While most of America was grilling hot dogs over Labor Day, Sean Miyashiro quietly had one of the most impactful weekends of his career. The founder of Asian and Asian American-focused music label/multimedia collective 88rising learned that “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” the Marvel movie for which he executive-produced the album soundtrack, had earned a tidy $94 million at the box office.

Waking up to the No. 1 movie in the world — starring the first Asian superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — made the 40-year-old of Korean and Japanese descent feel like a proud dad seeing a 4.5 GPA report card.

“I’ve never seen anything in my lifetime from an entertainment, mass audience, global perspective that’s been such a source of pride and passion from an Asian audience,” the Bay Area native told The Chronicle, calling from 88rising’s office in Los Angeles.

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Similar to Marvel’s “Black Panther: The Album” soundtrack, which was executive-produced by Kendrick Lamar, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: The Album” is intended as a curated artistic statement of its own. It assembles many of the Asian and Asian American stars of the 88rising musical universe.

There are the R&B-leaning singers like Niki and GOT7 member Mark Tuan; the suave, sing-rap style of Oakland’s Guapdad 4000; the trap-tinged rhyming of Rich Brian, Warren Hue and Audrey Nuna. Even the film’s lead actor Simu Liu gets in on the act for the track “Hot Soup.” Like-minded co-conspirators such as Jhené Aiko, Anderson .Paak and Santa Clara native Saweetie make appearances.

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Though a few non-Asian artists like DJ Snake, Rick Ross, 21 Savage and Swae Lee also make it onto the album, the soundtrack is proudly, fiercely pan-Asian, representative of 88rising’s goal to form an East-meets-West coalition. It’s a rare industry feat, on par with the movie it accompanies, to have Asian and Asian American talent front and center.

This isn’t a traditional movie soundtrack. It’s not meant to merely underscore fight scenes (though it does it well), but more to document the humanity of Asian and Asian American communities. Miyashiro compares the album to a comforting pot of soup — a jjigae, ozoni or sinigang, perhaps — evoking memories of mom’s home cooking. It’s like a family get-together: Everyone’s welcome, let’s talk story, but please, remove your shoes first.

For Chris Chan Lee, the success of “Shang-Chi” was a long time coming. The L.A. film director’s mid-’90s coming-of-age story “Yellow” — with an all-Asian American cast, starring a young John Cho — featured a soundtrack of music by Asian American artists. As the credits rolled during its 1997 CAAM Festival opening night debut, the soundtrack credits were introduced by a powerful sentence: “The following artists contributed to the soundtrack and just happen to be Asian American.” The audience roared as much in appreciation as disbelief during the sold-out event, then known as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Nearly a quarter-century later, Lee sees the significance of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and its soundtrack as tangible signs of progress for Asian and Asian American representation in Hollywood.

“It blows my mind how far things have come in the past few decades, and seeing Asian American actors become big movie stars,” said Lee, also citing 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians” as a key accelerant. “To see a Western superhero movie with Asians as the leads, it’s exactly what I’ve wanted all my life: to see direct representation on the screen.”

When Lee met with studio reps, he said many pressured him to cast non-Asian lead actors to boost mainstream appeal; he refused. Miyashiro said that for the “Shang-Chi” soundtrack, it was suggested that he also add more non-Asian artists for similar reasons, but he fought for his vision. Both the movie’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, and Interscope, the label that released the album, allowed Miyashiro and 88rising free rein.

“I can understand the point of view, but I was so vocal, I wasn’t having it,” Miyashiro said. “Interscope was super cool and supportive, and that’s why the record turned out this way. They understood the heart of the project.”

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The road to a Marvel movie soundtrack was a long one for the Bay Area product. Miyashiro grew up in the 1990s in San Jose, where a diverse circle of friends exposed him to a range of pop culture, from WWF table matches to DJ turntables. He attended San Jose State University, where he tried to fill a cultural void, booking emo punk, rap, drum ’n’ bass, even fraternity step shows. He graduated to large-scale concerts, like a 2006 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium mega-event, Be the Riottt!, that featured 27 acts across the musical spectrum, ranging from Bay Area artists like Zion I and Living Legends to national acts like Girl Talk and Clipse.

In the mid-2000s, Miyashiro parlayed the knowledge he gained in the Bay Area into a stint at Vice in New York, running its dance music site, Thump. But there was a subculture that he was eager to tap into: Asian and Asian American artists leaning toward hip-hop, fashion and virality. He formed 88rising in 2015 and began assembling a roster of hitmakers, breaking through with South Korean rapper Keith Ape (creator of the explosive underground hit, “It G Ma”), Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, Japanese-Australian alt-R&B singer Joji and rowdy Chinese rap quartet Higher Brothers.

Today, 88rising operates like an Asian Def Jam, replete with unique personalities, a shapeshifting musical identity and futuristic styling, art and videos to match. It’s ignited a unique cross-cultural, urban cool aesthetic that remains its guiding light.

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Miyashiro credits 88rising’s cross-cultural appeal to gut instinct — “If we get inspired by something, simply put, we reach out and make that connection and vibe together,” he said.

“Music is a gateway to everything, and we want to appeal to as many people as possible,” he said. “I don’t have a grandiose vision. It’s more like, ‘Can people appreciate a song?’ That’s the start, the nucleus.”

As his roster has expanded, so have the label’s ambitions. 88rising was originally scheduled for its own stage at 2020’s Coachella Music & Arts Festival in Southern California before it was canceled due to COVID safety concerns. (Head in the Clouds, a two-day music festival of 88rising artists, is still planned for Nov. 6-7 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.) But landing the “Shang-Chi” soundtrack remains his biggest professional accomplishment to date — pretty good for a San Jose guy who spent his formative years pounding the pavement, passing out flyers along South First Street.

“I didn’t know how cutting my teeth on those experiences really would help me,” he said. “I remember spending a lot of time doubting, being fearful of the future. But this stuff can really come true if you can dream it.”

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: The Album” is available on several music streaming services.