Who is Mina Joo and who is Knewdles?

If you asked me this question a few years ago I probably would've had a whole game to spit about who my artist self is and who my government ID self is, but right now I'm feeling like I'm the same person whether I introduce myself as Mina Joo or Knewdles; lately I'm just more in a place of unifying rather than separating.

That said, Knewdles is definitely the MC in me-- the artist that mouths off cuz she's all about Kickin New Elevation When Daily Life Expects Sobs. Whereas Mina Joo is simply the human-- the daughter, the sister, the lover, the neighbor, the citizen of the world.

You're originally from New York but live in LA. What prompted the big move?

I think New York City is one of the worst places to be if you DON'T want to be there-- the living is so tough that you gotta really believe in how you're living. Me, I suddenly found myself living amongst ghosts: I broke up Misnomer(S), the band I was in with my sister, Sos, and then she moved out of our brownstone in Bed Stuy, then I went from being a rapper to being an actor, I ended a relationship I'd been in for years, and I left the restaurant I had worked at for over five years-- everything that could change in my life did change (except for my health, thank God), and I just felt like, if there was ever a perfect time to have a life adventure..

So my move cross country was perfect in the sense that it was equal parts wanting to leave NY and wanting to see what LA had in store for me on the acting and comedy tip. And my time in New York City was basically bookended by September 11th and Hurricane Sandy, which somehow felt appropriately poetic.

What's been your favorite project so far and why? (Guest star, commercial, etc.,)

Favorite project? That's a hard one! Since I started acting three years ago I've been fortunate to book work in commercials, tv, and film. But it all still feels pretty new to me, so each time I'm on set I'm so excited and confident and nervous and grateful, and I sort of imagine it will be like that for a while longer, which I don't mind at all. I'm really appreciating and experiencing each new thing that comes my way.

I have to say though, I am so excited to see the work I did in an upcoming film, Electric Slide, directed by Tristan Patterson and starring Jim Sturgess. I only shot one scene, but it was with the lead, and I was playing Stevie the bouncer in an 80s period film, so you know my outfit was seriously killing it. My hair too.

Why are the arts so important to you?

The arts are so important to me because a) as a child it's what saved my life and b) as an adult it's what has saved my life. Without creative expression I have no idea if I would instead be a super successful doctor or dead from suicide. That's dark, but you know how we Koreans are.

When it comes down to it, the world, and the way we are living in it, needs to change in some monumental way and I think it will be the arts to do it, not politics. Art isn't linear or literal. You know Gandhi's quote, "Be the change you want to see?" That's art. Art is the change we dare to dream of. It's the space between what is and what might be.

Are there any female MCs you look up to in K-pop?

Hmmm. This is an interesting question. Hip hop obviously started here in America so I didn't look much to Korean music for hip hop role models, although as a kid I definitely loved Seotaiji and DJ Doc and stuff. But, you know, there is one: Tasha, the MC of Uptown. She definitely held it down at a time when I was still just a kid discovering hip hop in my bedroom in the burbs of Buffalo. Mad respect to Tasha, for real.

If you could duet with any group or male singer in K-pop who would it be and why?

I don't follow what's going on in KPop so much-- I'm late pass on seriously everything-- but I know of CL and Miryo and I'd definitely work with both of them. It would be super fun to do something grimy or like Lil Jon ish with CL, and I could just see me and Miryo beasting glamorously on a track. Oh, and I wouldn't be a proper Korean if I didn't want to work with PSY, right?

Also, every single cousin I have lives in Korea, a few of whom obviously have the same genes as me because they've also pursued music careers. Most recently, my cousin HyeJi was in the girl group Gang Kiz as the resident rapper, more or less. So it's my dream to assemble all my beautiful and tall and musical Korean family members who all also happen to be female and have our own killer KPop group. Sigh. Or should I say, PSY?!

Any last words for our Kpopstarz readers?

Well, the usual, follow me on IG and Twitter, I'm @ripknewdles. And check out my most recent commercial for Burger King on YouTube https://youtu.be/ljDFf-XSBgo, and maybe a little of my comedy, https://youtu.be/d29iVlUYHGg.

Thanks so much to the kpopstarz readers for reading!