Listen to the full version of the #NotYourAverage interview with Mikey Fresh! This will be our season finale of the #NYAPodcast series for this year. Mikey Fresh is the Senior Artist Relations Manager at Genius, a digital media company known for providing unique insight about the stories behind the most popular songs. Genius, originally known as Rap Genius, started as a platform for deconstructing and analyzing rap lyrics but has since expanded to cover all genres. From showing up awkwardly to a hip-hop magazine interview in a full suit and a fake resume, Mikey Fresh is now one of the top experts in the hip-hop industry. Mikey shares with Julie how he fell in love with hip-hop culture growing up as a young Korean American in New Jersey and how he’s found his way creating a unique career out of his nontraditional passion. Originally published 9/11/2019 | Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0mEbjDXGFMQ | Follow Mikey Fresh @mikey_fresh1 | Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice Editor: Aj Valente

Friends since high school, Athina Wang and Florence Shin created Covry together - an eyewear company with glasses designed specifically with Asian facial structures in mind. Their glasses all feature “Elevated Fit®” - a style that complements low nose bridges and high cheekbones for a more comfortable fit.

Athina and Florence share with Julie how they started from just a simple idea to being met with overwhelming demand from their Kickstarter that launched them into establishing their own company. 

Originally published 8/13/2019 | Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8PoAX-1vuOI | Follow Covry @covry @athina.w @florence.shin | Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice Editor: Aj Valente

Get to know KoreanAmericanStory.org's Executive Director and Founder, HJ Lee, in this full version of his Not Your Average interview!

HJ was born in Korea and came to America at 11 years old with his family in 1973 where he grew up in Jamaica, Queens. Originally on the pre-med track, HJ went to Columbia University where he pursued becoming a doctor. After realizing that was not what he really wanted, he eventually switched to East Asian Studies where his love for Asian history, art, and culture grew.

In the early 2000s, the beginnings of the organization began to form when HJ initially saw the need to preserve the stories of Korean immigrants living in America. The vision he had grew and in 2010, HJ and his wife Theresa Choh-Lee founded KoreanAmericanStory.Org with a mission to encompass the diversity of the Korean American community and be an inclusive organization. Originally published 4/23/2019 | Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icRfVebmy_Y | Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice Editor: Aj Valente

On this week’s #NYAPodcast we revisit Julie Young's interview with Doug Kim - former World Series poker player now turned actor - also joined by co-host Noah Oh. Doug Kim majored in economics, mostly in order to avoid becoming a doctor, but spent a lot of his time during school studying the game of poker. The studying paid off when he finished in seventh place in the 2006 World Series of Poker, being the youngest player at the time to ever make the final table at the main event. He eventually transitioned to pursue his dream of becoming an actor, but after experiencing so many obstacles as a Korean American actor, Doug decided to just produce and write his own series about his life called Just Doug on Facebook - a show made possible with his poker earnings. Originally published 3/12/2019 | Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DQiEQLmo1kU | Follow Doug Kim @vindicatingjustice Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice Editor: Aj Valente

For this week, we revisit Julie Young's interview with Amerie, Grammy nominee and singer of hit song “1 Thing” which peaked at #8 on Billboard Hot 100. In this episode, Amerie shares about what her future plans were, how she was able to break into the music industry as a senior at Georgetown University, and her ability to maintain a positive outlook on life. Originally published 11/14/2017 | Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nne4mbs-IQ4 | Follow Amerie @amerie | Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice | Editor: Aj Valente

For this week, we revisit Julie Young's interview with TV host and actress Ellie Lee as she takes Julie through the ups and downs of her journey as a woman of color in the media industry. Ellie, now the digital host for iHeartRadio, opens about the hardest moments in her career, including her on-camera audition for VH1 and her emotional breakdown after “going back to nothing." Listen in to hear what it took for this shy girl from Bergen County, NJ, to become the successful and confident TV host she is today!

Originally published 5/15/2018 | Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CDC1_A_m5Oo | Follow Ellie Lee @ellielee.tv Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice Editor: Aj Valente

For this week's #NYAThrowback, we revisit Julie Young's interview with Heesun Lee, musician and rapper. Heesun was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1983, and was adopted by a Chinese American family. You may have heard her rap on the Korean TV program Show Me the Money. Growing up as an adoptee, she felt stereotyped by other Koreans, which led her to write about what she was going through in her music. She shares how the experience shaped her journey in finding who she is.  

Originally published 1/15/2018. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/96YO-HpJJCQ Follow Heesun Lee @msheesunlee. Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice. Editor: Aj Valente

For this week's #NYAThrowback, we revisit Julie Young's interview with Donnie Kwak, the East Coast Bureau Chief at The Ringer, a sports, pop culture, and tech website. Donnie discusses growing up in Glenmont, Maryland with immigrant parents — his mom an ESL teacher, his dad a foreign services officer for the U.S. government. Kwak also shares his love for hip-hop and why his most significant relationship is with his therapist. 

Originally published 3/17/2018. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ig0Jvn8UBkQ Follow Donnie Kwak @kwakaflocka. Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice. Editor: Aj Valente

For this week's #NYAThrowback, we revisit Julie Young's heartfelt and honest conversation with Danny Chung as they talk about the American dream, the complicated notion of family, and what it means to be a Korean American. He shares, “When you’re a hyphenated American, you tip-toe and you have to tight-rope between that hyphen of Korean and American.” Originally published 9/2/2017. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/I96apG1nbxg Follow Danny Chung @thedannychung. Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice. Editor: Aj Valente

For this week's #NYAThrowback, we revisit the time Julie Young sat down with 66% of Far East Movement, known for being the first Asian American group to produce a number one hit single that topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart - the unforgettable "Like a G6." Kev Nish and Prohgress discuss their album "Identity," how they came to pursue music, and why community is crucial. They reflect on how they overcame the identity crisis of being "too Asian," and how they learned to own who they are. In the words of Snoop: "You guys don't really have a genre, you're just your own selves." Originally published 6/26/2017. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VKnW6uswLXg Follow Far East Movement on Instagram @fareastmovement. Producer: Julie Young @biggirlvoice. Editor: Aj Valente