HAPA Summer!

 Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

Can you believe that it’s been 20 years since we launched this blog?

In the beginning, there was so much HAPA-ning!

In 2020, for the first time in history, the U.S. Census allowed its citizens to choose more than one racial category to identify themselves. Those of you old enough to remember will recall previous nail-biting days filling out forms and trying to decide whether you were the same race as your mother or your father.

Up to that point, most of us had been told all of our lives what we were by other people who were nothing like us.

A few of us reluctantly chose the parent we most resembled in appearance which made no sense if you embraced both parents and their cultures. And, if you had one Black parent, you were considered Black, period, due to the One Drop Rule. It didn’t matter whether or not you were accepted or recognized as being Black by the Black Community. 

Even if your parents shared the same culture, i.e., being American, they still had different backgrounds due to their ethnicities. So, how to choose?

In those early days, we began rebelling and calling ourselves mixed-race, multiracial, multicultural, hapa, blasian, wasian and some even referred to themselves as being mulatto—a word that was once synonymous with mix-bred animals. 

Based on our personal experiences of being mixed, we wrote books, made films and organized conferences and festivals all honoring the mixed-race agenda.

Our film, Watermelon Sushi, has been in the works now for 28 years. Well, it’s been in existence, but only worked on sporadically. That is, until we acquired our executive producer, Doug Ing, who a few years ago, had all of our footage digitized. Now, we’re editing and utilizing AI for enhancements.

Please stand by. 

Juggling three films (including Tokyo Lily and Vegan Jin) seriously cuts down on our time. Therefore, we are directing you to our Hip Hapa Homeez group page on Facebook to discuss any issues surrounding multiculturalism.

Hip Hapa Homeez

We won’t be updating this blog until the end of 2026.

You can also check out these links for any news:

https://watermelonsushi.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/WatermelonSushi/videos

https://yayoiclanart.com/

https://www.redbubble.com/people/yayoiclanart/shop

https://www.teepublic.com/user/yayoiclanart

Here are our Facebook links:

https://www.facebook.com/watermelonsushi

https://www.facebook.com/hapateez

Enjoy a HAPA summer!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Summer Sushi And Tokyo Watermelon

a normalized mixie!

Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez!

In the 18 years that we’ve been publishing this blog, a lot has changed for us mixies. We multi-culti folks have grown from being a minority within minorities to becoming a rather large presence as more people mix and mingle outside of their own racial groups.

Unlike back in the day when I was growing up, today there are numerous commercial advertisements featuring interracial couples and sometimes their mixed kids. Wow. We’re actually becoming normalized! Hopefully, in the future, seeing mixed-race families will no longer be surprising or shocking to anyone.

Apologies for this quarter’s slim blog, but the new news we have to share continues to be the old news we’ve been sharing.

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

First, the ‘War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory’ series is still available for viewing on Gumroad. For less than the price of a latte with foam, you can learn all about these brave Japanese women who married their former enemies:

War Brides of Japan, a docu*memory

https://watermelonsushi.gumroad.com/

Since late last year, we’ve been crowdfunding for 'Tokyo Lily, a war bride docu*memory'. With the money we’re raised so far, we were able to get hours of super 8mm and mini DV tape footage digitized. However, we still need more donations for animation, music and for licensing WWII images.

Tokyo Lily, a war bride docu*memory

Here’s where you can help us:

https://crowdfundr.com/tokyo-lily?ref=ab_3TBXPWE4mYE3TBXPWE4mYE

Watermelon Sushi

And, finally we’ve been editing ‘Watermelon Sushi’ which our Executive Producer (award-winning filmmaker Lowell Douglas Ing) recently had digitized. This feature narrative was first shot in 1998, and today, we have beautiful 8K vintage footage that reflects 1980’s hip hop. The story of two Japanese and black sisters searching for identity also features a deep message of acceptance.

https://watermelonsushi.com

Lowell Douglas Ing sets up his camera at Tokyo Lily's house

We’re also fundraising for that film, and you can donate to it or ‘Tokyo Lily’ at the top of this page. Family, friends and fans of ‘Tokyo Lily’, ‘War Brides of Japan’ and ‘Watermelon Sushi’, we are enterally grateful that you have helped us make these films possible.

Meanwhile, we’re back to interviewing anyone with a multicultural background, or who has projects about the subject matter. Drop us a line if that’s you!

Please check out the links below to learn more about our impactful movies.

