Jennifer Nguyen Bernal
Professor Valverde
ASA 150E
In the reading "War, Genocide, and Justices: Cambodian American Memory Work" by Cathy J. Schlund- Vials express how hip pop, rap, and poetry become a way for Cambodian Americans to express themselves. Through music, they were able to express their stories and experience from the Khmer Rouge and in America. I knew that Cambodian Americans had a community in Long Beach, but never knew the name of their city, which they called Little Phnom Penh. They were pushed in these ghettos community and had to fend for themselves. No one knew who they were and discriminated against by American society. Many Cambodian Americans didn't feel like they belong anywhere, which causes gangs to form to have a sense of community. Cambodian American have found a way to voice through stories through hip hop with lyrics of the recollection of the Killing fields and the Cambodian experience. PraCh was able to express his and his people's stories through his music, reaching Cambodia and the Cambodia diaspora. The Khmer youth were attracted to this music and the bilingual lyrics. I am thinking about how these songs were able to express how the kmer's youth hearts and show what they are going through. Many songs are usually about love, and heartbreak, but do discuss hardship. These songs identify them of who they are, represent their community, and discovery of unspoken history. PraCh uses a form of traditional music to present Cambodia culture. The history of Asian Americans has not been discussed, including Southeast Asian history. He explains how this is the voice of the youth; they want to know what happens to their families, this unspoken history, and curios of their history. I wanted to know my history and what my family went through since it is difficult for my family members to discuss their past. I am curious and frustrated that my history is not talked about since America wants to hide it from the public. Many Asian Americans and Southeast Asians feel this way also, so they decide to discover the history themselves and represent their community.
Was PraCh's music able to connect with other Southeast Asian like the Kmer youth or earn the respect and connect with other communities to speak out their stories through hip hop?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/181740424/the-cambodian-diaspora
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