{{Short description| Music director, producer, and manager (born 1965)}} '''Sophia Chang''' (born 1965) is a Korean-American life coach, author, public speaker, screenwriter, and activist. Recognized as the first Asian woman in hip hop, Chang managed Wu-Tang Clan members such as RZA, GZA, and Ol' Dirty Bastard, as well as Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, D'Angelo, and Raphael Saadiq.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|date=May 1, 2018|title=Meet The Korean-Canadian Woman Who Helped Bring You The Wu Tang Clan|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sophia-chang-wu-tang-clan_n_5ae7650be4b02baed1bd0e0d|access-date=2021-11-15|website=HuffPost|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Eyewitness News |date=October 3, 2020 |title=ABC7 Unite: Music mogul Sophia Chang launches 'Unlock Her Potential' mentorship program |url=https://abc7ny.com/6719340/ |access-date=2021-11-15 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|date=October 1, 2020|title=Sophia Chang Talks Teaming With Pamela Adlon, RZA, Jim Jarmusch And More For 'Unlock Her Potential' Mentorship For Women Of Color|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/sophia-chang-pamela-adlon-rza-jim-jarmusch-unlock-her-potential-diversity-inclusion-representation-1234589015/|access-date=2021-11-15|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Nast">{{Cite magazine|last=Goldwasser|first=Amy|date=April 24, 2005|title=Drunk Monk|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/05/02/drunk-monk|access-date=2021-11-15|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Wang|first=Oliver|date=July 1, 1999|title=Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting|url=https://jstor.org/stable/community.29566118|journal=Gidra|volume=1|issue=2|pages=34–26|jstor=community.29566118}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Being The Baddest Chick In The Room Is All Up To You According To Sophia Chang|url=https://www.essence.com/entertainment/sophia-chang-yes-girl-podcast-exclusive-interview/|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Essence|date=November 4, 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2020, she founded Unlock Her Potential, a program which provides free mentorship for women of color in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-07 |title=Unlock Her Potential Offers Free Mentorship for Women of Color |url=https://nerdist.com/article/sophia-chang-unlock-her-potential/ |access-date=2025-09-18 |website=Nerdist |language=en-US}}</ref>
Her memoir is ''The Baddest Bitch in the Room'' (2019). Chang has been profiled by ''Interview Magazine,'' Okayplayer, and SiriusXM. In 2023, she was one of CNN's "Champions of Change."
== Early life and education == Sophia Chang was born in Vancouver, Canada to Korean parents in 1965. Her father Bomshik Chang was a mathematician and her mother Tongsook Chang, a librarian. She has one older brother, Heesok Chang.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Wu-Tang Clan 'Whisperer' Sophia Chang on Becoming the 'Baddest Bitch in the Room' |url=https://timesensitive.fm/episode/wu-tang-clan-sophia-chang-baddest-bitch/ |access-date=2021-11-15 |website=Time Sensitive |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Sophia Chang: 'Don't Ever Be Afraid Of Your Passion' |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/microphonecheck/2016/06/06/480941772/sophia-chang-dont-ever-be-afraid-of-your-passion |access-date=2021-11-16 |work=NPR.org |language=en}}</ref> Chang received her Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia in French literature.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Blumberg-Kason |first=Susan |date=September 4, 2020 |title="The Baddest Bitch in the Room" by Sophia Chang |url=https://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/the-baddest-bitch-in-the-room-by-sophia-chang/ |access-date=2021-11-16 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Career ==
=== Music === After graduating from the University of British Columbia, Sophia Chang moved to New York City to start her career in the music industry in the late 1980s. She worked with Paul Simon in the early days<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sophia Chang 72138 {{!}} Kennedy Center|url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/hip-hop/2019-2020/sophia-chang/|access-date=2021-11-16|website=www.kennedy-center.org|language=en}}</ref> connecting through Joey Ramone.<ref name=Lo>{{cite news|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/sophia-chang-baddest-bitch-room-wu-tang-clan-rza|title=How Sophia Chang Became the Baddest Bitch in the Room|first=Cecily|last= Lo|date=October 2, 2019|website=Interview}}</ref> Chang then did A&R at Jive Records where she first met RZA. While at Jive, Chang signed Fu-Schnickens, members of Hieroglyphics, Souls of Mischief, and worked with A Tribe Called Quest, UGK, Too Short, and E-40. She later became the general manager of RZA's label Razor Sharp Records.<ref name=":9" /> At Razor Sharp, Chang worked with Ghostface Killah for his 1996 debut album, ''Ironman''.
=== USA Shaolin Temple === From 1995 to 2007, Chang stepped away from the music industry to become the manager of the USA Shaolin Temple in New York City with her then-partner Shi Yan Ming.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Ritter |first=Peter |date=May 14, 2006 |title=This Monk Is a Boldface Name |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/nyregion/thecity/14monk.html |access-date=2021-11-15 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Chang oversaw day-to-day operations of the temple, finances, marketing, publicity, event production, and programming. The temple offered classes in Shaolin Kung Fu and Chan Buddhism.
