Creator
Hella Chluy
Cambodian American comedian, musician and content creator known for parody songs and comedy about Cambodian American life.
Hella Chluy, the stage name of Phanit Duong, is a Cambodian American comedian and musician known for parody songs about Cambodian American life.[1][2] His name roughly translates as "Hella Disrespectful," since chluy loosely means "disrespectful" in Khmer. His own website calls him "a Khmer Weird Al."[2][3][1]
Career
Duong is a second-generation refugee from Seattle. He began writing and recording music at 15 in the Pacific Northwest.[4][3] His breakthrough came in 2012, when his YouTube video "Sh*t Cambodian Folks Say" went viral.[4][3] His skits and songs use popular American music to tell of the experiences and challenges of the Cambodian diaspora.[1][3] His style blends Khmer culture with the Black and Brown cultures of the American West Coast, in its language, gestures, props and subjects.[5]
In 2016 Duong had been living in Brooklyn for six years.[6] That August he released "Cambodian Town," a parody of Drake's "Controlla," filmed in South Philadelphia's Cambodia Town. He wrote the lyrics and recorded the song in his home studio. Planetary P (Jeff Lek), a collaborator from Camden, directed the video, and Ari Gold remade the beat.[2][6] Duong called it a basic love song about taking a girlfriend out for food. He said he made it to build support for the Cambodian community of South Philadelphia and its bid for an official Cambodia Town designation.[2][6] He had performed at a Cambodia Town block party that May, and he said most of his videos were filmed in Philadelphia, around 6th and 7th streets.[6]
He performs regularly in Long Beach, Lowell, Seattle and Philadelphia.[3] In January 2021 the United Cambodian Community in Long Beach hosted a conversation with him.[4] He hosts Chluy Talk, a variety podcast of conversations with other content creators and small businesses.[7] In 2023 he wrote and performed the English-language verse on "Mao Pei Na Remix" with the Cambodian artist Morno. He calls the track a modern take on a classic song by Sinn Sisamouth.[8]
His channel has since moved into travel vlogs and food content, including videos on the building of Hop, a Khmer restaurant in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and on a Southeast Asian market in Philadelphia. He also posts short comedy on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.[1][3]
In the visual arts
Joe Bun Keo's 2025 exhibition at Specialist gallery in Seattle included Hella Chluy stickers. They appeared on the blue sandals of flip flop on lock and on the red rice-filled bowl of take one, which recalls his Halloween 2023 post about taking one piece of rice instead of candy.[5]
Performances
- September 24, 2026: Cambodian Heritage Night Afterparty in Seattle, hosted by the Khmer Language Arts and Culture Academy after the first Mariners Cambodian Heritage Night[9]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hella Chluy, official website
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 PhillyVoice, South Philly's Cambodia Town Drake parody packs social mission (August 24, 2016)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Callmart, Hella Chluy (channel profile, 2019)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United Cambodian Community (YouTube), conversation with Hella Chluy (January 2021)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Variable West, The stories we tell: Joe Bun Keo at Specialist Gallery in Seattle (April 1, 2025)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Philebrity, Meet Hella Chluy, Ambassador of Cambodia Town (August 24, 2016)
- ↑ Apple Podcasts, Chluy Talk
- ↑ Hella Chluy (SoundCloud), Mao Pei Na Remix ft. Morno (March 7, 2023)
- ↑ Eventbrite, Cambodian Heritage Night Afterparty