
these amazing things, so many events that we can't even keep up with, but like,
that for sure, like, just energizes me.
Yeah.
Minh V.: Today's episode, music is super important to us.
I'm excited to be able to have on our premiere, the artist promqueen to talk
a little bit more about her music.
experience, her inspirations, and just like the insane year
that she's been able to have.
And we'll, we'll get into that in a little bit.
But Sandra, how are you feeling about our guest this month?
Sandra P.: Super excited.
We were able to book her on the brink of really big announcements
that I know you're going to share.
She is incredible, amazing, really has done an amazing job of just kind of
mixing musical genres, really inspires me.
So yeah, I'm thrilled we were able to, to have her on.
Minh V.: Yeah.
All right, I'll share a quick bio and we'll get into the interview.
promqueen is a second generation queer Vietnamese American pop rap
artist based in Austin, Texas.
As a daughter to Vietnamese born parents, promqueen draws lyrical
inspiration from her family history, own experiences, and self reflection as a
second generation raised Asian American.
in Texas.
Alongside music, promqueen thrives in collaborative environments as a
multidisciplinary artist across acting, community organizing, and writing.
promqueen is active in the AAPI community performing at Asian Culture
Fair, Asia World Night Market, the Austin Asian American Film Festival
Gala, AARC TonesFest, and UT's Silk Club 10th Zine release anniversary.
Through her music, she hopes AAPI folks feel encouraged to process, express,
and share their art to the world.
And you'll hear this in the interview, but it was recently announced that
promqueen will be taking the ACL stage for this year's festival
in October, and that's huge.
We were so we, we actually interviewed her on the day that that was announced.
So you'll hear more about her reaction there in the
interview, but let's get into it.
Sandra P.: Welcome promqueen.
We are so excited to have you on the Asian in Austin podcast.
promqueen: Awesome.
Thank you so much for having me here.
Thank you so much for that lovely intro.
I'm super excited.
I absolutely love y'all's podcast and love learning about more about other AAPI
folks on this so thanks for having me.
Yeah, of course, and we are obviously a big fan of yours.
And so to our new friends who are listening who aren't familiar with you,
we'd love to give you an opportunity to share some things that we always love
to invite our guests to share are your ethnicities, your pronouns, and any
other identities that you want to share.
Yeah.
So my name is promqueen.
I go by she, her, they, them.
I am a second generation queer Vietnamese American musician right here
in our lovely city of Austin, Texas.
Minh V.: Yes, I am super excited to have you on the show, and we're on,
we're recording this on the heels of a fun announcement that you'll
be on stage at ACL Fest this year.
Congratulations.
That's super, super exciting.
How does, how's that feel?
promqueen: Thank you so much.
It feels so many emotions.
I think really me and my team are just surprised.
We are putting out art that feels really meaningful to us and to have advocates
and folks recognize that is like, I'm just like super blown away and just surprised.
It's just great.
Really, gratitude is how I feel that we get an opportunity
to keep doing what we love.
So super surprised and grateful and like all the above.
Minh V.: Yeah.
I mean, one of our first questions was just going to be like,
how's your 2024 going so far?
And I feel like that is already like we're five months in, but an ACL announcement is
a pretty, sounds like a pretty big deal.
So.
Yeah, yeah.
How else is 2024 treating you?
promqueen: For sure.
Yeah.
I love this question.
It helps me to think back like today's announcement was
obviously very, very exciting.
And I had to explain to my mom because she doesn't know what ACL is.
So she's like, oh, that's nice.
And I'm like, yeah, this is what it entails.
She goes, oh, that's great.
So that was kind of fun.
I loved kind of love that she doesn't know what it is.
But this year so far, far has been good.
It's had its ups and downs.
I think the word pivot comes to mind a lot.
So me and my team have had to pivot some projects or directions with projects based
on just like funding, time, bandwidth.
So I think learning how to like, sit with that and saying maybe not right now
has been like the biggest thing that we have and I think it's been really good.
Actually, it's helped us me and my team to even work together and trust each
other more and be really creative with the challenges that have come our way.
So I think that's been like our year.
I think it's also just being prepared for all these exciting
opportunities that we've had to, we've had come our way this year.
ACL obviously being like a big one of them and we've had a wonderful
partnership with Try Hard Coffee.
They're releasing a vinyl for us for our second record.
Which is really cool and a wonderful program they have for artists in Austin.
So yeah, it's really it's just stepping up our game in every facet.
It's just been really an exciting year
Sandra P.: Yeah, it really has and I want to add to that.