Watermelon Sushi website

Watermelon Sushi on Youtube

Watermelon Sushi on Facebook

Tokyo Lily website

War Brides of Japan website
War Brides of Japan on Youtube

War Brides of Japan on Facebook

HAPA summer!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Blasian Sensation

Although she’s unsure of where the term "Blasian" originated, Your Hip Hapa admits she finds it to be not only an accurate idiom, but also quite charming. Like our Hapa*Teez t-shirt design on Café Press, the words Black plus Asian = Blasian.

Danni with her Mom 

This month’s featured Hip Hapa Homee is Danni Ai, a creative multi-talented performer and visual artist, hailing from Jamaica, who also happens to be Blasian.

Here’s a list of some of Danni’s many accomplishments.

Milestone performances:

“Return of the King” Tour with Shabba Ranks

"Fugees" in Miami and Hartford Tour Dates (with Pras)

“Faces in the Crowd” @ Times Square Art Center

TSW World Entertainment Network on the Hornig Hapmton Estate

“LoveJones Christmas” on VH1

"Party with Baruch Live" - NYC 

National Coalition of 100 Black Women Youth Forum Speaker

New Taste Magazine, “Showcase 101”

ROMP for Research

“Trailblazer Awards” @ Cascades Mansion

BET’s 106 & Park 

SOBs “DREAMZ” Concert Series

"Partyzone/EMG” @ Greenhouse

"DREAMZ” at the world-famous Copacabana

Danni and immediate family

And, here’s Danni’s story:

Danni with Uncle Ginger

Q: Danni, who are your parents?

A: My mom is Jamaican (of African-German descent) and my dad is Jamaican (of Chinese descent).

Danni with great Grandma

Q: How did you grow up?

A: I grew up mostly with my mom. She always lived in either all black or mixed-race communities. I want to two schools that were all white.

Q: How did you first become interested in music?

A: I always had an interest. Jamaica is a very soulful and spiritual place. My mom can tell you stories about me finding an audience long before what I can remember. She and my great grandmother had beautiful voices. I have a great-great-great that was a riverboat singer, so I guess it's in my blood.

Q: And now, you're also a visual artist. How did that evolution come about?

Danni's artwork

A: It's just another way to express myself. Art is my passion. Sometimes I have a pen in my hand instead of a mic. Sometimes all I have is a toe and the floor. If you can envision yourself crossing the finish line, you will understand how it feels when I open my eyes and let whatever I felt come out of my head.

Danni, cousin Kadia, Mom and great Aunt

Q: How did you develop such strong feminist ideas? 

A: I wouldn't say my ideas are necessarily feminist. They are people-ist. They are for victims of rape and domestic violence. That affects much more than women. I just chose to start with women because their stories are something that I am closer to having experienced. I would never forget my boys and men who have been through the same horrible victimization.

Q: Your family is so wonderfully mixed. What was it like being surrounded by so many colors and cultures?

Danni's Aunt Carol

A: Well, it taught me that tolerance is a word people use when they have seen prejudice. I don't have to tolerate people because we are all human. No one culture is better than the next. "Out of many races, one people" is Jamaica's motto. I see beauty in unity, and failure and dysfunction in the crabs-in-a-barrel scenario. 

Danni and cousins

Danni with cousin Mike

Q: What are some of your future plans?

A: Building awareness towards rape and domestic violence and changing the life of at least ONE person that has been affected by either of those things. One is enough, more than one is a blessing.

Danni with sister Alex

Danni with brother Kris

Danni and first cousins

Thanks, Blasian Sensation! Hey Hip Hapa Homeez, reach Danni through these links:

Twitter: @DanniAi

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/DanniAi

Instagram: @mydanniai

And, please remember to join our multi-culti discussions at our Facebook group page—Hip Hapa Homeez. While you’re in cyberspace, also check out the following:

Watermelon Sushi film

http://www.watermelonsushi.com

Watermelon Sushi on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/watermelonsushi

Hapa*Teez on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBIMaJUljjI

Hapa*Teez on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/hapateez

Hapa*Teez on Café Press

http://www.cafepress.com/hapateez

War Brides of Japan v.2 on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNSEUkT2N4E&feature=plcp

War Brides of Japan on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnJkujn1iek&feature=colike

War Brides of Japan on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/WarBridesOfJapan

Yayoi Lena Winfrey fan page on Facebook (sorry, but Your Hip Hapa can’t add any more friends to her regular profile page)

https://www.facebook.com/yayoilenawinfreyfanpage

Sexy Voices of Hollywood

https://www.facebook.com/sexyvoicesofhollywood

Twitter

https://twitter.com/watermelonsushi

Until April 2, when we’ll have another Hip Hapa Homee for you to meet, be sweet.

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi