“From then on, equipped with my limited intelligence, miniscule wisdom, and teenage angst, I began to write little accounts of my daily thoughts via pad and pen…” Student, friend, poet, mouth, and musician Paul Kim never fails to deliver a show that gets the crowd roaring, clapping, hooting, and hollering. The 19-year-old has cultivated an enthusiastic following across California and beyond because he’s got what audiences want: confidence, flow, rhyming styles, beat boxing skills, and the tenacity to speak on true, down home subjects with in your face intensity. This UCLA student is set to change the API spoken word scene one mic at a time.

Where did you grow up, and how did you get started in writing and performing poetry?
I grew up in Cypress, California, or Orange County, to get a little more general — home of Disneyland, the Block, and other suburban amusements. Small corporations seem to replace strawberry fields in my ‘hood. I started writing in high school when I was introduced to a youth coffeehouse in Garden Grove by an APA organization called OCAPICA [Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance]. I went there and it was my first exposure to poetry. My friend, Cyrus Chen, who actually goes to Berkeley was reciting his writings that day and my reaction was, “Nice, finally, I can do less talking and more writing, sort of like AIM, but much more creative, I suppose.” From then on, equipped with my limited intelligence, miniscule wisdom, and teenage angst, I began to write little accounts of my daily thoughts via pad and pen.

When did you first perform?
I acquired this strange knack for making funny noises with my mouth, a.k.a. beat boxing, and so I was invited to go to a talent show in UCSD. I went there and performed, and, later on, I was invited to come back to perform for an APA event. I had gathered some thoughts about issues regarding APIs and myself and edited it into a spoken word piece called “For the wasted tears that spilled in slants” and that was my first spoken word performance. I stuttered really badly at one point but it was a good experience. I blanked out on a stanza and I tried to play it off with a long pause. They got the point after 10 seconds.

Who have you performed with?
I was always solo. I’ve done collaborative pieces before with folks from Balagtasan Collective in LA and Zero Three, but I never really committed to a group.

What themes do you write about?
I used to write a lot about topics of self, social equality, identity, religion, etc. Poetry I feel is always a reflection of what the writer is going through. That’s pretty much a given. It can be as sporadic as daily life, but its progression really depends on the person.

What’s your take on the spoken word scene?
I’m not sure. It always seems to certainly reflect the general consensus of life in general. Ask me what I think about how people choose to live today, and you will receive your answer about the scene.

Which musicians and artists are you into at the moment?
There’s this gospel/pop singer named Rachael Lampa who’s really gifted, but in terms of artists in particular, I can’t think of anything right now.

Who are your role-models?
First and foremost, it would be Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, who sets me free everyday from the deception of seeking my end in myself and in others. My parents are a big inspiration. They’ve taught me the importance of faith and perseverance in the midst of such difficulties as assimilating into a strange country. Another is Mother Theresa.

Religion seems to be an important part in your everyday life and your poetry.
Religion to me is not a mere Sunday obligation. It is not just a human construct that would prevent me from being happy. It is more than an existentialists’ worst conjecture. “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun as risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.” -C.S. Lewis. I think there are a lot of stigmas toward religion, Catholicism in particular, and it is a sad thing when human beings cause scandal especially in the name of religion. But, that is certainly not God’s fault. It is the fallen nature of you and me. I have a lot of Filipino friends who have a lot of issues concerning their beliefs especially because many of them were raised Catholic and the whole issue of colonization is a painful memory. The Church is divine as much as it is human, and there will be bad things that happen. But, I think in general human beings have the tendency to emphasize what is wrong in things and others without searching for meaning or beauty. Imagine if I, who am Korean, shared the view of many of my elders who have some very antagonistic views toward those of Japanese heritage because of all that resulted from imperialism. Then I, too, would perpetuate hate and indifference. This is an entirely different conversation, but just to sum things up: I have been set free in the most literal meaning by being reconciled with God, by humbling myself before Him and not making Him who I want Him to be. There is a love story so great here that the greatest work of poetry or prose could never capture. Drop all preconceived notions, and pray. There is no such thing as a monologue.

What issues or APA issues are important to you?
I think issues of stereotypes bred through racism are always lingering if not rampant in different parts of the US. Seeing that I am at UCLA, University of Caucasians Lost among Asians, you don’t find it too much here. It sort of plays itself off of innocent-lack-of-knowledge of Asian culture, in which case I would encourage others not to get heated but simply educate. Non-APA brothers and sisters were also deprived of proper education in grade school through high school. I’m always encouraged by a lot of my good friends who really dedicate their lives in serving the community from working for rights of undocumented workers all the way to organizing youth APA coffeehouses. It’s really beautiful to see the charity in their hearts and their desire to educate. Most first and second generation folks in the US are affected by the issues, but until they go to a fancy Asian American studies course they don’t know what the terms for it are really.

Do you feel that through your poetry that you are an influence on the API community?
God willing, sure.

What do you hope to do in the future regarding poetry?
I’m sure I will use poetry in every time period of my life from now on. It will simply become a reflection for a reader to see what I’ve become and I pray that I will become better than what I am now.

An editor is curious: do you have a girlfriend?
Ah hah, nope! The single life is sooo great.

a does of mind entitled "well-edited"

Here’s my say on music in general nowadays excuse my cynicism, but “what the deal is going on?”: “is that what it takes to be on the radio?” inserted words with little worth poetic afterbirth which contaminates the earth transmitted through megahertz which, disperse the verse immersed in curses and rhymes reminiscent nursery lines susceptible to infantile minds entrapped by 105.9 Hip-hop onto the bandwagon mainstream fiends be demanding little content just contentious catch phrases amazes and raises issues and news of sensationalist views and I kneel in the pews asking God to cure their blindness scratch them off my top ten censor list and insist that they use their talents and gifts to glorify something other than themselves something other than their mangled definition of ‘love’ something other than self-depriving and scandalizing ways of living I believe music and art need to change, but change needs to begin in our hearts everybody has to recognize very soon that MTV is lying to them pumping them intravenously with false interpretations of happiness and fulfillment leaving them empty with the after taste of ugliness Cathartic ideals to glamour spiels to horoscopes and false hope that don’t help you cope with any situation Helplessness leading to confusion and frustration take one step back, yes you underground cats too filling your lines with what seems like distorted and jumbled catch phrases hallucinating philosophies that leave listeners more confused than they were before and expect me to throw my hand in the air and shout out at a catch phrase that doesn’t make sense? well I catch freaked phrases and throw them back and I’m not going to try to digest that splattered rendition of a misinterpreted thesaurus pressed to vinyl because I think we can’t give what we don’t have because I think we need to listen more than we speak because I think we need to find something more than sex and drugs to make us happy because I think I’ve had enough trying to rebel and swell into a pride ridden self proclaimed poet : slash artist slash activist slash lover slash brother and I need to find Him... who nourishes me Him... who strengthens me Him... who cures me of my so-called wisdom and leads me to Truth. to the Way and to the Life and I think I just might have tasted a drop of something greater than this world unfurled into silence, contemplation, and prayer. it is rare today to find anyone who worships the beauty of creation without executing in their hearts their Creator who gives them the freedom to be...I see... a need for change. everywhere. in me. in you. that’s it for now... perhaps we’ll buy new journals and begin to think differently now. I’ll be praying for that day.