|
Rap artist builds bridges between
Cambodians, Americans
Article Published: Friday, March 18, 2005 - 11:56:58 AM PST
By STEVEN SABEL
Our Town Editor
REDLANDS Sholeh Wolpe, host of Poetry at the Loft, introduced a "very special program" Wednesday, March 9, when she welcomed author Sharon May and poet-musician Prach Ly. May is an expert on Cambodia and the rebuilding of the nation after the Khmer Rouge. Prach is a Cambodian-born rap music artist and poet.
"I have become educated on Cambodia, Khmer Rouge and the effect it had on poetry and literature," said Wolpe in her introduction.
May spoke about finding inspiration from the movie "The Killing Fields" to travel to Cambodia as a student journalist. She shared photographs taken during her travels there 20 years ago, as well as some from a more recent visit. She taught English there for many years and studied the effect the Khmer Rouge reign had Cambodian art and culture.
May shared statistics about the Communist decimation of poets, dancers, artists and writers who were put to death if they were caught practicing their crafts. Only one in 10 artists survived that terrible time and much of Cambodia's culture was lost, said May.
"We think we have it difficult here for artists and writers," said May.
Today, May and others such as Prach are trying to preserve and restore Cambodian art and literature. Currently the country suffers from a 70 percent illiteracy rate and videos have replaced reading, May said.
May's research brought her into contact with Prach. A garage recording he made of his music and rap lyrics became the highest selling pirated recording in Cambodia. His lyrics are in English and Cambodian, dealing with cultural differences and Cambodian history.
"Prach's work creates a bridge between children and adults, Cambodians and Americans," said May.
He greeted the audience in his native language. Prach said he was born in secrecy inside a concentration camp on the Cambodian border just before the so-called Vietnamese liberation and immigrated with his family to Florida in 1983 when he was 4 years old. By 1989, they came across the country to settle in Long Beach, which today has the highest population of Cambodians living outside of Cambodia.
Prach spoke some of the lyrics to his songs as poetry and also performed several pieces to recorded music. He offered an interesting mix of Cambodian and English lyrics, Western and Eastern sounds. One of his numbers contained biting attacks on his home nation for falling "knee deep into defeat" and choosing to stay there. His political statements encouraged Cambodians to strengthen their nationalism and rebuild their country, rather than flee to foreign lands. "The Great Escape" was rife with lyrics too plentiful to catch, and their streaming delivery allowed only fragments of his message to find clear delivery.
The mix of traditional Cambodian instruments and sounds created a poetic folk song feeling that stood in pleasant contrast to the more rapid-fire attack of his harsher rap songs. Demonstrating the melodic beauty that is contained in the words of the Cambodian language, Prach put his own variations on traditional rhyming schemes found in Cambodian poetry.
It was refreshing to hear a young rap artist using true poetry to make a statement about something other than violence, hanging with homeys or drugs and sex. This artist has instead found poetry in rap music and an outlet for his cultural sense of connection to his heritage. Some of his lyrics speak about the struggles between the old-world Cambodian traditions and today's Cambodian youth. Other lyrics spell out his personal connection to historic events that changed the world.
Poetry at the Loft is a monthly series presented by The Loft Producers at the historic Mitten Building. The evening begins with an open mic session for local poets to share their work, and usually features a poet and musical entertainment. The event is hosted by local author and poet Sholeh Wolpe.
Information: www.sholehwolpe.com.Rap artist builds bridges between Cambodians, Americans
| 
