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Fung Brothers

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David and Andrew Fung
The Fung Brothers in July 2020
PseudonymFung Bros., 馮氏兄弟
MediumSocial Media, Stand-Up Comedy
NationalityUnited States
GenresComedy, Cultural Commentary, Food
Subject(s)Asian American lifestyle, Asian food, hip hop music
Notable works and roles"The Jeremy Lin Effect - Fung Brothers"
"Bobalife"
"Asians Eat Weird Things"
Websitefungbrothers.com

Fung Brothers are a Chinese-American duo consisting of comedians and rappers Andrew Fung (born March 30, 1989) and David Fung (born September 1, 1986),[1] who are brothers born and raised in Kent, Washington. They gained traction in the early 2010s especially due to their YouTube videos regarding NBA player Jeremy Lin, Asian cuisine, and the "626" area of the San Gabriel Valley.[2] They have produced content regarding topics such as: haircut styles, sneakers, men's fashion, hip-hop music videos, Asian stereotypes, Asian masculinity, and responding to Asian discrimination. Their work has been features in Huffington Post,[3] Los Angeles Times,[4] NBC News,[5] Wall Street Journal and CNN.[6]

They also had a 13 episode TV series on A&E Network's FYI channel titled Broke Bites: What the Fung?! [7] However most of their own YouTube content consisted of intellectually honest conversations about Asian American subject matter.[8]

With Grandmaster Jason Chu, Andrew and David formed a rap group known as "Model Minority", which has released a mixtape titled Model Minority Report that has been reviewed favorably in The Los Angeles Times. In the rap group, Andrew Fung's stage name is Inglish and David Fung's is D-One.[9] They graduated from University of Washington.

Background

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Andrew and David Fung were born in the United States to Chinese parents and grew up in the East Hill neighborhood in Kent, Washington.[10][11] Their father was born in Guangzhou and raised in Hong Kong, and their mother was of Shandong ancestry[12] born in Shanghai, and raised in China and Japan; specifically Shandong, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.[13][14]

The Fung brothers attended Kentwood High School.[11] After graduating from University of Washington at Seattle, the Fung brothers decided to settle in the Los Angeles area, initially in Koreatown, and later on in Monterey Park and Alhambra in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County.[15]

Work

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TV shows and food channels

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In 2015, the Fung Brothers started hosting a show on the A&E Network's FYI channel entitled Broke Bites: What the Fung?![7][16][17] In the series, Andrew and David travel across the U.S. in search of the best local spots to eat, with a budget of only fifty dollars.[16]

In 2012, they starred on a program on the "Hungry" YouTube channel titled The Fung Brothers Mess With Texas. In this show, they tried restaurant food in various regions of Texas.[18]

Interviews

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The Fung Brothers have been making various videos about Taiwanese American NBA player Jeremy Lin ever since he first signed with the Golden State Warriors. Their most popular Jeremy Lin videos are the "Jeremy Lin Effect" series, made during the height of "Linsanity" when Lin joined the New York Knicks, and the videos have been covered by CNN (pointing out that they were the first ones to use the phrase), The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Yahoo! Sports, and Taiwan News Station CTV.[19][20][21] The first Jeremy Lin Effect video was directed, produced and edited by Mike Eshaq, and the second one, known as "Linsanity" was directed, produced and edited by Timothy Tau, and the third one, titled "Linsanity Withdrawals," was directed, produced, and edited by Tommy Su. The Fung Brothers wrote and acted in all of them.

In 2019, the brothers interview then presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, which was a vital part of Yang's initial push on social media including Joe Rogan and The Breakfast Club.

In 2020, The Fung Brothers interviewed NFL Ram's rookie Taylor Rapp, about his Asian ancestry and the struggle of being overlooked. In the interview he explained that Jeremy Lin was a big inspiration when he needed encouragement in believing he could make it to the NFL.[22]

David Fung has also interviewed celebrities through a popular Korean website, Soompi.com. Some notable interviews include hip hop group Far East Movement.[citation needed]

Music videos

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The Fung Brothers have also released a rap video titled "626" directed by Jason Poon set to the beat of Wiz Khalifa's track, "Young, Wild and Free," that highlights the various Asian restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley area.[23][24]

They have also done another song titled "Colima Road" about the various Asian food establishments in the Rowland Heights area, directed by Dan Zhao.[25] Another popular viral video that they have done is a music video for a rap they performed titled "Wanking in the Dorm Room" also directed by Dan Zhao.[26]

On February 20, 2013, The Fung Brothers released a music video titled "Bobalife", also directed by Jason Poon, about the Taiwanese drink boba milk tea, which is also known as "bubble tea" or "pearl tea" and is popular among young Asian Americans, especially in the "626" area code.[27] The music video has been covered by the likes of The Huffington Post,[28] 8asians,[29] Angry Asian Man,[30] and more.

