Asian American music turns 25 this year.

Music was more than a vessel for entertainment, it was also a vehicle for education.

Two recently released CDs, a reissue of the 1973 folk classic by the group A Grain of Sand and the 1998 experiments by hip hop musician Jamez, reveal deep links between political identity and musical expression. These works express much about what it has meant and now means to be Asian American.

A scant 50 years ago, Chinese Americans wore “I’m Not Japanese” buttons to distinguish themselves during wartime. Yet the children of that war-time generation grew up to link hands and identities in solidarity as Asian Americans. Influenced by the Black Power movement, various Asian ethnicities rallied together to oppose domestic oppression and the Vietnam War.

Birth of Asian American Music
In 1973, A Grain of Sand, the folk trio of Chris Iijima, Nobuko Miyamoto and William “Charlie” Chin, released the first Asian American album, a self-titled LP subtitled, “Music for the Struggle of Asians in America.” While Asian American participation in popular music stretches back to the 1800s, “A Grain of Sand” was the first record to employ the term “Asian American” to refer to its artists and audience. The cultural work of such groups as A Grain of Sand had an important impact on the nascent Asian American identity and its link to radical politics.

Because folk music represented communal ideals and grassroots ideologies, the genre was an obvious choice for Asian American activists. For Miyamoto, the music empowered the group to reach a wide range of people. “We really saw that this was like being a musical ambassador,” she said. “There were things we could do and say, ideas we could spread in a very passionate and heartfelt way to people of like mind.”

Miyamoto, Chin and Iijima did more than string some guitar chords together and sing about global imperialism -- their album shows a dedication to making form as powerful as content. As a result, the album succeeds artistically, avoiding reduction to rote revolutionary rhetoric, devoid of feeling or pleasure.

Manifesto for Change
But it was more than just a musical album -- it was a proclamation for change. The group wrote extensive liner notes to serve as a manifesto on the bridging of art and politics, form and function. A Grain of Sand mapped a new political and cultural identity for Asian America, claiming, “Music has the power to touch; at the same time it can move people collectively while striking some emotion deep within an individual. The struggle must recognize that power and utilize it!” Music was more than a vessel for entertainment, it was also a vehicle for education.

Twenty-five years later, the trio’s popularity is resurgent. Chris Iijima, Nobuko Miyamoto and William “Charlie” Chin are performing again after more than 20 years, and their 1973 album debuted on CD in March. The re-release also features CD-ROM interviews and photo stills, making the album a valuable multimedia archive.