Interview with Heather Park
BY JOHN LEE

Ktown213:  Hi Heather, please give us your 30-second intro!
Heather Park:  Hey, what�s up, it�s Heather Park here. I�m a Korean-American hip-hop/soul singer from NYC, with lots of hyphens in my identity. My debut album �Dream in Pictures� drops on June 14th, and I just want to say thanks for taking this opportunity to get acquainted� much love.

Kt213:  When did you discover your passion for music, any specific instances or memories you can recall?
HP:  I�ve been in love with music for as long as I�ve had memories. I guess you can say music is my first, longest and last love. One little souvenir of my relationship with music is a busted old cassette tape. When I was younger, my aunt brought me to Korea to help raise me while my parents were working. She would teach me every single Korean song she knew, and I would spend hours and hours each day singing with me. One day, she recorded me on a cassette tape and sent it to my mom. My mom still has the tape today. When I hear it, it�s just a testament that music was always what I loved.

Kt213:  Instead of going to graduate school you decided to pursue your music career, did that sit well with your parents? Are they supportive now?
HP:  I don�t know if my parents will ever be sincerely supportive of my music. My parents are unquestionably the most hard-working people I�ve known. Like the typical Korean household�They work until they bleed, and they work so that they could provide me with all the success and opportunities in life, so that I won�t have to struggle like they did. So, they didn�t understand how I could be so disobedient by choosing music over normalcy. I still don�t think they completely understand. Because I�m an only child, they�re all I have, so we try to find common ground but still tread around the music issues lightly.

Kt213:  Well with your talent you were quickly discovered by some key people in the industry, leading you to a collaborated project with Jin and the Ruff Ryders. But there�s an interesting twist to the story, isn�t there?
HP:  When I first decided to pursue music, I was really eager to seize every opportunity to sing. By a series of fortunate events, I was lucky enough to sing a hook for a Jin song (this was back when RR first signed him). It was a joint called �Chinatown��ultimately, I don�t think he ended up using it for his album. It just goes to show you, though, that everything serves a purpose. The whole experience made me realize that the kind of music I wanted to sing, was not necessarily the kind of music people were asking me to sing. There was something deeper I wanted my music to convey.  So I withdrew from trying to sound how people expected me to sound, and I took some time to create my own sound. If you can�t join �em, beat �em.

Kt213:  You've dealt with HOT 97 FM before, what�s your whole take on the latest situation over there?
HP:  Funny you asked about this, because I sent an e-mail out to everyone on my mailing list to take action and sign the petition on asianmediawatch.com against the incident. I have to choose my words carefully, because I can get really heated�Asian American issues are something I feel real passionate about. I will say this. It makes me so SAD and disheartened to hear that such ignorance can be bred and condoned from such a historic, iconic hip-hop station.  The heart of the issue came from the dialogue that transpired before the �tsunami song� was even aired. It really reflected the larger problem at hand�that Asians are not necessarily considered as much of a minority as black and Hispanics, but that we�re not the same as whites.  To me, it was just an indication that Asians need to be unified and give ourselves a voice when injustices like this are made against our people, and people in general.

Kt213:  Tell us about your latest album, your style of music, and what our viewers can expect.
HP:  The music from the �Dream in Pictures� album is unique. It has a lyrical intellect, but a soul that�s pure hip-hop. It lies in a genre that�s neither here nor there�undefined; in-between mainstream hip-hop/R&B and soul. The songs challenge the listeners to think about what�s being sung. The harmonies make you fall in love with the vocals, without knowing how or why. The music moves you. The music invites you to feel what you listen to. It�s taken a while to feel comfortable with my sound, and it�s a constant journey for everyone, learning to love the skin you�re in. But I�m in such bliss to finally be making music that resonates with my soul. The songs in �Dream in Pictures� are an honest recollection of my mind and heart. I hope they resonate with your soul, too.

Kt213:  Where can we see more of you, possible on the West Coast? Are there any upcoming projects?
HP:  Now that we�ve set a definite drop date for the album, we�re starting to coordinate dates for shows. Coming out west is a definite priority, but for more detailed information on dates and cities, please check out the website www.hearthepark.com.

Kt213:  When you�re not recording songs, what do you find yourself doing in your spare time?
HP:  I don�t even think I know what �spare time� means.  I guess I like to keep busy by nature. I love Bikram yoga, so I try to make a class at every possible opportunity. I spend a lot of time reading�got to keep the mind sharp. And, of course, no one could keep sane in this world without the love of their family and friends.

Kt213:  Have you ever been to K-Town? If so, any favorite places to visit?
HP:  Well, I can definitely speak about K-Town in NYC�though I don�t have any one particular favorite place. I live and breathe for Korean food.  My mom says that when she was pregnant with me, she had kimchi all the time. Sometimes you just need to eat something that tastes like home. Or, you need to get that ONE thing from the Korean supermarket that you just can�t find in the aisles of D�agastino. There�s no place like K-Town. It�s funny how you can find a piece of yourself on ONE city block in Manhattan.

Kt213:  Thank you so much for the interview, as always we wish you nothing but big success
HP:  Thank you so much for this opportunity. Much love and respect to your organization for community that you�ve nurtured and established. Hopefully I�ll see y�all soon!