By Robin Chen Delos, VOA
Washington
08 October 2007
Prach Ly came to the United States as a child with his family to escape Cambodia's killing fields. He grew up in Long Beach, California where he started rapping in English and Khmer about Cambodia's genocide, his community and life as an immigrant. Then he became a star in Cambodia nearly overnight after he released a homemade CD. The press dubbed him the first Khmer rap star and credited him with bringing hip-hop to Cambodia.
Prach Ly recently took a break from working on his latest album to perform at Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where he spoke to VOA's Robin Chen Delos. Here he tells his own story.
"I am a musician. I'm from Cambodia. My name is Prach. And I was born in a concentration camp during the killing field.
Toward the end of the killing field our family escaped the war and went to the border of Thailand. And we stayed there at the border and we got sponsored to America,” Ly explains.
“And when I got to California in Long Beach everything wasn't all great or anything like that. It was poverty-stricken. There was gang activities. The back of our head was, you know, if you grow up past 18 years old you probably did pretty good because of all the activities there. We were ducking drive-by shootings and stuff like that.
But then that's when the whole poetry, that's when the whole hip-hop, that's when the whole rap music came. I was surrounded by that.
I used the karaoke equipment to record my music, my lyrics. I would go buy instrumental songs, and put my word over it. And I got a CD made.
The CD was like an autobiography, coming from the whole killing field process, all the way to America and the struggle in America. And for New Year I just passed it out. And a DJ from Cambodia, DJ Sop, he was there at the New Year. He took the CD back to Cambodia, he played it over the radio and everyone was calling in to ask who's the artist.
And then the government, they censored and they banned my music. And then some of the people who heard the music they argued, they said, 'Wait a minute, why are you banning his music? It's nothing in reference to the government -- it's just talking about history.' So now the people are going to the markets and starting asking [to ask] for it and buying the CDs.
And then Newsweek and Time magazine and Asia Week, they located me and they contacted me and they like, 'We just want to ask you a question: how do you feel about having the number one album in Cambodia?' I go, "What?!' You know, I never sent it there.
The important thing was the kids was asking the parents, it was more like an educational tool. They were asking the parents and asking the elders what had really happened during the killing fields,” he says proudly.
Concert held in Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
Prach Ly recently took a break from working on his latest album to perform at Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where he spoke to VOA's Robin Chen Delos. Here he tells his own story.
"I am a musician. I'm from Cambodia. My name is Prach. And I was born in a concentration camp during the killing field.
Toward the end of the killing field our family escaped the war and went to the border of Thailand. And we stayed there at the border and we got sponsored to America,” Ly explains.
“And when I got to California in Long Beach everything wasn't all great or anything like that. It was poverty-stricken. There was gang activities. The back of our head was, you know, if you grow up past 18 years old you probably did pretty good because of all the activities there. We were ducking drive-by shootings and stuff like that.
But then that's when the whole poetry, that's when the whole hip-hop, that's when the whole rap music came. I was surrounded by that.
I used the karaoke equipment to record my music, my lyrics. I would go buy instrumental songs, and put my word over it. And I got a CD made.
The CD was like an autobiography, coming from the whole killing field process, all the way to America and the struggle in America. And for New Year I just passed it out. And a DJ from Cambodia, DJ Sop, he was there at the New Year. He took the CD back to Cambodia, he played it over the radio and everyone was calling in to ask who's the artist.
And then the government, they censored and they banned my music. And then some of the people who heard the music they argued, they said, 'Wait a minute, why are you banning his music? It's nothing in reference to the government -- it's just talking about history.' So now the people are going to the markets and starting asking [to ask] for it and buying the CDs.
And then Newsweek and Time magazine and Asia Week, they located me and they contacted me and they like, 'We just want to ask you a question: how do you feel about having the number one album in Cambodia?' I go, "What?!' You know, I never sent it there.
The important thing was the kids was asking the parents, it was more like an educational tool. They were asking the parents and asking the elders what had really happened during the killing fields,” he says proudly.
Concert held in Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
16 comments:
Good on you Prach. I wish you good luck for your initiative in this courier. I hope you will make a good life from that.
Prach, you are trying too hard. you have to make up your mind whether you want to be like kenya west or 2 pac. your whole style of rapping in general is being played out everyday. just tune into your rap stations and you'll know what i'm talking about.
And 5:35AM is playing a game? Shame on you 5:35AM!
PraCh, I'm proud of you, you are a true Khmer artist with a Khmer conscience. I salute you from the bottom of my heart!
Bravo Prach. Keep you up with it. Play with your own style and your own independant mind.
What makes me proud is that you haven't PIRATED anyone'songs, as many Cambodian " STARS". have done so far.
Fucking Long Beacher, stop bringing gangsters' and drug dealers' goods to Cambodia, asshole.
Rap music is shit. You should be ashamed to call yourself Khmer if you play that honky music
eh... shut up Ah kwak you's slave,don't yell like the frog in the well.
well, his music more meaning than group of khmer rouge one eye PM.singer
May I remind you that the City of Long Beach, CA is way and way bigger than the City of Phnom Phen the capitol of Cambodia! City of Long Beach, CA is among thousand and thousand of other cities in the US!
There are some part of Long Beach that so expensive and cost in the million and there are some part of Long Beach which are exclusive and gated and you can't even come in without permission! There are some part some that is ghetto and dangerous.
I don't know why a lot of Cambodian people make a big deal about Prach Ly who used to live in a ghetto and become a rap musician. I mean there are those Cambodian people who live in a dangerous neighborhood and ghetto like condition and they still outgrow their environment and become a businessman, graduated from college and some even move out to other states...and I do understand that if a person came from a disadvantage background and it will effect their economic and educational mobility but that is the beauty of being a human because being a human you have the ability to change the environment you live in or let the environment change you!
Those Cambodian people who like to listen to Prach Ly music maybe they have a hard time adapting to the change in their environment or maybe nobody show them how to change their life! For me I have to write my own manual on how to live!
By the way, Long Beach is becoming a very expensive place to live!
So as Cambodia.
To 2:32PM
It is very sad to hear that because dirt poor Cambodian people don't even have a job and lack of economic mobility and where do they go to live?
Shaking my head!
Master piece Prach!
Keep up! :)
We Khmer support you all the way.
Thanks, for your concern, 1:55, but I am optimistic that we will bounce back. We are resilient, patient, and that is how we survived one of the worse atrocities in history. We'll be okay soon, no doubt about that.
Just keep doing of what you doing. you do just fine my friend. Good Job!
Thanks for your complement, bro!
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