Soon-To-Be-Legend.A few choice words to describe Classic, a southern phenom soon to take Hip-Hop music and music in all to unprecedented standards. Born to political refugees, Classic is a product of the post-Vietnam War—his parents lived through the war and felt the effects of communism that had been newly established in its government, in which millions of Vietnamese people were forced into restricted and constrained lifestyles. Some stayed and abided by the new laws; others rebelled; few escaped and some were sent to prison. Seeking a better life, freedom, and opportunity, both his mother and father escaped to refugee camps in China and Malaysia.After receiving sponsorship from Christian churches in the U.S., Bon and Be Pham (neither knew each other at the time) came to America in 1979 and 1980, respectively. Jumping from state to state from Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Florida, Classic’s mother and father eventually met in Montgomery, Alabama; struggling to make ends meet in a new city, state, and country, they slowly adjusted to life in the states. And with a new life on the way, things were sure to change drastically in their lives.Music was always prevalent in Classic’s life from an early age. His father self-taught himself how to play guitar, bass, and drums, and his mother played the mandolin. “There were no Marvin Gayes’ or Curtis Mayfields’ records playing in the house,†he recalls. “Mostly Vietnamese music. I pretty much had to find out about different music of different cultures, and everything else there was to learn about in the world, (be)cause there was a certain wall between my generation and that of my folks. I love them to death, but there are things that we don’t speak about, [and] it’s just understood.â€Those “things†were experiences and situations they couldn’t relate to, because of the difference in the environments around his family and his own. Classic’s life was filled with opportunity and freedoms that were and are easily taken advantage of, considering their history. Growing up during the war and and growing up in North Pass were both hard, but the two could never be compared.Reflecting on his life and future, Classic states, “Yeah, the hood will be the hood, and for me to be of another race instead of white and to come from that place is unheard of, especially in the South. Not a lot of opportunities coming from where I’m from. Neither from where my [folks] come from. I got dead friends and friends I used to be around in prison or doing somethin’ fucked up, but I also have friends that are and have been successful. I grew up on certain traditions within my family, grew up on different outlooks. So the perspective that I have is different from and at the same time relates to what I do best, and that’s Hip-Hop music. Coming from nothing. Coming from a family who never graduated high school. Eventually making a way out of the negativity before all this rap shit. The mix of cultures are there. The hate and racism from where we live at is there. The success is there, and story is has already been written. And sooner or later, it’ll be heard.†Stay tuned.
