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[W]aab [S]ite >> Music
Culture mix
by Paruedee Nguitragool
They are a combination of Thai and Japanese but it was African-American music that brought them
together.
"We like black people. Whatever they do is just so cool," Songkran "Fa" Nakhapanya, 21, a member of Erina and
the Afro Bros told NJ Magazine.
In the early 90s, Fa was a fan of American rap acts like MC Hammer, Kris Kross and Vanilla Ice. He wanted to be
like his heroes and started wearing baggy pants, playing basketball and riding a skateboard. And this hip-hop
culture led him to meet the other two boys from Loei.
"When I first met Fa at a skateboarding meet at Klong Jan Park, I immediately knew he was my kind of guy," said
Nattapong "Ton" Theekhasuk, 21. "He had his left pant leg down to the ankle and the right one just a little below
the knee - very hip-hop," Yanvit "New" Plaueisee, 21, the third Afro brother added.
Ton and New have been buddies since P.4. With their love of black American rhythms, they dreamed of forming a
band. But even after they met Fa, their dream didn't immediately come true. New said the problem was that they
could rap, but couldn't sing.
While the three were looking for a singer, Erina "Ena" Aoi, a 22-year old Japanese girl was studying Thai language
in the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University. "At the time none of my friends liked hip-hop music. I loved it,"
said Ena, now 26. "I sang and danced alone in my room. I was so lonely," she added.
Interested in Asian culture, Ena came to Thailand in 1997 and took a course in Thai Studies at Chulalongkorn
University. But after the first semester, she changed her major to Thai language.
"Thailand is the first country I have been to outside Japan. I want to speak Thai and have Thai friends. But most
students taking the Thai studies course were foreigners and the course was taught in English, so I quit," Ena said
in fluent Thai.
In November 1999 New was impressed when he spotted Ena at a hip-hop party. "Not many girls like hip-hop. I
saw her sing and dance. She was very natural," he said. After a short talk, Ena became the band's singer.
Ena was raised by a famous actor/singer father Teruhiko, 54 and a former model mother Noriko Aoi, 60. She never
wanted to be a star like her parents. But in Thailand, things were different. She wanted to have more friends and
that is why she decided to sing.
Unlike her hip-hop partners, Ena dresses fashionably in a pink coat and dances in platform boots. She said
dancing in the clothes is not a problem. She can sing and she can rap - as long as she has the music in her soul.
--Taken from Nation Junior
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