LaoAmericans

With the looks of a model, the ear of a seasoned musician and the sheer talent that brings it all together, she’s a force to be reckoned with. In a city that thrives on the spectacular, she delivers it in spades.

Illaphant, also known as Tony Innouvong, is a young Lao-American musician and poet out of Seattle, WA. When he is not writing poetry or rapping rhymes, he is a youth leader actively involved in his local community.

If Kanye West and Justin Timberlake had a kid, and he was an Asian-American who grew up in the Midwest breaking hearts, and surviving on a diet of cartoons, video games and sarcasm – that kid might sound like Andrew David.

Alex San Dinero is a Miami-based Lao American musician wowing audiences with his high-energy Laoggaeton, an upbeat form of Lao and Latin-hip-hop. He released his smash album and is touring around the country to bring a new Lao sound to the community.

In the 2009 Oscar Nominated Documentary “Nerakhoon” a familiar Laotian rap song “Hee Labert” is prominently featured. Keo Keonorasak, who produced the band’s first two albums, shares with us his story of how the band came to be…

6am California time translates to 8pm Vientiane time, and the only time Aluna Thavonsouk had available in her busy schedule that week to talk with me on the phone about her exciting dual-career: cool pop-idol by night, dynamic businesswoman by day.

Although she is quick to brush off similarities of any kind, Ketsana will always live in my memory as the original “Lao Madonna.” In my youth, growing up in my parents Laotian grocery store, I would stare at her concert photos and replay songs from her tape (yes, audio tape!) on the PA system. She [...]