The Kong & Shu Project – Album Release
Hmong Festivals are one of the main events for the Hmong community. Many families travel far and wide to be part of the cultural phenomenon. As you can guess, July 4th is just around the corner and one of the largest Hmong Festival will come alive hosted by the Lao Family of Minnesota, Inc in St. Paul, Minnesota. This festival will be the 33rd Annual Hmong Festival holding sports, singing competition, fashion, dance, vendors and live performances by Hmong artists around the country.
Hmong musicians have come a long way since their migration from Laos and Thailand after the Vietnam War. Music has always been a constant to the Hmong, which they describe as “paj huam” or “kwv txhiaj” meaning a “hymen” or “poetry”. Throughout the years, new generations of emerging Hmong artists are paving ways to establish themselves among their peers. Today, many new talented Hmong artists are reaching various audiences worldwide through the Internet, especially through YouTube.
There are several Hmong artists that could be named, but one name has been a constant for the past couple of months, The Kong & Shu Project (TKSP).
Who are they? The Kong & Shu Project consists of two brothers who formed their duo group in the summer of 2007 with their debut album, “Pib Qhov Twg” (Where to Begin). Since their first release they have traveled through various states to perform live for their fans. By their second album, their names were established among some of the top Hmong performers such as: Logo & Duce Khan, Sudden Rush, Delicious Venom, Proto-J, and others.
Their passion of the arts gave them an anchor to collaborate with some of the well-known Hmong artist names mentioned above to release one of the oldest Hmong song from the early eighties: “Hmoob Yuavtsum Hlub Hmoob” (Hmong should love Hmong). This remix of an old song has garnered so much attention that it debuted at the number one spot among the Hmong artist YouTube channels and counting. The success of this single gave an even larger inclination to the next project, Hmong Music For(ward) in partnering with the Hmong National Development, Inc. a non-profit organization.
TKSP created a goal to feature emerging Hmong artists by moving music forward with a purpose. This project created a worthy buzz around all the social media that even emerging artists from outside of the country submitted their original materials. In all, this compilation CD will help fund the Hmong National Development Inc., towards scholarships. The only catch was that you have to sing in Hmong in order to be selected.
With sheer strength, patience and intense hard work; The Kong & Shu Project managed to finish the Hmong Music For(ward) and their upcoming third album, “Carolina Tseem Nco” (Missing Carolina) to be released at the Hmong Festival in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 6th, 2013.
Be there to celebrate The Kong & Shu Project’s third album release, take pictures and get their autographs. Who knows where these two brothers will lead in the future.
For more information on where you can purchase the Hmong Music For(ward) CD, please visit by clicking here.
For more of The Kong & Shu Project click here . For booking inquires of TKSP, please contact Kong Lor at konglor@gmail.com.