You were also named KUTX's artist of the month So, I mean just such momentum,
but love that you use the word pivot but I think it's also a good opportunity
for us to take a pause and like give you your flowers and celebrate that
right like these are really, really big things like on the heels of today's
announcement of ACL incredible taking a pause to just also reflect on that
and just we we want to celebrate you.
promqueen: Oh, thank you so much, Sandra.
I appreciate you saying that and giving me pause to be like, yeah, good job to
myself and our team, just because, you know, it's easy for me and my team.
And I don't know if y'all can relate, but just to keep working
and grinding and not necessarily like taking a moment to celebrate.
So thank you so much.
It does really mean a lot to be like, yeah, we are KUTX's month
and it is the really exciting.
And again, just, again, just so super grateful and excited that
our art's doing something, you know, outside of our own sphere.
Sandra P.: So I want to dig in into the amazing art that you do create and
how you kind of get into that rhythm.
What is your process?
So something that Minh and I saw was part of the project that you're working on is
getting a little bit more in depth with your family and going through this path
of this family memoir projects, Minh and I can probably both share that that is
something of interest for both of us.
I think we often talk about the fear of losing our family's
history and their stories because it's often not written down.
You know, you hear these generations kind of talk about the joy and
the trauma of, of their lives.
And so I'd love for you to kind of share what spurred that project, how
that leads to some of your artistic journey, your songwriting, all of that.
promqueen: Yeah, absolutely.
For me, like I was thinking about this and I remember, I don't know what year it
was, whenever Hunger Games came out, uh, I remember I went to go see Hunger Games
and it's like this epic story, right?
And then the very next day, I went out to breakfast with my dad.
It's something we do, we've done ever since I was a kid.
So I went to IHOP and we're sitting there at IHOP and he's like
dropping down these like intense stories of surviving in the jungle.
Being, like, shipwrecked by Thailand pirates.
And I'm just like, I'm like, you're dropping this on me now, Dad, in an iPod.
Like, what?
It was I was like, you can't make this up.
And I was like, this is, this is my dad's journey.
And so whenever I was processing all that and he's just nonchalantly asking
for more butter for his pancakes and like saying all this, I was like, you
know, I want to know more, like, and so.
Well, I kept pestering my dad.
I'd be like, Dad, you know, like recording, be like, tell me about
this, you know, and he would just like grunts and then just carries on
with the story, which I'm glad he did.
And so I really focused on my dad's story for a while.
And then I was like, you know, my mom has a story.
And so I was like, I went to her, started asking her questions
and started writing these down.
I love to journal.
I love to write.
So really just.
archiving all of their stories.
And then when I moved to Austin in 2012, I met a lot of wonderful friends, musicians,
and one of my friends who's an author.
He was like, well, your story is really important too, you know?
And I was like, really?
Like, it's just not as cool.
Like, I'm not getting shipwrecked by Thailand pirates.
Like, you know, I went to college, like, come on, like, you know, but there
was something in that, which was like, what's it like being an immigrant's kid?
How do I process that?
How do I now get the world with what they've sent down for me, right?
So I started the journey in the process of writing this memoir and really rigorously,
In 2016 to 2020, literally putting in like three to five hundred words a day, like
just grinding, putting it in, writing the story, going to writing workshops, like,
how can I really get this to work out?
A memoir is really intense to write.
And I was like, you know, like a a fiction story is easier on some level,
but I think it just got so heavy, and I was just so, so closely into it, that
trying to figure out the vehicle to how to tell our story just could not
come to me, and I, and I was trying to force it at some point, and it didn't
feel right, so I put it on pause.
And I feel like the promqueen project is actually just like
the next evolution of it.
Maybe it's the beta testing of it, like, seeing how, like, I can make
the story in a more multimedia format.
But I say the memoirs on pause because I know that I will come back to it
when it, when it's time, and when that, that format will come back at me.
Minh V.: Yeah, that, there's a lot of things in that, that.
resonates.
And first of all, the sentence of shipwrecked by Thailand pirates, wild,
because also my mom has a similar experience of being shipwrecked,
uh, by some pirates as well too.
And I think it's like, I'm, I, I have this little like, like laugh to it
because it also just feels like a very silly sentence to say out loud as reality
as this is one degree removed from us these are our parents who experienced
such a kind of ludicrous sentence that is very short and to the point
and it's like, okay, that happened.
But obviously, and I presume as you dove into, you know, talking to your parents
more, writing this memoir, you find some pretty traumatic stories or things
that like end up sticking with you and shaping how you end up navigating life
or, or just like appreciation for life or, you know, trying to even think about.
Putting yourself in their shoes.
I'm like, I think my mom was a teenager at the time.
And I'm like, I was trying to dry, learn how to drive the streets of
Pflugerville, like same, but not at all.
