On the heels of her being announced as part of ACL Fest's 2024 line up, KUTX's artist of the month and more, we're talking to the pop rap artist promqueen to share more about her past year, her musical inspirations, and more!

promqueen (she/they) is a second generation queer Vietnamese American pop rap artist based in Austin, TX. As a daughter to Vietnamese born parents, promqueen draws lyrical inspiration from her family history, own experiences and self reflection as second generation raised 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, AAAFF 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.

Topics Covered:

• Learnings and reflections from her szn one EP release in 2023 and what 2024 has brought
• Writing a family memoir and how it inspired the music and development of promqueen
• Music inspirations from both Vietnamese music and rap
• Themes in her music and what's to come for the rest of 2024
• Jewelry and its symbolism

Materials Referenced:

• Instagram: @saypromqueen
• Website: saypromqueen.com
• July 13th second annual prom ticket presale
• szn two vinyl pre order
• June 1st Show - Arlington, TX
• Population Change and Demographic Trends for Austin’s Asian American Population
• KUTX Artist of the Month
• ACL 2024 Lineup
• Paris by Night / Lynda Trang Dai
• Kim Son Jewlery

We've got a special episode recapping the opportunity to host an official AAPI meetup at South by Southwest (SXSW) this year along with teasing our new season this year.

Topics Covered:

• Our experience at SXSW this year and what we hope to see next year
• A brief unofficial primer on SXSW along with a few pro tips on how to navigate the festival
• Our plans for Season 3 and the podcast

Materials Referenced:

• AAPI Meetup at SXSW
• Vietnamese-Hungarian Singer, Hien

Jenni Lee is an investigative reporter and Midday anchor at KVUE in Austin, Texas. Jenni joined the KVUE news Team in June 2015 as the Weekend Daybreak anchor and weekday reporter but the veteran journalist has worked in the Austin TV market since 2001.

Before arriving in Austin, Jenni worked at KBTX-TV in Bryan and College Station after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. For more than 20 years now, Jenni has been breaking and covering stories important to our community and to our world. Her work has been recognized by several organizations: the Texas Associated Press of Broadcasters; the Lone Star Emmy Chapter; the American Cancer Society; the Diversity Council and the Austin Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities.

Jenni was born and raised in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas. She is married, has a son, adopted two crazy rescue dogs and is raising all of them. She no longer does gymnastics.

NOTE: This episode was recorded in Summer of 2023.

Topics Covered:

• The origins of her interest in journalism
• Her experience with gymnastics
• Taking a break from anchoring
• One of the most challenging stories she's had to cover.
• Reporting during the height of the Stop Asian Hate movement
• AAPI representation in news reporting and in media and her experience in that
• Separating work from home life and the importance of work/life balance and self care exercises
• The story Jenni still wants to share
• The importance of mental health
• What brought Jenni to Austin and what's kept her here
• What does Jenni want to be known for?
• Her relationship to her ethnic identity today.

Materials Referenced:

• 3 Part KVUE Series: The fasting-growing minority segment in Austin - AAPI
• Kome, Coco's Cafe, Qi Austin
• 99 Ranch, 85 Bakery, Soup Leaf Hot Pot
• Pew - Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S.
• KVUE: Jenni Lee