Asian American Arts Zine - Volume 4

P A G E 4 1
E N T E R T A I N M E N T A N D R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
you’re working with.” Reinforcing the
importance of working with people who are
able to understand where you're coming
from.
Similarly, to myself, Nikom is a biracial
Asian American (and a fellow Taurus) as his
mother is Thai and his father is white.
Describing his upbringing as a “stricter
Asian upbringing, I played piano from a
young age, but it wasn’t something for me
to be a creative person. It was more of
something to instill regiment in my life and
help me be better and sharper. Looking
back on it I’m glad I learned to play, but I
don’t think my parents intended for me to
be a musician— they wanted me to be a
doctor or a lawyer, something like that.”
Like many Asian Americans, Nikom felt the
pull of filial piety, urging him to pursue a
career that would make his family proud.
“It’s hard when you were raised like that, to
transition out of that mode of thinking.
Naturally, I feel more comfortable with a 9
to 5 kind of job, and to have a regiment.” He
was able to carve out a middle path where
his work could be centered around music,
while also having the stability of a more
structural role. “For
me, working in the music industry, I get to
be creative in certain ways, be around
artists, and be in the music scene, but at
the end of the day I have the security of a
full-time job, and my parents aren’t worried
about me.” He found a way to still follow his
aspirations while ensuring financial and
career security for his parents.Nikom posits
that the more regimented upbringing that a
lot of Asian American kids experience
contributes to the lack of Asian Americans
in the music industry. “We get pushed
towards more objective careers— doctors,
lawyers, engineers, for example. Safe jobs
that make you a lot of money.” Additionally,
noting that “I think it’s hard to dive
headfirst into being an artist if you can’t
picture yourself as that. It’s hard to picture
yourself in those roles when you haven’t
seen yourself represented as some