You know, like, it's just wild so I, I just had to say that, that like
one, it's comforting in some ways to be like, oh my god, another person
who, who has that experience or comes from that experience, right?
Sandra P.: Yeah, I think as children, I think we often are
trying to navigate on how we allow our parents to share those stories.
But a lot of that I think we also carry forward, right?
Like it's respecting them in a way, but I personally feel very, very obligated
to like, hold these stories for my mother because I know that trauma sits
within her but trying to create a safe space for her to be able to share that
and also obviously I recognize the incredible privilege I have because
of those things that have happened and incurred to our parents and carrying
that forward so yeah and it's always amazing and that's why I just love these
conversations that we have because we find such commonalities between A lot of our
parents and the way that you're channeling and what I loved you also segued into
was how it's creating your journey and how you want to tell your story.
You absolutely, of course, have a story to tell also.
And so just going a little bit more into this amazing art form that you're
exploring with promqueen, I'd love to just talk about some of some of the songs that
you've written and what's inspired that.
Yeah.
promqueen: Yeah, so, wonderfully, the memoir, since I had so much
content and stories, a lot of them have inspired my songs.
Yeah, the first one that came up to me was a song off of Season 1
album, it's called Lightweight.
It's a really fun, it's a bouncy one, it's like Doja Cat vibes.
It's about my mom, growing up.
She worked service industry jobs, she was a server, and at the end of
the week when she got her paycheck, she'd drive me to a pawn shop.
I would sit in the car, because I'm like, I'm in fifth grade, I
don't want to go into the store with my mom, you know, right?
So she would go in there, sometimes she drives me with her, and I go in
there, and she's like putting a payment, a layaway payment, on some jewelry.
Really good jewelry.
I mean, she's got an eye for good gold, good diamonds.
I mean, she could spot them a mile away.
And so she'd put layaway pavements on them.
And I was reflecting in this song, it's called Lightweight.
It's about taking a day off.
And it's really about her.
It's about how She just lavishes herself with like nice things, even though
she's working, you know, a service industry job, but this is for her.
So like, for example, that made its way into a song.
And then another one recently, Mountain, is coming out on season two album.
That's coming June 28th.
This song was heavily inspired by my dad and those stories he told me in IHOP.
And it's just about this sense of perseverance.
So, going back to what you were saying, Sandra, you know, you were like, things
that we, and Minh too like, things that our parents have laid down, or
things that they have influenced us, what do we sort of take forward, and,
and that apply to our lives in ways, and, That sense of perseverance and
resilience is certainly what's really the heart of that song Mountain.
And it's kind of silly, like the chorus is, I'm a mountain.
But truly though, in times of endurance and challenges, you have
to like, just coach yourself and be like, you can do this, you know?
And so that song is very inspired by my dad and his stories and
resilience is really the theme.
So that's how they manifest mostly in my songs.
Just my parents stories, my own stories, my own take on things.
And like, probably I would say it's like a mixture, a blend of a blend of
both since it's coming through my POV.
Minh V.: Yeah, I love that.
And so how have, if we can get like a, maybe an example or like a
takeaway of how that shows up for you.
So you, for example, talk about resilience and it can be that or it
can be something else, but taking some of the learnings that you have from
the memoir, your own life experience, like what's really stuck with you?
stuck with you since, you know, the 2016 of starting the
memoir to now to promqueen.
Like, what are some themes that really stick with you that
have that blend of maybe your parents, but also your experience?
promqueen: Yeah, that's a great question.
So I would say from the memoir to now, things, themes that have stuck with me
is, I don't know if there is a word for this, innovative, maybe, yeah, innovation,
being able to like do something with a little, like, if my parents were given a
stick and a piece of paper, they'd be able to like, provide for the family with it.
You know what I mean?
And so for me, that's something I take with me in my day
to day life with my team.
We may not have a lot or a ton of funding, but what we do have, we will
give it our best and make something creative and exciting out of it.
So I think that's something that the sense of innovation, For my parents is
something I definitely take with me and the sense of letting myself off the hook.
Kind of going back with Sandra, what you were saying, I don't know,
there's something earlier, but our parents have done so much and there's
a lot that we carry from that and sense of obligation or maybe just
like guilt or shame that we have.
Right?
And like we're driving in Pflugerville and like mom was over
there getting water from the well.
How do you navigate that?
So I think for me.
Hearing their stories helps me to humanize them a little bit more, and
also think like, you know what, they were doing their best, like, with
what they knew, and I'm doing my best with what I know, and like, it's okay.
And I've learned to be less mean to myself...
over the years and less tough on myself.
