“The Rock, Rock On”: Musical Autobiography as National Counter-Story

Abstract

This article examines the ways that Bambu, a second-generation Filipino-American rapper from Los Angeles, California, constructs a public self. Focusing on the mixtape entitled Los Angeles, Philippines (2010), a collaborative project with DJ Muggs, the legendary DJ/producer of Cypress Hill and Soul Assassins, I argue that Bambu's musical autobiography functions as a type of Filipino-American national allegory, as it portrays his life narrative as a counter-story that challenges majoritarian stories and critiques the operations of race/ethnicity, gender, nation, and empire.