Bao Pham

MC. Artist. Producer. Engineer. Pianist. Guitarist.
Genius. Prodigy. Vietnamese. Alabaman. Hip-Hop.
Soon-to-be-Legend.
A few choice words to describe Bao Pham
(pronounced Bau Faam), A southern hip-hop phenomenon
taking the music industry by storm both lyrically and
musically. Born July 15, 1982 to Vietnamese parents
seeking refuge in America after the Vietnam War, Bao
Pham has been and always will be an outcast to
society. At the early age of four, Bao began taking
classical piano lessons and started learning classical
guitar three years later (hence the name Classic).
Years and years of hard work and practice led him to
winning numerous competitions in piano and guitar, such
as 2nd Place (1998) and 1st Place (1999) in the
Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra Competition, 2nd Place
and 4th Place (one of only eight finalists to succeed
out of 60-80 participants in 10 states) in the
Montgomery Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and still holding records of guitar excellence at Baldwin Jr. High School. Recognized for his excellence
in piano, Bao was accepted into the Boston University
Tanglewood Institute, one of the world's most prestigious music camps for the summer.
Along with his accomplishments in piano, Bao
also was a keyboardist, guitarist, and bassist in his
father's band, the QB Band, at the start of age 7 until
age 16. During these years balancing piano, guitar, the
band, and enrolling in an academic school was a
struggle, along with the harsh reality of being Asian
living in Montgomery, AL where racial tensions were and
still continue to anguish blacks and whites. He was an
outcast to society and even to his own family;
different from everyone else by being influenced by
black culture and at the same time Vietnamese culture
put a strain on the young Asian to find an identity in
the world.
That is, until Hip-Hop came into his life.
Finally, Bao felt comfortable in a position of
being different from everyone else; having an Afro
centric mentality mixed with Vietnamese tradition
propels him to be one of the strongest lyricists and
producers no one has, have, or will witness not just in
Hip-Hop, but in music period. Armed with an abrasive,
but smooth voice, having something to say, and hard-
hitting, but soulful instrumentals may propel him to be
one of the best, if not the best, in Hip-Hop history.
Stay tuned.