I have a wonderful partner that helps encourage me in that journey.
So it's just like, I think the sense of like, you're doing enough, you're
doing enough and you're, you're enough.
And that sense, that theme has like been something I've been really working
through and trying to actualize.
So, yeah.
Minh V.: Oh, I love that.
Everything that you just said, and thank you for sharing it.
Self actualization is one of my 2024 goals.
So I love that you said the word actualize as well, too.
And I think it is just putting into practice all of these things of letting
yourself off the hook and feeling like, yes, you want to honor where
you come from and the experiences that your parents went through.
And at the same time, be able to be truthful to yourself of how you
want to navigate the world, how you want to navigate your life and
what you want out of your life.
And hopefully those things can intersect, but it's also okay that
they're not completely dictated or ruled by the experiences of before.
So I really appreciate you sharing that.
Sandra P.: Yeah.
And I just want to add one piece is recognizing that the best way
to honor yourself and your family is just simply by existing, right?
Your existence matters enough.
And so thank you so much for sharing that.
Minh V.: Okay, so promqueen you've got a lot of swag and style.
I'm loving kind of how this manifests for you.
But I'm curious, like, what was the origin story for promqueen?
How did you come up with this look?
And why Why this type of expression for you?
What was kind of motivating that or what was the creative
process around the styling?
Sounds that you wanted to explore and focus on what's kind of
the promqueen origin story?
promqueen: So I always like to say that promqueen is literally the manifestation
of my two year old self in the living room, we have like forest green carpet, a
big ol television set, and I'm two years old singing karaoke, like Vietnamese
English karaoke, and I have like an Easter Sunday hat and a diaper on,
and my parents are videotaping this, but I'm having the time of my life.
Expressing, singing, and moving around.
And so promqueen is literally that.
When I get on stage, I hand the mic off to her, and she has the time of her life.
So as far as, like, styling, so promqueen origin story, promqueen
was actually never meant to happen.
It was not fabricated.
I didn't try to plan this out in any way.
It's like literally a wonderful, delightful surprise to myself.
I moved to Austin in 2012 to pursue music.
I played in bands.
And then later on in my career, I wanted to do more songwriting and co writing.
So, at the time, there wasn't too much of a co writing culture in Austin.
There is in Nashville and L.
A.
so, I like, I used my paycheck, I flew out there, I worked that co writing
muscle, and then, you know, pandemic happened, live music was at a halt.
So it held me to think, I was like, you know, I don't think I want to do
the performing artist route anymore, I think I'm content with, at the time
I was really heavily pursuing acting and working on the memoir, so, I was
like, I'm really content with this, I'm gonna hang that up, you know, later.
And then my co manager was like, well, let's write like a song for
like a commercial sync for our agent.
And we were really inspired by this track by MILLI and she raps and
it's a song called Mirror Mirror.
And she raps in her language and also English.
And he was like, why don't you throw in Vietnamese?
And I was like, well, I don't think my mom would like that because
she wants me to speak English.
And like, she would really harp on me.
And he was like, Oh, come on, just, just try just for this commercial
song, you know, and I was like, okay, so I try to think of a fun word.
I was like, what's a word that my parents used to call me?
Oh, yeah.
Xi Xon xi xon sanh se that means like attitude, sexy, fashionable.
So I like started rapping for the first time.
And like, put it together and I was like, I love this.
It was like a coalesce of all the things I enjoy.
That is rap.
I was like, it's wordplay.
It's rhythm.
It's changing subject matters.
Like it's just, it's a powerful message and storytelling in
a way that I not explored.
And I was like, we looked at each other at the end and we
were like, whoa, that was cool.
There's like two kids being like, whoa, I'm real.
This could be something.
Yeah.
And so that's how the music part started out.
And Waverly, he is my co producer, co manager, and he
has such great musical instinct.
And we both work so well together in that route that I felt safe to express.
And he's Cambodian American, so also just like, really shared
experiences that I just finally felt safe to just share my story with.
So we started there, and that's how the music part evolved.
And then I thought to myself, like, well, the thing I've always struggled most
is like how to do my hair for shows.
I just never could find one that stuck with me, and I was like, I don't
want to have to worry about my hair.
I'll get a wig.
And so I went to Coco Coquette, which is a wig shop on East
Cesar Chavez in Austin, Texas.
And I, I walk in, Annemarie's sweet, she's like, go try on a couple of wigs.
You got to try on a few to find the one that's for you.
And I was like, okay.
So I walk in and I kid you not y'all, I pick this one.
I like go, that's the one for me.
And I put it on and I looked in the mirror and I was like, and nobody was
in the room, but I was like, are you.
Are y'alls, what?
