Jonnie Park has always gone by many names. The most google-able is his hip-hop moniker “Dumbfoundead”, which he has gone by for decades as a battle rapper and a multi-album artist while becoming one of the kings of Project Blowed – a hip-hop crew, record label and open-mic workshop.

As a resident of Los Angeles’ Koreatown since childhood, he is still known as “The Mayor of K-town”. To his friends, he is just “Dumb”. Of all the aliases and titles he has fought for, “author” might seem to be the most unlikely.

But as a professional when it comes to producing scathing hot bars in battle raps, it felt only right to put his journey down the warpath of rhymes on paper in his debut memoir, Spit, released April 14.

Recounting razor-sharp memories starting from childhood, Park’s book includes the harrowing story of his family’s immigration from Argentina to LA when he was three.

He talks frankly about the perils and prejudice of growing up Korean-American in Southern California and thrusting himself into the hip-hop scene, where, after stumbling in as an outsider to black culture, he ultimately found his voice on stage.

It speaks to the foundation that later served him well as an actor, podcaster, comedian and, recently, television writer for season two of the Netflix hit show Beef. But he says his reputation as a battle rapper is the one that will always matter most.