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Oliver Wang

Oliver Wang | Eilon Paz

Oliver Wang is a professor of sociology at California State University, Long Beach. He’s contributed to KCET since 2012 and also writes about arts and music for NPR, KPCC, the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Review of Books. He is the creator and writer for the audioblog, Soul-Sides.com and the creator, producer and co-host of the album podcast, Heat Rocks. Photo credit: Eilon Paz

Oliver Wang | Eilon Paz
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Polish poster for "Enter the Dragon" (1973) | Courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Stephen Chin collection
The "KICK ASS! Kung Fu Posters from the Stephen Chin Collection"
Strangeloop | Photo by Theo Jemison
As part of the burgeoning Brainfeeder family, Strangeloop (née David Wexler) has become the collective's visual wizard, conjuring video art for artists from Erykah Badu to Flying Lotus.
Michael Miller | Photo by Oliver Wang.
Michael Miller was the go-to lensman for countless album covers and publicity stills during one of California hip-hop's most vibrant eras.
Three Asian men in black outfits
Given that "urban contemporary" is music industry code for "black music" (which was once explicitly called "race music"), one main challenge facing Asian Americans in the genre has been overcoming both audience and especially record industry skepticism around the marketability of a group with Asian faces.
Oliver Wang speaks to Palm Springs native Damien "DJ Day" Beebe about hip-hop culture in the Coachella Valley and how the desert cities are a world unto themselves.
Gun violence is ubiquitous in American life, but hip-hop seems singled out for critique in ways that the rest of popular culture often is not.
The comeback of record stores in Northeast L.A. is a validation of the continuing allure of the record as well as the power of a good record shop to anchor and promote the musical character of a neighborhood.
Lucas McFadden aka DJ Cut Chemist | Photo: © Copyright Eilon Paz
New York-based photographer Eilon Paz has embarked on a tour across the U.S. capturing record collections and their respective owners. The artist has now come to L.A.
Photo: Oliver Wang
Despite appearing on over 300 recordings, musician Miguel Atwood-Ferguson might still be one of L.A.'s best-kept secrets.
When people think about "album cover art," they're usually focused on the image on the cover. But the cover/jacket itself, as a physical object, is also a product of creative, artistic processes.
Oliver Wang explores the different locations and time eras that are captured in the LP art of L.A.
(L) Photo by Michael Lawton, 1973. (R) Photo by Oliver Wang, 2012.
Oliver Wang explores the different locations and time eras that are captured in the LP art of L.A.
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