Like it just sat, it wore me, you know what I mean?
And it was so exhilarating and I was like, I think I found the wig, you know?
And so I took a picture of my co manager producer.
I was like, Waverly, what do you think?
He's like, that looks great.
I was like, cool.
So, in good fashion, every time I got a paycheck, I went
in and bought another one.
And my mom, because my mom's always like, If you like something, buy a
lot of it, because it might run out.
Well, it did run out, so I'm glad I did buy a few of them.
And then the style, you know, it's just really, like, vibrant, fun, you know?
And, like, I, you know, the chokers and everything, like, it just
feels so, like, just loud and fun.
It's like, again, my two year old self being like just pulling everything out of
mom's closet like let's go and just put things together and like be loud and proud
Minh V.: And for our listeners who may not definitely you need to check out our
social so you can and check out promqueen so you can see this visual but i'm
wondering promqueen if you could describe.
I mean, it's very poppy.
You were already saying like vibrant stuff what do you what do you got on
today for our listeners who are maybe just listening and not able to see.
promqueen: I love that.
Great question.
I am wearing a black and white checkered long sleeved top.
It kind of looks like what you would see a hairdresser wear at a salon.
It's just really flowy and silky.
And then I have like a black collar choker with also a silver chain
and also my mom's Vietnam necklace.
I don't know if you can see it, but it's just the shape of Vietnam.
And it's, it's oh, I love that.
So I try to wear that at every show and then I got my classic
stone gray is the wig color.
I'd say it's stone gray.
It hits about right up my chin bone.
So it's like a short bob, very like Ella Fitzgerald 1920s
style with like short bangs.
So it's a nice little sweet little bob.
I can just, pop on
Minh V.: It's full of attitude.
I love it.
I love seeing you perform and yeah, it just seems like the attitude and stage
presence you bring with the style, it feels like it just all comes together.
So I'm really happy that you found this magical bob that I
feel like pulls it all together.
And everything like that.
So you mentioned, you know, English karaoke, things like that.
I'm, let's get Vietnamese a little bit here.
But like, how did maybe some of the Vietnamese music growing up influence
the music that you make today?
I know you incorporate the Vietnamese language, but I'm curious if there's
like, any particular artist or like programs that might have inspired you.
I remember watching a bunch of like Paris by Night stuff growing up and
that was always a kind of a trip but I'm curious if that was anything
that resonates with you or if you you pulled from from any of that.
promqueen: I think describing it as a trip is absolutely accurate.
Paris by Night.
It's a Vietnamese French inspired variety show for those listening.
And yes, I also grew up with Paris by Night.
I was floored by how many outfit changes the hosts always had.
So that was really fun to watch.
But yeah, the particular artist, which I'm sure a lot of Vietnamese people
can relate to is Lynda Trang Dai
she is the Vietnamese Madonna.
And she definitely inspired me.
You know, when she pop on there and sing Holiday by Madonna.
I was just like jaw dropped like doing the moves with her.
She's definitely someone I looked up to a lot and sang like those karaoke songs.
There's this other song and I don't know there's different artists who sing it but
it's a song called Mao Niam Ban Tung Hai.
It's the Basically, a Vietnamese transcription of a Chinese song.
There was like some sort of Chinese war romance movie in the 1980s.
And I don't know, a Vietnamese artist took it and just like wrote
Vietnamese like lyrics to it.
And it's a very like powerful love ballad.
I mean, it's intense.
Like those big like drums.
Yeah.
I remember hearing that at the age of two and just being like,
oh, this is singing my soul.
And it's just like, what in the world is a two year old can relate to that?
But like that song really inspired me musically.
It's a really dynamic song, great melodies, great cadences that like my
ear just kind of draws to that, like draws to like dynamic vocalist melodies.
Rhythms.
And in fact, that song is playing and I'll have to do a really quick plug.
I'm doing a KUTX My Artist DJ set.
It airs May 25th.
That's the first song that's on there.
Minh V.: Let's go.
promqueen: Pretty great.
And that song really influenced me.
I love that.
I think one thing about Vietnamese music, especially cai luong, it's, you know,
it's very, it's, it's storytelling.
It's very, it can be very, almost like, painstaking isn't the right
word, but they're, they're talking about things like what life was
like back in the home country and almost like musical theater of sorts.
And so I think it's wonderful to hear some of your influences
specifically from Vietnamese music.
Sandra P.: Yeah.
And a big part of the influence and to your music obviously is also rap.
And I'll admit, I haven't seen Paris by Night in a while.
