Shout out to Aby of Definitely Filipino for the interview!

A Pinay with Powerful Lyrics: Hopie Spitshard (Kae Hope Ranoa)
Posted By: Aby Dauz on 12/05/10

Manila born, Kae Hope Ranoa is not your average female rapper. She goes by Hopie Spitshard. I actually found Hopie online. I was online one night and stumbled onto this Filipina rapper’s website. Hopie caught my attention with her strong and powerful lyrics, so I immediately had to contact her to set an interview.So, with much anticipation I introduce you to Hopie Spitshard.

ABY: What inspired you to get into music?

HOPIE:I think I was inspired by music as a child because I had a really incredibly difficult childhood, and, like many kids, my only refuge was my room. My room was where I practiced my instruments, listened to music, and eventually began writing music both as an escape and as a way to process my thoughts. I come from a musical family, so it would be easy to say that either of my parents were key influences, but I really want to say I got into music despite my environment.

Read the rest here or after the jump.

ABY:When you write what do you write about?

HOPIE:I write about everything; whether or not what I write sees a microphone or makes an album is a different story. I’ve always written about anything and everything I’m going through, have gone through, I imagine going through, I see happening, etc. I have endless notebooks filled with words about all types of things.

ABY: Your lyrics are very powerful, do you think you can inspire young women?

HOPIE:Thank you. =) I always say and believe that, though women are literally one-half of the population, we are so underrepresented in hip hop. We have that token woman, or a few sprinkled into their little pockets of hip hop, and, suddenly we are supposed to be satisfied. This is an unfair expectation for both those women artists and the girls who listen to them. Conversely, I think that women will benefit, not only specifically from my music, but from as many different kinds of women with different styles and from different walks of life. I think it’s time for girls to stop feeling like bystanders, and to see that there’s room for more than a handful of women at a time.

ABY:Where does Hopie see herself in the next year or so?

HOPIE:In the next year or so, I hope that I will be able to do a couple of things- first of all, I’d like to release these albums I have in the arsenal; next of all, I’d like to pass the Bar exam.

ABY:Being a Filipina American, what do you think is the biggest difference with filipino women in our generation today compared to our parents generation?

HOPIE:This is a difficult question, simply because I’m in the weird crux between immigrant and American since I was born in Manila, but raised in the U.S. Of course, it isn’t the same as having been raised in the Philippines my entire life, but my mother and I went through a lot of the same growing pains together since we came to the U.S. together. We both had to assimilate, and do so at the same time… I think the biggest difference between us was the ease which which I was able to assimilate, and how much more forgiving my assimilation was than hers since I had school and peers to socialize me, as opposed to my mom, who didn’t have similar training.

ABY: What’s your favorite Filipino dish?

HOPIE:I have a few favorites, but I looooove adobo. I also like mechado, kare kare, bullalo, tinola, arroz caldo, sisig, turon, apretada, etc. – Anything but pork!

http://www.hopiespitshard.com/site/