In July 2013, the Fung Brothers released a music video for a song titled "Asians Eat Weird Things" on YouTube. The song features vocals from AJ Rafael, and was partially filmed in a 99 Ranch Market store, who they partnered up with for the video.[31]

In July 2014, another music video of the title "Singapore & Malaysia" was released on YouTube. The song portrays the variety of foods and cultures in the Southeast Asia countries, Malaysia and Singapore.[32]

Comedy

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In 2022, David Fung co-starred alongside The Daily Show's Ronny Chieng in a Netflix produced web episode titled "Ronny Chieng Takes Chinatown". The piece featured Jeremy Lin, Simu Liu and has amassed over 1.3 million views on Netflix Is A Joke's YouTube channel.[33] Later that year, The Fung Brothers performed at the Asian American Comedy Festival, an event organized by Edward Pokropski, in New York City. Other notable comedians in the lineup included Karen Chee, Yuhua Hamasaki.[34]

In 2023, the duo started hosting their own monthly mixed media comedy show in New York City's Lower Eastside called Fung Bros Present: Asianology, an Asian culture based comedy show with uncensored, witty jokes tackling a variety of Asian and Asian-American related topics.[35]

Business

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In April 2022, the Fung Brothers joined the advisory board of Legendary Ventures, a venture capital firm with offices in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. At the same time, they also launched Fung Brothers Ventures alongside Legendary Ventures to accelerate startups like Posture360 and XFrost.[36]

On August 10, 2022, Andrew Yang joined the advisory team at Legendary Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, to drive strategic value across the firm's portfolio of consumer retail technology investments, alongside Fung Brothers Ventures.[37]

References

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  1. ^ "Happy Birthday to the other half of the Fung Bros". September 1, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  2. ^ Xia, Rosanna (August 27, 2012). "Asian American Youth Culture Comes of Age in 'the 626'". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ "The Asian College Bubble: Self-Segregation or Something More?". HuffPost. 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  4. ^ "Asian American youth culture is coming of age in 'the 626'". Los Angeles Times. 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  5. ^ "The Fung Brothers Make the Leap from Online to On-Air". NBC News. 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  6. ^ Liu, Marian (2017-08-03). "Straight outta... China? The young Asian artists bucking hip-hop trends". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  7. ^ a b "Broke Bites: What the Fung?!". FYI. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  8. ^ Wang, Oliver (May 7, 2012). "San Gabriel Valley Goes Viral: The Fung Bros Rep the 626". KCET. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  9. ^ Wang, Oliver (March 22, 2011). "Model Minority: Three Chinese Americans shuttle between racially colored humor and politics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  10. ^ "Andrew Fung aka INGLISH: "For the music we make, it helps to be honest, real and humorous."". theotherasians.com. 2012-04-14. Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  11. ^ a b Conerly, Michelle (March 18, 2013). "Kent brothers laugh their way to Internet fame". Kent Reporter. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  12. ^ "BEST CHINESE DUMPLINGS w/ JIMMY ZHANG (Shandong Food) - Fung Bros Food". YouTube. 10 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Q & A with The Fung Brothers: Food Nerds, Asian Vegetable Superiority and the Lack of Drunk People in the 626". LA Weekly. April 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  14. ^ "The O.G.s of the SGV". LA Weekly. May 2013. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  15. ^ Xavier, Esmee (March 14, 2012). "From Seattle, with love: Why the Fung Bros sing about the "626"". alhambrasource.org. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  16. ^ a b "New Series 'What The Fung?!' to Premiere Saturday, May 23 on FYI" (Press release). FYI. April 14, 2015. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  17. ^ Szkaradnik, Carly (April 9, 2015). "YouTube Stars The Fung Brothers Are Filming a New Show at PYT". Philadelphia Eater. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  18. ^ "The Fung Brothers Mess with Texas". Angry Asian Man. August 27, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  19. ^ Yu, Timothy (February 20, 2012). "Will Jeremy Lin's success end stereotypes?". CNN. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  20. ^ Chin, Josh (February 11, 2011). "Jeremy Lin Drops 38 on Lakers, Breaks 500,000 on Sina Weibo". China Real Time Report. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  21. ^ Washington, Jesse (February 18, 2012). "Jesse Washington, Asian-Americans rejoice as Lin Smashes Stereotypes". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  22. ^ "Taylor Rapp talks path to NFL as Asian-American, Jeremy Lin inspiration". Rams Wire. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  23. ^ "Watch a Song Parody Tribute to Eating in the SGV". Grub Street. February 20, 2012.
  24. ^ ""626" by Fung Brothers: An Ode to San Gabriel Valley". Angry Asian Man. February 21, 2012.
  25. ^ "Music Video: "Colima Road" By Fung Bros. Feat. Aileen Xu". Angry Asian Man. September 23, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  26. ^ Golden, Geoffrey (July 23, 2013). "7 Funny Music Videos By The Fung Bros". Crave. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  27. ^ The Fung Brothers ft. Kevin Lien, Priska, Aileen Xu (February 20, 2013). Bobalife. YouTube. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  28. ^ "'Bobalife' By Fung Brothers Presents Health Benefits Of Taiwanese Tea Drink (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. February 22, 2013.
  29. ^ Koji, Steven (June 11, 2013). "Hip to be Asian American?". 8Asians.
  30. ^ "The Fung Brothers are Living That Bobalife". Angry Asian Man. February 20, 2013.
  31. ^ "'Asians Eat Weird Things' Video Showcases Asian-American Cuisine". The Huffington Post. July 9, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  32. ^ "Singapore & Malaysia (MUSIC VIDEO) - Fung Bros". July 9, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  33. ^ Ronny Chieng Takes Chinatown (2022), retrieved 2022-08-24
  34. ^ Wickham, Esther (2022-03-11). "Asian Comedy Fest to return to New York City this spring | amNewYork". www.amny.com. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  35. ^ "Fung Bros' Asianology 101: A Comedy Show You Can't Miss!". CLIQUE-NOW. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  36. ^ Perlman, Melissa (2022-04-19). "Legendary Ventures Expands Advisory Team with New Appointments". EIN News. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  37. ^ Perlman, Melissa (2022-08-10). "LEGENDARY VENTURES EXPANDS ADVISORY BOARD WITH NEW APPOINTMENT". EIN Presswire. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
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