Sai Sai Kham Hlaing
Encyclopedia
Sai Sai Kham Hlaing is a popular Burmese singer-songwriter
, model
, novelist, and actor
of ethnic Shan descent. He is best known for his hip hop music
.
to Cho Cho San Tun and Kham Hlaing of an ethnic Shan aristocratic family. His great-grandfather Sao San Tun
, Saopha
of Mongpawng
, was a signatory to the 1947 Panglong Agreement
that was the basis for the formation of modern Myanmar, and one of nine senior government officials assassinated on 19 July 1947. The day of the assassination is commemorated each year as the Martyrs' Day in Myanmar. The hospital he was delivered in was his great-grandfather's namesake—the Sao San Tun Hospital. He is the eldest son and has two younger sisters and a younger brother. Soon after he was born, his parents moved to nearby Aungban
for two years before moving back to Taunggyi. His parents divorced when he was got to 4th standard. He was living in two houses soon after the divorce but ended up with his father. He would not see his mother for another six years. He did not recognize his own mother when they met again in Yangon.
Sai Sai attributes his interest in music to his father. He grew up listening to songs by Sai Htee Saing
and Aung Yin
that his father listened to on a "small mono
cassette player". Sai Htee Saing and his father were friends. But it was after his parents' divorce that Sai Sai earnestly took up music. His father bought him a guitar at 5th standard, and he learned to play it by 6th standard. Sai Sai became a judo
player at 8th standard. He won district level competitions in high school, and even competed in national youth competitions in Yangon
.
Sai Sai came to Yangon
and enrolled in Dagon University
as an English
major. He received his bachelor's degree in English
from Dagon University and a graduate diploma in English from the University of Foreign Languages, Yangon. His mother lives in Australia and his father died in 2006.
movie that he and four other friends self-financed in 2000. In the same year, he then launched his first album Chocolate Yaung Yayge Einmet (Chocolate-Colored Ice Dreams). The follow-up album Thangegyin Mya Zwa (Many Friends) released in 2001 made him a household name.
He is a Theravada Buddhist.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, novelist, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
of ethnic Shan descent. He is best known for his hip hop music
Burmese hip hop
The Burmese hip hop is one of the most successful music genres in Myanmar today, and arguably the most popular form of music among the urban youth of Yangon and Mandalay.-First generation:Until 2000, rock and roll was the dominant music genre in Myanmar...
.
Background
Sai Sai Kham Leng was born on 10 April 1979 in TaunggyiTaunggyi
-Transportation:The main access to Taunggyi is by road. A railway line that passes through Taunggyi was recently built in 1995, but at the moment it offers no passenger service. Regular railway passenger service to the rest of the country is through the town of Shwenyaung, twelve miles to the...
to Cho Cho San Tun and Kham Hlaing of an ethnic Shan aristocratic family. His great-grandfather Sao San Tun
Sao San Tun
Sao San Tun was the hereditary chief of the Shan State of Mongpawng, and Minister of Hill Regions in Myanmar's pre-independence interim government. He was a signatory to the Panglong Agreement that was the basis for the formation of modern Myanmar...
, Saopha
Saopha
Saopha, Chaofa, or Sawbwa was a royal title used by the rulers of the Shan States of Myanmar . The word means "king" in the Shan and Tai languages...
of Mongpawng
Mongpawng
Mongpawng, or Mong Pawn, was one of the thirty-four Shan states recognised by the British protectorate in colonial Burma. It formed part of the Federated Shan States created in 1922....
