Celebrating AANHPI Heritage Month

In May, we celebrate and honor Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month! We are big believers in celebrating  each other and all of the incredible artists who have inspired and influenced what we do as DJs. We also believe in educating, uplifting, and honoring the rich cultures that play a pivotal role in our industry. 

AANHPI Heritage Month gives us an opportunity to show our respect, appreciation, and admiration for people of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander descent, their vibrant history, achievements, and contributions to art, history, music, science, education, government, medicine – this list goes on and on. It’s also an opportunity to share information and raise awareness about a beautifully diverse group of people and their stories. This month-long celebration was initiated in the late 1970s and solidified in the early 1990s.

AANHPI people have long faced challenges, from stereotypes to racism to blatant erasure. And while this is certainly historically true, it is by no means a problem of the past. People of AANHPI descent still experience daily microaggressions, insults, exclusion, and even physical attacks. In fact, hate crimes against AANHPI people are at an all-time high. But it’s not just obvious cruelty that’s harmful. AANHPI people are considered a “model minority,” which means they’ve been stereotyped as ‘more successful’ than others, thereby ignoring the very real and hurtfully extreme racism they face. This makes AANHPI Heritage Month more important than ever.

There are so many ways you can celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month this May. Educate yourselves (and others!) on AANHPI history and the transformative contributions of the AANHPI community. Support local Asian-owned businesses and artists. Enjoy films by AANHPI filmmakers, producers, and directors. Discover your new favorite AANHPI electronic music DJ or make a point to catch an AANHPI DJ set at the next festival. If you’re in the market for a corporate event DJ this month, be sure to include the AANHPI community in your search. Dedicate some time to learning about ways AANHPI groups have enriched our culture and made our nation and the world a strong, beautiful, and unique place. 

Prism DJs is eager to kick off AANHPI Heritage Month because some of our favorite artists and influences are women from the AANHPI community. Our DJs can’t get enough of musicians like Olivia Rodrigo, Tokimonsta, Japanese Breakfast, Peggy Gou, Yuna, Yaeji, Blackpink, and so many more! These artists are constantly on our tracklists, making their way into our mixes, and inspiring our work. They make our jobs more fun, which is the ultimate dream.

In observation of AANHPI Heritage Month, Prism DJs shares mixes the mixes below by Miss DJ Bliss, DJ Lani Love, and DJ K-Sly that incorporate traditional Asian melodies with modern Asian hip-hop and new tracks from AANHPI artists. We hope that you’ll make these mixes the soundtrack to your May in honor of AANHPI Heritage Month.

*To learn more about the history of AANHPI Heritage month and how you can celebrate, check out these articles from History.com and The Hill. 

NewsPRISMprism djs, aapi heritage month, aanhpi heritage month, Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, AAPI DJ, Female DJ, Women DJ, Woman DJ, female dj los angeles, corporate event dj, los angeles dj, hollywood dj, orange county dj, electronic music dj, festival dj, dj lani love, dj k-sly, miss dj bliss, dj dazzler, las vegas dj, silicon valley dj, san francisco dj, international dj, open format dj, pop music dj, fashion event dj, art event dj, technology event dj, auto event dj, beauty event dj, ecommerce event djComment