Sophia Chang (born 1965) a music director, producer,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, and author. Widely recognized as the first Asian woman in hip hop, Chang managed

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...

, Q-Tip, and members of

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

such as RZA,

GZA ''Gary Eldridge Grice'' (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA ( ) and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both ...

, and

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...

. Chang produced

Project Runway All Stars (season 1) ''Project Runway All Stars (season 1)'' is the first season of the ''Project Runway'' spin-off series ''Project Runway All Stars''. It features 13 designers from seasons 1–8 of the original series with a new host, new judges and a new mentor. It ...

. Her memoir, ''The Baddest Bitch in the Room,'' won the Wavy 2021 Best Book Award. Chang is currently a screenwriter, author and TV producer developing numerous projects, including a scripted series based on her memoir.

Personal life

Sophia Chang was born in

Vancouver, Canada Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

to two Korean parents in 1965. Her father was a mathematician. She has one older brother, Heesok. She has two children with

Shi Yan Ming Shi Yan Ming (born Duan Gen Shan; February 13, 1964) is a 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk, teacher and actor, best known as the founder of the USA Shaolin Temple. Trained at the Shaolin Temple in Henan, People's Republic of China (PRC) si ...

. Chang and Shi Yan Ming divorced in 2007.

Education

Chang received her Bachelor of Arts at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...

Career

After graduating from the

, Sophia Chang moved to New York City to start her career in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

in the late 1980s. She worked with

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

in the early days of her career. She then worked at Jive Records where she first met RZA. While at Jive, Chang signed

Fu-Schnickens Fu-Schnickens were an American hip-hop trio from 1988 to 1995, based in Brooklyn, New York. History Fu-Schnickens was composed of Chip Fu (Roderick Roachford), Moc Fu (Joe Jones), and Poc Fu (Lennox Maturine). ''Fu'' stood for unity and '' ...

, members of

Hieroglyphics Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...

Souls of Mischief Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. History East Oakland ...

, and worked with artists

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman. They released their first major-label album, ''Too Hard to Swallow'', in 1992, followe ...

, and

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

. She later became the manager of RZA’s label

Razor Sharp Records Starting from the emergence and prominence of Wu-Tang Clan in the mid-1990s, several of the group's members have branched out to create their labels following RZA's lead. Some of the labels have dissolved, while other labels have transitioned int ...

. At Razor Sharp, Chang worked with

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 C ...

for his debut album, Ironman. From 1995 to 2007, Chang was the manager of the USA Shaolin Temple in New York City and her then-partner Shi Yan Ming. Chang produced season 1 of

Project Runway All Stars ''Project Runway All Stars'' is a spin-off of ''Project Runway'', featuring returning designers competing for grand prizes. Angela Lindvall and Carolyn Murphy have each hosted one season before Alyssa Milano became the staple host of the past fiv ...

from 2012 to 2013. In September 2020, Chang published her memoir, ''The Baddest Bitch in the Room','' which was released in print and by

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

in partnership with

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

’s media brand, '' Hello Sunshine.'' She also launched th
Unlock Her Potential
mentorship program for

Women of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

in September 2020. In just the first two years of the program, Chang recruited mentors who are well-established in the entertainment industry, such as Mona Scott-Young,

Andre Royo Andre Royo (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins on the HBO crime drama series ''The Wire'', and his appearances on ''Fringe'', ''Party Down'', ''How to Make I ...

, RZA, Jim Jarmusch, Bao Nguyen,

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Joey Badass, Joey Bada$$,

Ebro Darden Ibrahim Jamil "Ebro" Darden (born March 17, 1975) is an American radio personality, broadcaster, and DJ. Until 2014, he was Vice President of Programming for Emmis Communications' New York contemporary urban station WQHT (Hot 97). He is current ...

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ' ...

W. Kamau Bell Walter Kamau Bell (born January 26, 1973) is an American stand-up comic and television host. He has hosted the CNN series ''United Shades of America'' since 2016, and hosted FXX television series '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' from 2012 ...

and

Pamela Adlon Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Jung ...

. In light of her evolving career from behind the scenes towards the spotlight, Chang has shared her story and was featured in media outlets such as Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM, Defining Moments with OZY - A Hulu Original Documentary, the TODAY show, NPR’s Microphone Check,

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

, and more.

Awards

Chang's memoir ''The Baddest Bitch in the Room'' won the Wavy 2021 Best Book Award.

Resources

External links

Interview with Cecily Lo
for Interview Magazine.
Interview with Dimas Sanfiorenzo
for Okayplayer.
Sophia Chang's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Sophia 1965 births Canadian music managers Canadian memoirists Canadian record producers Canadian people of Korean descent Wu-Tang Clan affiliates Canadian women memoirists Talent managers Living people University of British Columbia alumni