, was a signatory to the 1947 Panglong Agreement
Panglong Agreement
The Panglong Agreement was reached between the Burmese government under Aung San and the Shan, Kachin, and Chin peoples on 12 February 1947. The agreement accepted "Full autonomy in internal administration for the Frontier Areas" in principle and envisioned the creation of a Kachin State by the...
that was the basis for the formation of modern Myanmar, and one of nine senior government officials assassinated on 19 July 1947. The day of the assassination is commemorated each year as the Martyrs' Day in Myanmar. The hospital he was delivered in was his great-grandfather's namesake—the Sao San Tun Hospital. He is the eldest son and has two younger sisters and a younger brother. Soon after he was born, his parents moved to nearby Aungban
Aungban
Aungban is a town in the Shan State of eastern Burma. It is located in Kalaw Township in Taunggyi District.It is the junction for a branch railway to Loikaw constructed in 1992.-External links:*...
for two years before moving back to Taunggyi. His parents divorced when he was got to 4th standard. He was living in two houses soon after the divorce but ended up with his father. He would not see his mother for another six years. He did not recognize his own mother when they met again in Yangon.
Sai Sai attributes his interest in music to his father. He grew up listening to songs by Sai Htee Saing
Sai Htee Saing
Sai Htee Saing was a distinguished Burmese singer and songwriter of Shan descent, which featured prominently throughout his music career. Throughout his career, he recorded 2 to 3 Shan language albums and 30 to 40 Burmese language albums. He was especially known for composing country music.Htee...
and Aung Yin
Aung Yin
Aung Yin is a well-known Burmese pop singer, who reached the height of his career in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Born to U Han Yin and Daw Khin Myaing in Rangoon, he is the eldest of three brothers. Aung Yin began singing on stage in the 4th standard and immediately joined the music industry...
that his father listened to on a "small mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
cassette player". Sai Htee Saing and his father were friends. But it was after his parents' divorce that Sai Sai earnestly took up music. His father bought him a guitar at 5th standard, and he learned to play it by 6th standard. Sai Sai became a judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
player at 8th standard. He won district level competitions in high school, and even competed in national youth competitions in Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
.
Sai Sai came to Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
and enrolled in Dagon University
Dagon University
Dagon University , located in North Dagon, Yangon, is one of the largest universities in Myanmar. The university, established in 1993, offers bachelor's and master's degrees in liberal arts and sciences to full-time, part-time and online students. Dagon University also offers a full-time four-year...
as an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
major. He received his bachelor's degree in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
from Dagon University and a graduate diploma in English from the University of Foreign Languages, Yangon. His mother lives in Australia and his father died in 2006.
Career
Like most children of well-to-do families in Myanmar, Sai Sai entered the Burmese entertainment industry through connections and self-financing. At Yangon, Sai Sai first tried to modeling but could not get any jobs. He then tried a role in a direct-to-videoDirect-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
movie that he and four other friends self-financed in 2000. In the same year, he then launched his first album Chocolate Yaung Yayge Einmet (Chocolate-Colored Ice Dreams). The follow-up album Thangegyin Mya Zwa (Many Friends) released in 2001 made him a household name.
Personal
Sai Sai is still single, and lives in Yangon. In a May 2009 interview with People Magazine Myanmar, he expressed that he was unsure about marriage as he comes from a "broken family".He is a Theravada Buddhist.
Solo albums
- Chocolate Yaung Yayge Einmet (Chocolate-Colored Icy Dreams) (2000)
- Thangegyin Mya Zwa (Friends) (2001)
- February Mhattan (February Diary) (2003)
- Sai Sai Live Show (2004)
- Sai Sai Hu Khaw Thi (It is Called Sai Sai) (2005)
- Happy Sai Sai Birthday (2007)
- Ever Gawli(Always Vagrant) (2009)
Collaborative albums
- Pyan Pyaw Pya Bo Tawtaw Khet Leit Me (Would Be Quite Difficult to Argue) (2002)
- Meinma (Woman) (2002)
- A-Chit Mya Zwa A Twet (For All My Love) (2002)
- Bawa Bawa(Life ) (2003)
- Natthami Ponbyin(Angel's Story) (2004)
- Rock & Rap Live Show (2006)
- A-Lwan Ye Nya (Night of Yearning/Missing) (2006)
- A Yin Lo Seit Ma Cha Lo Ba Shin (Because I Can't Trust Anymore Like Before) (2006)
- Angel (2006)
- 10 Seconds (2007)