His recent rise hasn’t come without its share of detractors, though. In a provocatively titled podcast video, “Why the Clickbait Asian Rapper Trend Needs to Stop,” the Korean American rapper Dumbfoundead, an elder of the Asian American hip-hop scene, took not-so-subtle swipe at Khantrast and his ilk, noting how every young Asian rapper posting videos on social media these days seems to use multiple Asian “props” (a samurai sword, a straw hat, a bowl of noodles) and drop the word “ch-nk” or “g–k” in every other bar. “I feel like we’re taking one step forward — because these are talented individuals — and two steps back because of how much they’re doubling down on these Asian stereotypes,” he said.

Khantrast doubles down on this kind of imagery more than most. He wears a straw rice-paddy hat in several of his videos, including one where he, for some reason, feeds a herd of small goats. In another, he drizzles oyster sauce on a plate of stir-fried pea sprouts.

For Khantrast, though, all of the tropes seem to come from a place of pride. In “Valedictorian,” for instance, he doesn’t just brag about being high school valedictorian (“whole class had pass ‘cause of me”), he also boasts about his bilingual skills — then proceeds to rap an entire verse in Mandarin, dropping references to oral sex AND Journey to the West in one breath.

It remains to be seen, then, whether Khantrast will be the next Asian American rap star to achieve mainstream crossover success, but his sense of swagger is tremendously appealing. And just as immigrant kids felt an exquisite thrill when Jin won seven weeks in a row on 106 & Park back in the day, you can be certain the next generation of young Asian American rap fans will come out in force this spring to watch Khantrast do his thing.

Khantrast’s Chinatown’s Favorite tour will open at Brick and Mortar Music Hall (1710 Mission St., San Francisco) on Saturday, April 26, at 9 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $20 plus fees, with an additional $5 charge at the door for anyone under 21.