Born in Cambodia, but raised mostly in Long Beach, California, praCh is known as Cambodia’s first rap star. His first album reached number one in Cambodia, but was temporarily banned during election time. His music tells stories about the horror of living under Pol Pot and the ensuing hardships.
On 21 October, 2005, praCh gave a phone interview from the United States with Freemuse intern Olivia Madison. Here you can listen to him discuss his views on free expression, his recent trip to Cambodia and observations about the current state of the Khmer arts community.
Audio interview Part I 0.52 The importance of free expression and the current state of the music scene in Cambodia. Part II 1.25 PraCh’s personal experience with censorship. Music as an educational tool. Part III 0.30 On the issue of self-censorship. Part IV 1.25 The need to enforce the right to free expression.
Where to draw the line and when to actually ban a song because it is considered indecent, profane, immoral or offending against the recognised standards of propriety?
1975-1979 was a period of genocidal censorship throughout Cambodia – the music and musicians barely survived. Today, Khmer artistic cultures are in recovery