=== ''The Baddest Bitch in the Room,'' 2019 === In September 2019, Chang published her memoir, ''The Baddest Bitch in the Room,''<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date= |title=The Baddest Bitch in the Room: A Memoir by Sophia Chang |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781646220090 |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=www.publishersweekly.com |archive-date=October 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010163346/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781646220090 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which was released by Audible in partnership with Reese Witherspoon’s media brand, Hello Sunshine.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=May 9, 2019|title=Audible Sets First Originals From Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/audible-reese-witherspoon-hello-sunshine-originals-1203209647/|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> The memoir detailed Chang's experiences in the music industry, pivoting to managing the Shaolin Temple in New York, and her personal life. She told ''Interview'': {{quote|I spent my whole career, which is 30 years, helping extraordinarily talented men tell their stories. And there really is nobody better at it. I’m certain of that.... It took until I was 50 to understand that it was time to tell my story. What I learned at 50 was, “Oh shit, Sophia, your story is kind of interesting. Yeah, you should tell your story.” And I think that the bigger lesson in that for me is, we need to be uplifting the voices of the marginalized and building a tradition of storytelling that doesn’t just focus on whiteness. It is a profoundly important exercise, for the world, but also for me, to claim my own story as being one worthy of telling.<ref name=Lo/>}} In 2020, ''The Baddest Bitch in the Room'' was listed as "Best Music Book of the Year" by both ''Kirkus Reviews'' and ''Rolling Stone.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kirkus & Rolling Stone’s Best Music Books 2020 |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/kirkus-amp-rolling-stones-best-music-books-2020/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref> The hardcopy version of the book was released in 2020, and Chang sold the rights to her memoir to FX Networks that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramos |first=Dino-Ray |date=2020-10-01 |title=Sophia Chang Talks Teaming With Pamela Adlon, RZA, Jim Jarmusch And More For 'Unlock Her Potential' Mentorship For Women Of Color |url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/sophia-chang-pamela-adlon-rza-jim-jarmusch-unlock-her-potential-diversity-inclusion-representation-1234589015/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> The book won the Wavy 2021 Best Book Award.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aswad |first=Jem |date=2021-10-25 |title=Divinity Roxx, Lachi, More Win at Wavy Awards for 'Historically Excluded Talent' |url=https://variety.com/2021/music/news/divinity-roxx-lachi-wavy-awards-historically-excluded-talent-1235097033/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Mentorship program === In September 2020, Chang launched the Unlock Her Potential mentorship program for women of color.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nichols |first=Mackenzie |date=2020-09-07 |title=Sophia Chang Launches Mentorship Program for Women of Color (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/sophia-chang-mentorship-program-women-of-color-1234755520/ |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> The program aims to provide mentorship and networking opportunities for women in the entertainment industry. Since its inception, Chang has recruited mentors such as Mona Scott-Young, Andre Royo, RZA, GZA, Jim Jarmusch, Bao Nguyen, 9th Wonder, Joey Bada$$, Ebro Darden, Michael Mann, W. Kamau Bell, Michael Ostin, and Pamela Adlon.
=== Other work=== Chang produced several New York Fashion Week runway shows for designer Vivienne Tam. She also produced a runway show for ''Project Runway All Stars''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Atwater |first=Elizabeth |date=2013-10-17 |title=Hanging in the Balance with Sophia Chang · Babson Thought & Action |url=https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/hanging-in-the-balance-with-sophia-chang/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=Babson Thought & Action |language=en}}</ref> Appearing as herself in several hip hop documentaries,<ref>https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9180379/?ref_=fn_t_2</ref> Chang has also been attached as an executive producer to several TV projects.{{cn|date=March 2026}}
== Other honors == In 2025, Assemblymember Grace Lee welcomed Sophia Chang to the chamber of the New York State Assembly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grace Lee - Assembly District 65 {{!}}Assembly Member Directory {{!}} New York State Assembly |url=https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Grace-Lee/video/26109/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=assembly.state.ny.us}}</ref>
== Personal life == Chang has two children with her ex-partner, Shi Yan Ming.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Laura |date=February 8, 2018 |title=When Your Mom Is the Longtime Manager of Wu-Tang Members and Your Dad Is a Monk |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/02/my-parents-work-life-balance-when-your-mom-is-sophia-chang-longtime-manager-of-wu-tang-members-and-your-dad-is-a-shaolin-monk.html |access-date=2021-11-16 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
== Resources == <references />
== External links == *[https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/sophia-chang-baddest-bitch-room-wu-tang-clan-rza Interview with Cecily Lo] for Interview Magazine. *[https://www.okayplayer.com/music/sophia-chang-wu-tang-baddest-bitch-in-the-room-memoir-interview.html Interview with Dimas Sanfiorenzo] for Okayplayer. *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3YVsL61mN0 Interview on Rock The Bells Radio] for SiriusXM. *[https://www.sophchang.com/ Sophia Chang's official website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Sophia}} Category:1965 births Category:Canadian music managers Category:21st-century Canadian memoirists Category:Canadian record producers Category:Canadian people of Korean descent Category:Wu-Tang Clan affiliates Category:Canadian women memoirists Category:Talent managers Category:Living people Category:University of British Columbia alumni