Idris since I've been a kid, but I'm curious if, and I don't know if
they do this currently, if they've kind of pulled in music genres that
are a little bit more popular now and incorporating into that, but
who are some of your rap influences that you've kind of looked to
to also kind of fuse with, with your Vietnamese background?
promqueen: Yeah, absolutely.
It's so interesting.
Yeah.
Like I said, you know, earlier that I never thought to, but I
always have written like poetry.
So I really, I mean, rap is truly poetry and powerful storytelling.
So I've always been interested in like the cadences of words
and like the rhythmic components.
So yeah, I think I've always been drawn to you know, I think in the same
category as rappers is like some poetry.
Poetry has always been part of things I've gravitated.
Rappers, honestly, like, you know, I think I, I really enjoyed, like, Missy
Elliott's probably the first person I heard, like, rap growing up on the radio.
And just, like, really amazed by her change in character and tone.
Yeah.
Um, it's awesome.
Like, it's just so cool to play with those different textures
and tones to create the story.
And then also, I absolutely love, like, 90s hip hop rap artists, namely Nas
is the first rapper I heard that I was like, this is pure poetry and so musical.
His delivery is so musical.
Even though he's rapping.
And so I think that like really turned my ear towards it.
Like, Oh, this is incredible.
And the amount of word play message that you can go.
You can hit on so many themes and just like two minutes.
And it just blows my mind that the words can play this role of.
Being an instrument and storytelling.
Minh V.: Appreciate that.
All, all good names that you just dropped there.
And Missy's coming to Austin, too.
And I'm trying to figure out how I can nab tickets and still, and my
bacon cat will still be happy with me.
I want to talk about, you've already had kind of an incredible 2024
so far, but you also had a pretty big year last year as well too.
Like last June, you, season one came out, you hosted your own prom to like
celebrate the album release, you performed with KUTX and Austin PBS's like indie
orchestra, you, I saw some of those videos, that's, that's incredible.
You performed at Stubb's.
Like, how has this last year felt for you?
Like, is there a standout moment that you can speak a little bit more to?
And then also, like, what's a lesson that you might have learned?
So like, throughout that year that you didn't anticipate maybe
coming across when you start?
You thought about starting your musical career?
promqueen: Yeah, great questions.
Last year.
Yeah, it was.
It was a big year for us.
As much as people were surprised, namely like my friends and family
and others about the project, we too were very surprised.
It was just the same amount of bewilderment.
We're just on stage, like smiling, jumping around, but we were.
Very surprised at the project in general.
A lot of great moments like you had just mentioned just now.
I think two standout moments for me, one being I got to have my mom share
the stage with me, both at prom and at the KUTX PBS Indie Orchestra show.
And great, incredible moment.
I was like, Mom!
Would you mind, like, acting on this song with me?
And she's like, yeah, but why do I have to wear my PJ pants and my slippers?
And I was like, well, because that's the scene.
Everybody has, you know, not everybody, but like, people will relate to this.
And I kid you not, it's so many people come up to me and they're like, when
she came on that stage with their PJ pants, I started bawling, you know?
And so I was like, mom, you're helping create this world and
you're connecting with others.
And it's amazing.
And, and I think selfishly for me, you know, our parents are going to pass and
I get to have these incredible moments with my mom making art on stage, you know,
and living out this world that we had.
The second one is.
Free Week with KUTX and Red River Cultural District.
It was the most incredible crowd I'd ever played for.
Like, the Free Week community is so open and so kind and just down for the show.
And I don't know if y'all have seen my show, but yeah, for
listeners, it's a very, like, narrative, performance driven show.
We have props, we have, you know, we have moments where we act, and so it's
not for everybody, and that's okay.
And this crowd.
Everybody was like, strap me in, take us, you know, on this
rocket ship, we're ready to go.
And I haven't, other than prom, outside of what we've hosted, this was a
moment that it really felt everyone was like on board to journey with us.
And that's exactly how I view every performance.
It's a journey.
from start to finish.
We go somewhere and then we come back together.
And so that was an incredible experience.
Super high.
That's really hard to come down from, but I'm really grateful for that experience.
Sandra P.: You maybe have teased or mentioned this before, but when
does season two come out and what are some of the key themes and
influences that we can expect on that?
And what's next for you?
What are some big projects and things?
Yeah.
So
promqueen: season two album comes out June 28th.
You heard it here first.
My mom doesn't even know.
Minh V.: And people can find that on like streaming platforms, everything.
promqueen: Yes.
People can find my album on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal any streaming platform.
And you can also go to my Instagram page @saypromqueen.
@saypromqueen to follow all the links that will take you to where you need to go.
But yeah, so June 28th, Season 2 album comes out.
Key themes on this album, so Season 1 was like the introduction of promqueen.
