Illaphant is a Laotian-American musician and poet. After being birthed in Seattle, WA, his family moved to New Haven, CT, where he would spent a part of his childhood. After his father passed of cancer, his family returned to Seattle, where his journey continued. As early as his elementary years, Illaphant grew a fascination in words. He would plow through the thesaurus and dictionary to mesh words into his stories and poems. This was the foundation that led to lyric and songwriting. Growing up in what some would call the "Golden Era" of hip-hop music, Illaphant gained musical inspiration from artists such Nas,Common, Lauryn Hill, and Jay-Z among many others.

Over the recent years, Illaphant has released two mixtapes, "The First Supper" and "Leftovers." He is currently working on the "Sticky Rice and Mangos" mixtape which will release in the spring of 2011. Much of his work is based in the Pacific Northwest, but his music can be heard throughout the world.
His inspiration and motivation are fueled by unfolding chapters in life, lived and vicarious experiences, the ability to think and act for change, and the desire and need to share his story with the world. Illaphant creates music to make people move, think, and act for change.

Illaphant is more than just a musician and poet. He is a community organizer and youth mentor working with the city of Seattle and Seattle based community organizations teaching and developing programs for young people. The knowledge and experience gained through his work led him to start his own company called "Freshest Roots." Freshest Roots is a community based organization that strives to create and open opportunities for young people to cultivate their passions in the performing and visual arts; an artistic and innovative social movement creating change locally and globally.

To find out more about Freshest Roots, visit FreshestRoots.com

Illaphant's music is available and downloadable at: http://illaphant.bandcamp.com