Awkwafina

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Nora Lum (born 1988),[1] known by the stage name Awkwafina, is an American rapper and actress. She appeared in the films Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians.

Early life

Lum was born in New York City[2] to an ethnic Chinese American father, Wally,[3] and a South Korean immigrant mother, a painter.[4][5][6] She grew up in Forest Hills, Queens. One of her paternal great-grandfathers was a Chinese immigrant in the 1940s who opened the Cantonese restaurant Lum’s in Flushing, Queens.[7] Lum's mother died when she was four, and she was raised and influenced heavily by her paternal grandmother.[8]

Lum attended LaGuardia High School where she played the trumpet and was trained in classical and jazz music.[9][10] At age 16, she adopted the stage name Awkwafina, "definitely a person I repressed" and an alter ego to her "quiet and more passive" personality during her college years.[11][12][13] Lum majored in journalism and women's studies at the State University of New York at Albany.[10] From 2006 to 2008, Lum attended the Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China, where she studied Mandarin.

Lum says Charles Bukowski, Anaïs Nin, Joan Didion, Tom Waits, and Chet Baker were early influences.[14] Prior to her career in entertainment, she was an intern at local New York publications Gotham Gazette and Times Union, and was a publicity assistant for publishing house Rodale.[12]

Career

Music

Lum began rapping at age 13.[13] In 2012, she gained popularity for her song "My Vag", a response to Mickey Avalon's "My Dick". The music video has garnered over three million views on YouTube.[15] Her solo album Yellow Ranger was released on February 11, 2014.[16] The LP includes a number of her previous singles released via YouTube, including the title track "Yellow Ranger", "Queef" and "NYC Bitche$".

She was part of the lineup at Tenacious D's Festival Supreme on October 25, 2014.[17] In 2016, she collaborated with comedian Margaret Cho on "Green Tea", a song that pokes fun at Asian stereotypes.[18]

She released an EP called In Fina We Trust on June 8, 2018.[19]

Acting

Feature films

In 2016, Lum played a supporting role in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and starred in the indie comedy Dude.[20][21] She also voiced the role of Quail in the 2016 animated comedy Storks.

In April 2018, Lum was announced as part of the cast of Paradise Hills, a sci-fi thriller directed by Alice Waddington and featuring Emma Roberts, Eiza Gonzalez and Danielle Macdonald.[22]

She was part of the principal cast in the all-female spinoff to the Ocean's Trilogy, Ocean's 8, which was released on June 8, 2018. Also that summer, she co-starred in the film Crazy Rich Asians, by Warner Bros. She played Goh Peik Lin, a college friend of lead character Rachel Chu (Constance Wu).[23]

Television and web series

In 2014, Lum was added to the cast of the third season of Girl Code, appearing in six episodes of third and fourth season.[24] In 2015, she served as a co-host with TV personality Nessa and comedian Carly Aquilino for the spin-off titled Girl Code Live on MTV.[25]

Lum was the host of self-created short-form web series "Tawk", which was an Official Honoree at the 2016 Webby Awards and was nominated for a 2016 Streamy Award in the News and Culture category.[26]

She has a recurring role in the Hulu original series Future Man, which was released in November 2017.[27]

Lum hosted the October 6, 2018 episode of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Travis Scott.[28]

Other

Lum is profiled in the 2016 documentary Bad Rap, which was an official selection at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Produced by Salima Koroma and Jaeki Cho, the film puts the spotlight on her as well as upcoming fellow Asian-American rappers such as Dumbfoundead, Rekstizzy, and Lyricks.[29][30] She hosted the 2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs.[31]

Writing

In 2015, publisher Potter Style, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, released Awkwafina's NYC, Lum's travel guide to New York City.[32]

Activism

Lum has expressed support for Time's Up, a movement started by Hollywood celebrities against sexual harassment. She has also advocated for the need for more female directors and against the stereotyping of Asians in media. She has rejected roles that require accents.[33]

Lum was honored as Kore Asian Media's Female Breakout of the Year in December 2017.[34]

Lum was featured in Gap's "Logo Remix" campaign, which featured up-and-coming artists who "are remixing creative culture on their own terms," such as SZA, Sabrina Claudio and Naomi Watanabe.[35]

Personal life

Awkwafina lives in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City.[36]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details
Yellow Ranger
  • Released: February 11, 2014
  • Label: self-released
  • Format: Digital download
In Fina We Trust
  • Released: June 8, 2018
  • Label: self-released
  • Format: Digital download

Singles

Title Year Album
"My Vag" 2012 Non-album single
"NYC Bitche$" 2013 Yellow Ranger
"Mayor Bloomberg (Giant Margaritas)"
"Queef"
"Daydreamin'" 2014 Non-album single
"Green Tea" (feat. Margaret Cho) 2016 Non-album single
"Pockiez" 2018 In Fina We Trust