It's bright, it's poppy, you know, it's pretty light.
Season 2, we enter the dark forest.
Where there, you know, there's a big bad wolf, there's some being misunderstood.
There is colonization, you know, just exploring topics of inner racism and
then, you know, family structures.
And it kind of goes into some really dark, dark places and dark processing.
And then comes out with the true resilience and acceptance of.
Who I am as I come out of that process.
So a lot of heavier topics, but it's really fun.
It's a fun ride.
I'm excited.
I think it's important to shine a light on some of the less glossy parts
of our story, and especially some of the truths that might be a little
bit harder to to openly share or just as important to shine a light on.
Any other like exciting things that you're looking forward to later this year?
Yeah, I am very much looking forward to Rock the Park performance
next week with KUTX and June 1st is our first out of town show.
So we'll be playing in the Arlington area.
Super excited to take the full team on the road, my dancers and everyone.
And so we're very excited.
Our second annual prom.
Is coming up July 13th.
We're very excited about it.
We are conceptualizing the venue the stage decor Everything from last year
is literally a step up in so many ways so i'm very very very excited about it.
So july 13th second annual prom It's at the Austin Cinema Makers Space in
Austin, Texas And then ACL, uh, so we're just prepping for that show now
that performance design and everything and how we can make that show again
Just a step up and just elevate the show that we currently have.
So those are our biggest things.
I also have a collaboration with an incredible artist in town.
His name is Xavier Alvarado.
He is an amazing he does so much so much beautiful art.
So we're exploring like the intersectionality between black and Asian
American culture and how they intersect.
And what does it mean to be, you know, our own ethnicity?
So it'll be like art, music pop up.
Kind of thing that we'll do.
So it's like a two-parter popup that we'll do in August.
And then I have a mini doc screening in November at the Asian American Resource
Center, and it captured an event that I did in April for a few Vietnamese
American folks where we had a Vietnamese meal made by a Vietnamese American chef
and shared our stories about processing where we're at in our identities.
So that screening and panel talk will happen November 9th at the
Asian American Resource Center.
And I think that's it for now.
Sandra P.: Booked and busy.
promqueen: Yeah, pretty much.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Good stuff.
Stuff that I really love and I'm passionate about.
Sandra P.: Again, want to thank you so much for being on the show.
So something that Minh and I love to kind of wrap up our show with
and ask each of our special guests is, and you kind of teased this, but
I'd love for you to share, how do you view your relationship with your
Vietnamese American identity today?
promqueen: Oh, that's a great, great question.
Being Vietnamese American for.
Me right now, especially through processing a lot of my family, my
stories through the promqueen project has helped me to embrace being okay with not
knowing enough things about my culture and knowing things about my culture just
like being okay and sitting within that and knowing that there's no end point to
fully being Vietnamese American, right?
There's no end point.
It's literally ongoing and and Being okay with that, like it's,
it's a process and a journey.
So I think that's where I'm currently sitting with how I relate
to my ethnic identity right now.
Minh V.: I love that end point visual that you just shared or that concept
because I, that resonates a lot.
I mean, we talk about it a bit on the podcast too, like it's always
evolving your relationship up, uh, with your identity and also like.
Yeah, you, there's not a certain point where you're like, okay,
I am now the ultimate Vietnamese American that I will be.
And now I can focus on other things.
It just continues to evolve.
So I appreciate that answer.
All right, we're going to do, we're going to wrap things up by
doing a little bit of a rapid fire.
So first things that come, to your head.
Our first question, we switched it up this season a little bit, but
our first question is what's like an example of self care for you?
What does that look like for you?
promqueen: Easy.
It is a day for myself.
That could be taking a book to a bookstore and reading there for hours, getting
lost in that, going to a museum, going to the hike, just being by myself, my
thoughts, no obligations to anyone.
Minh V.: Oh, love that.
No obligations to anyone.
is something that definitely resonates as a, as a way to
like provide some self care.
So, favorite Asian snack growing up?
promqueen: One of my favorite Asian snacks growing up was those
little fried egg roll pastries.
They come in like a red tin.
Minh V.: Oh, yes.
promqueen: I don't know.
Like the crepe looking wafer thingies?
Yes.
Ooh, I love those.
Easy.
Could get into the whole thing and like, literally eat it all in one sitting.
I mean, it's dangerous.
I remember just eating the crumbs just fall all over you, you know?
Minh V.: The crumbs of it all, though.
Yes.
That's a good one, though.
And where do you like to have fun in Austin?
I love going to the different, uh, cultural art museums.
Mm hmm.
It sounds slightly boring, but they have a lot of like rotating
exhibits, which is like really cool.
