Rising Above: Rapper Kold Kwan turns heartbreak and living like an outcast into raps of resilience

As an Asian American rapper, Kold Kwan is aware that he’s challenging the status quo.

“I know that I’m not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea,” Kwan, 29, said in an interview with Sampan. But he’s more than made his peace with that: “I’m not pretending at all. Not conforming to what people think a rapper should be or rap about or how they look. I’m going for the people that (my music) is meant for.”

Kwan’s journey with rap began when he was in seventh grade, when he first encountered the world of hip hop as a break dancer performing a form of acrobatic street dance.

“We call it b-boying,” Kwan said. “A really good friend of mine got really into break dancing and showed me the ropes of it. That was my segue into hip hop culture.”

Boston-area rapper Kold Kwan, 29, in Allston. Photo by Adam Smith/ www.errorc1301.com

For Kwan, his upbringing is an indispensable part of his passion for hiphop. “Growing up, for much of my life, my voice felt muted,” he revealed. “Especially after seventh grade, I moved to a new town. I felt alienated. I was a misfit in my own grade.”

He struggled with his identity as a Chinese American. “I struggled a lot with being an Asian American male,” Kwan said. “You don’t fit in with the mainstream. But also Chinese people living in China — you differ from them significantly. Dealing with so many negative stereotypes, struggling to love myself in a white-dominated society.”

Hip hop, however, helped him. “I gravitated toward hip hop, because of its raw expression,” Kwan said. “The rawness, the storytelling, the confidence, the swagger — all that really brought me in. Nothing feels better than expressing how you’re feeling.”

Kwan began writing his first rap songs soon after, drawing from his affinity with poetry and creative writing. He wrote his first rap song when he was 15, but pursuing rap professionally was not always something he considered. “I would go long stretches during high school and college without writing, rapping,” Kwan said. “It was always something I did for fun.”

This changed in 2018, when he released his debut single. “The reason that persuaded me to drop it was a creative friend (of mine) at the time,” Kwan said. “He thought that I had a hidden talent that I was hiding from the rest of the world. I realized I have this gift that I really enjoy doing, but I’m letting so much fear stop me.”

Kwan went on to graduate school, but “my heart wasn’t fully into it.” Then creative inspiration struck at a low point, when he went through a “very eventful, tumultuous” heartbreak. That moment, he said, “was a catalyst to putting myself out there.”

Kwan performed with Japanese rapper Kosuke Tamai in a heavily viewed TikTok video, a year after his first EP, Stay Kold, was released in 2023.

“Embracing duality is the main theme,” Kwan said. “Embracing both the fire and the cold of me.”

Boston-area rapper Kold Kwan, 29, in Allston. Photo by Adam Smith/www.errorc1301.com

The EP includes notable songs of his such as “Kold Spring Morning,” “Hail Storm,” and “Sprint.”

“It’s been a few years since I dropped (Sprint),” Kwan said, “but that’s still a song a lot of people like. It’s soulful, mid-2000s hip hop. Me and my producer Jay Pluss took part of the theme from anime, included the intro speech from one of the main characters. (The song) does evoke similar themes to the anime — pushing yourself, going through the pain, no matter what. But you do not need to know the show to enjoy the song.”

With “Hail Storm,” Kwan worked with a producer from India to “combine underground hiphop sounds with a drill inspired bass and percussion and rhythm. Lyrically it’s me rapping from the perspective of a hail storm. It’s definitely one of my most creative songs.”

And “Kold Spring Morning” — “a lot of people consider (it) my best song,” Kwan said. The song is meant to evoke “spring, meditation, mindfulness practices, self-care.” But it’s also “declaring being proud of who I am. (There are) mentions of Chinese history, places in China, Cantonese in the background.”

Anime also has a large influence on Kwan’s work. For “the cover art, the samples, what I’m referencing” — Kwan looks to notable anime such as Dragon Ball, Fullmetal Alchemist, Hunter x Hunter, and Attack on Titan for inspiration. 

“My music is made for whoever resonates with it, but I do want to show pride in my heritage,” Kwan said. He cited MC Jin as one of his main influences. “Back in the early 2000s, there was a very popular segment every Friday called Freestyle Friday.” MC Jin was the only Asian contestant. “All the raps against him were Asian jokes,” Kwan remembered, “but despite these disadvantages, he won. Everyone was paying attention to him and he got signed to a major record label.”

“He was a hero to me,” Kwan said. “If he could do it, I could do it too.”

Recently, Kwan’s work has taken a different artistic direction than from his early years. “(It’s) usually more on the positive side. More feel-good, jazzy. I continue to lean back on my previous influences that got me started, (but) that type of more positive, jazzy music is more fitting for my personality and for who I am as a person. I’ve been more comfortable with myself, music that’s more true to who I am.”

Kwan also plans to drop another song in July. “I’m not looking for mainstream sound, but (this song is) way more accessible to the average person. But my story, my lyrics, rapping ability, the uniqueness of me remains. It’s not about compromising and sacrificing me.” Another song, planned for later in the summer, will “continue the positive message I’ve been doing recently.”

In the past, Kwan has also been involved with various arts festivals and shows around the Massachusetts area, particularly those spotlighting Asian American artists. In the last year, he performed at Boston’s Little Saigon and Panda Fest. He also plans to perform at the Peninsula Dreams Festival and Rat City Arts Festival later in the summer.

When asked about the future direction of his work, Kwan was adamant, “I want to be an indie artist, carving his own lane. When you hear me, it’s undeniably me. No one else sounds like me. My fans that do know me and love me—it’s not lukewarm.”

Boston-area rapper Kold Kwan, 29, in Allston. Photo by Adam Smith/www.errorc1301.com

At the same time, “I’m very about uplifting the Asian American community and being the change I want to see. For me, as an Asian American, pursuing hiphop very much goes against the grain. You’re a public figure and vulnerable to judgment, ridicule. Going against perception, what my family wants, what my culture sees me as.”

But Kwan wants to be the trailblazer that spearheads change. “I do this for the community and the culture, and to give back. It inspires me, when I perform at Asian festivals, at PandaFest, and young Asian kids want to take a pic with me.”

“Being the change I want to be is really for me the outlet the big purpose of music,” Kwan said. “For everyone that’s listening, authenticity. That’s the thing I want people to take away from me.”

Correction: The correct film festival name is the Peninsula Dreams Film Festival as corrected on July 14.