Filmography

Film

Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Director Notes
2016 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising Christine Nicholas Stoller
2016 Storks Quail Nicholas Stoller, Doug Sweetland
2018 Dude Rebecca Olivia Milch
2018 Ocean's 8 Constance Gary Ross
2018 Crazy Rich Asians Goh Peik Lin Jon M. Chu
2018 Paradise Hills Films that have not yet been released Yu Alice Waddington
2019 The Angry Birds Movie 2 Films that have not yet been released TBA Mark Thurop Van Orman

Television

See also

References

  1. Jump up ^ de Bertodano, Helena (June 17, 2018). "Awkwafina: 'I was always the crazy one, the funny one. I'd do anything for a laugh'". The Guardian. says Lum, who has just turned 30.
  2. Jump up ^ "Awkwafina is changing hip-hop one vulgar, hilarious lyric at a time". Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  3. Jump up ^ "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. Jump up ^ "Nora Lum – Immigration Paper, University at Albany, SUNY" (PDF). www.albany.edu. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  5. Jump up ^ Lee, Traci (26 August 2014). "How Nora Lum Became Rapper Awkwafina Instead of A Meat Inspector". NBC News. NBC UNIVERSAL. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  6. Jump up ^ "5 Things to Know About 'Ocean's Eight' Star Awkwafina". 25 February 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. Jump up ^ "5 Things to Know About 'Ocean's Eight' Star Awkwafina". Us Weekly. 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  8. Jump up ^ "September Cover Story: Awkwafina Establishing Her Presence | KoreAm Journal". iamkoream.com. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  9. Jump up ^ Trinh, Jean (March 14, 2013). "Meet Awkwafina: an Asian Female Rapper on Vaginas, Tackling Racism & More". The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Awkwafina". New York State Writers Institute. University of Albany. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  11. Jump up ^ "Awkwafina Won't Let You Forget Her Name". The Ringer. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Oceans Eight Star Awkwafina On Her Makeup Essentials". Into The Gloss. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "Awkwafina Got Fired From Her Office Job After Writing a Song Called "My Vag"". Galore. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  14. Jump up ^ "13 Awkward Questions With Rapper Awkwafina - Mochi Mag". www.mochimag.com. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  15. Jump up ^ Court Dunn (2012-10-11). "Awkwafina "My Vag" (Official Video)". Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  16. Jump up ^ "Awkwafina". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  17. Jump up ^ Blistein, Jon (27 May 2014). "Tenacious D Combine Jokes and Jams for 2014 Festival Supreme Lineup". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  18. Jump up ^ Awkwafina x Margaret Cho - GREEN TEA.
  19. Jump up ^ Ting, Jasmine. "Awkwafina Announces New EP, 'In Fina We Trust'". PAPER. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  20. Jump up ^ "Rapper Awkwafina Joins 'Neighbors' Sequel". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  21. Jump up ^ Lincoln, Ross A. "Indie Comedy 'Dude' Rounds Out Lead Cast With Trio Of Actresses". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  22. Jump up ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2018-04-02). "Milla Jovovich & More Join Emma Roberts In 'Paradise Hills'". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  23. Jump up ^ "'Crazy Rich Asians' Adds Awkwafina". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  24. Jump up ^ Stedman, Alex (October 1, 2014). "Q&A: Girl Code Creator Ryan Ling on Season 3, Social Media and New Comedians". Variety.
  25. Jump up ^ "5 Things You Should Know About 'Ocean's 8' Star Awkwafina". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  26. Jump up ^ Spangler, Todd (2016-10-03). "Go90 Reups Awkwafina's 'Tawk' for Seasons 4 and 5, But Is Verizon's Service Struggling to Win Fans?". Variety. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
  27. Jump up ^ "Hulu's Future Man is fun but doesn't level up: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  28. Jump up ^ NBC.com http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/season-44/episode/2-awkwafina-with-travis-scott-296765. Retrieved 7 October 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. Jump up ^ Frydenlund, Zach (24 May 2014). "Premiere: Watch a Sneak Peek of the "Bad Rap" Documentary". Complex.com. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  30. Jump up ^ "Jackie Joe movie 'Bad Rap' ... Life of Korean hip-hop musicians in documentary 재키 조 제작 영화 '배드 랩'…다큐로 보는 한인 힙합 뮤지션들의 삶 [LA중앙일보] 랩퍼 4인 활동과 고민에 초점 장편 완성 위한 후원 기다려". Korea Daily (in Korean). LA Joongang Daily. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  31. Jump up ^ Lee, Cliff (22 August 2018). "'The summer of Awkwafina': The Crazy Rich Asians star on hosting the MMVAs". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  32. Jump up ^ "Awkwafina's Guide Book Shows the New York City You've Never Seen". NBC. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  33. Jump up ^ "Rapper and Actress Awkwafina on Being a Rare Asian-American in Hollywood". Broadly. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  34. Jump up ^ "Unforgettable Female Breakout of the Year: Awkwafina". Kore.am. Kore Asian Media. 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  35. Jump up ^ "Awkwafina Joins the "Now Generation" for Gap Logo Remix Campaign". vmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  36. Jump up ^ "Nora Lum". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2018-04-03.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Awkwafina&oldid=869429034"

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