Again, that like alone time self care.
I like going to find different sites.
So I just this weekend went to the Malin, the troll in Peace Park.
Oh, yeah.
promqueen: Really massive tall troll.
That's really cool.
So it was fun to like see a new site.
Minh V.: Yeah.
promqueen: Yeah.
And then I love to go karaoke with my friends.
Minh V.: Private or public?
promqueen: Private.
I'm not, I'm not a public one.
Minh V.: I know.
There, there are people in my life, some of my friends who love a good public
karaoke, and I'm like, I don't know, man.
I think it's private for me.
If I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it in the safety of like a private room with my
closest friends, or by myself in my car.
promqueen: Yes, yes, I'm the same.
I'm the same.
So I would say like those are some fun places I like to go and explore.
Minh V.: For sure.
Well, promqueen, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.
It was so great to be able to learn more about your process, your
journey, what's inspired you, and to like hear all the like awesome
stuff that you have coming up.
It's been really, really awesome to see.
everything going your way, and we're just like rooting for you.
We're, we're like celebrating, uplifting, and like want to see
you continue to do the amazing stuff that you've already started.
So thanks for being with us.
promqueen: Thank you so much, Minh and Sandra.
Y'all are the best.
Sandra P.: Thank you.
Minh V.: That was another great interview.
I'm always in awe of our guests that we are able to bring on and just like, their
experiences that they bring to the table.
Sandra P.: Yeah, I think every time we get the opportunity to bring on a guest and
have these chats, I'm just always blown away and in awe of just how authentically
they show up and how fun it is.
Minh V.: Yeah, and I think one thing too that stood out to me in the interview
was when promqueen was talking about her mom going to the pawn shop and
trying to get something nice for herself, some jewelry, things like that.
And I know that we've been kind of on our own journey with how jewelry can be
tied to our identity or, or the types of jewelry that we feel represent us.
I just remember growing up like the uncles.
Not even related to me, but would have the like white tank and gold chain
with jade on it, or I know you, you have shared before some of your family
members or people in your life that had some specific jewelry that you feel
closely tied to their identity, right?
Sandra P.: Yeah, I'm wondering if it's something that we have
maybe inherited from them.
Yeah, when I have fond memories, I'm thinking of my grandmother and my mom.
They have very special, unique jewelry pieces that I feel like
are tied to their identity.
When I do think of my grandma, I think of like the classic jade
bracelet that was always on her wrist.
Right?
You never take it off, including airports, anywhere.
But that has been just part of her, like, literally.
She has had that the entire time I've known her.
So it's got me thinking a lot.
Jewelry is very important to both you and I, but like, do I really
invest in pieces that I feel like will be part of my identity?
Because I kind of do want to have that.
And I know you and I talked about going into Chinatown
and maybe you want to share.
Yeah.
Minh V.: Yeah, I mean, I remember growing up and going to those, like,
mom and pop shops, like, run by Vietnamese folks who sell jewelry.
There's a lot of jade, a lot of gold, a lot of things like that.
And yeah, we, we did talk recently about what it means to
have some of that for ourselves.
And I was thinking about those gold chains and the, the jade kind of.
emblems.
And I was like, wait, why don't I have one of those things?
You know, like why, why not?
At first there's a whole thing kind of intertwined with like, maybe
that's not me, or that's not, there's some, maybe some toxic masculinity
as well that was like tied into the people that I saw wearing that.
But I think more recently I'm like, that doesn't mean that I can't kind of reclaim
that for what it means to me, how I, still connects me with my Vietnamese identity
and heritage and being able to just rock it, you know, and have that be part of me.
So yeah, I'm happy to say that I, I was able to get that and do that.
And I have this like heart emerald jade necklace that feels more like me.
You know, I could have gotten like the Buddha.
I could have gotten some dragons that they had available, but I chose a
heart that Felt strong and still soft at the same time and being confident
in that right as a it's a queer gay Asian man So yeah, it feels good.
Sandra P.: Yeah, I love that I think I love that you also went kind of
back to your roots and I love that you intentionally also went to an
AAPI owned store locally instead of going to like Mejuri and like finding
an appropriated piece because a lot of it is kind of trendy and in You
know, what a, what a sweet story.
And I think we're recognizing their jewelry is, yeah, I, I just have such
fond memories around that and identity.
So I'd, I'd love to be remembered in that way as well.
Minh V.: Yeah.
A lot of sentimental value in jewelry.
Right.
Well, that.
is our premiere episode.
I appreciate y'all joining us and listening and stay tuned.
We'll have some more episodes to share with y'all very, very soon.
Sandra P.: Bye y'all.
Minh V.: Bye.