“SPIT: A Life In Battles” is the raw and electrifying memoir of Adult Cross-Cultural Kid Jonnie Park — better known by his rap moniker, Dumbfoundead — whose rise from an unruly childhood in Los Angeles. Calif., U.S.A.’s iconic Koreatown to international rap stardom is as unlikely as it is exhilarating.
Born in Argentina to Korean parents and smuggled by a coyote across the U.S.-Mexico border when he was 3 years old, Park grew up in L.A. amid cultural dislocation, his father’s violent alcoholism and the turbulent protests and riots of the early 1990s.
Searching for belonging, he found salvation in the highly competitive underground world of battle rap, where he was among the only successful Asian American battle rappers. He honed his freestyle superpowers at Project Blowed, the legendary South Central L.A. open-mic venue, amid a motley crew of characters who took him in as one of their own.
Told through the lens of his life’s greatest battles — his father’s rage, racist stereotypes, the “model minority” myth, the pressures of fame and his own addictions — Park tells his story with his trademark humor, lyrical style and unflinching honesty.
People find universality in our own cultural nuances.
Like Eminem’s “8 Mile,” “SPIT” charts the author’s course from high-school dropout to cultural pioneer, one verse at a time. Featuring a dozen vivid graphic novel–style illustrations that bring his journey to life, “SPIT” visualizes the inner demons and outer adversaries Park faced along the way. From open-mics in South Central to freestyle cyphers in Seoul to music festivals across the globe, Park’s memoir is a testament to creativity, grit and the power of speaking your truth — even when the world isn’t ready to hear it.
When asked by Gold House’s “Renegades” editorial series spotlighting Asian-Pacific leaders and creatives whether his current body of work reflects a version of himself that he wasn’t able to show earlier on, and how do those parts of himself continue to impact his creative process, Park says:
“Creators shouldn’t be scared to be specific when telling their stories. People find universality in our own cultural nuances. After seeing the tales of my neighborhood go untold, I decided long ago [that] I would lean into my Korean heritage, and it’s paid off. People are hungry for these stories. You’ve heard the old saying: ‘write what you know,’ and I know this world very well, which makes the creative process a lot easier.”
More than just a chronicle of an artist’s path to success, “SPIT” is a groundbreaking story of identity, resilience, and reinvention. It is also the story of an American outsider who turned life’s challenges into his stage and battled his way to triumph.
“SPIT: A Life in Battles” is available via Third State Books.
