Calvin , what was it like growing up an ethnic minority in lilywhite Hunterdon County , and how has that influenced your lyrics ? Calvin : Hunterdon County is such a nice place to grow up . SaveThe- Children . org ranked it as the No . 1 safest place to raise a child . I never felt discriminated against , and , honestly , I had a lot of fun growing up playing into the straight-A , classically-trained Asian kid stereotype . My mother was born in Manila and moved here when she was 8 , and my dad is of Austro- Hungarian and Jewish descent and was born and raised in Ohio . I ’ ve felt nothing but support from my friends in Hunterdon County , and I ’ m so very thankful and appreciative of that .