Leonard Liao was one of the first Asian Americans to enter the nascent hip hop scene in the 90s. Born in Manhattan’s Chinatown in 1968 to a Chinese-Cuban father, Liao was heavily influenced by Latin music and cuisine as a child. His interests in Latin music grew as he worked at his father’s Chinese-Cuban restaurant. During that time a customer who DJ’d at the famous Copacabana nightclub began introducing him to clubs and musicians in the area.
Liao released his first music video, “Young Boys,” around 1991. The song, a fusion of dance music and Latin hip hop, was featured on the TV shows Video Music Box and Asian Panorama and became popular at nightclubs like Copacabana and Palladium. Liao cites the moment he began taking pride in his heritage as the inspiration for his music: “There was no Asian person out there representing the Asian crowd. And at that time, I realized that being Chinese was not bad. It was a strong point… I didn’t have to assimilate and be white.” Taking on the moniker Leonard Youngboy, Liao continued to fuse hip hop with Chinese, American, and Latin music. Liao currently continues his family’s tradition of Chinese-Cuban cuisine at their restaurant in Jackson Heights, Mi Estrella.
廖锦俊是九十年代首批进入新生嘻哈舞台的亚裔美国人之一。1968年出生于曼哈顿唐人街，父亲是古巴华裔，廖锦俊儿时深受拉丁音乐和美食的影响。在父亲的古巴中餐馆工作的时候，他在拉丁音乐方面的兴趣也不断地浓厚起来。在那期间，一位餐馆的客人刚好是著名的科帕卡巴纳（Copacabana）夜总会的DJ，这位客人便将他介绍给当地的夜总会和音乐家。
廖锦俊的在1991年左右发行了第一首音乐录影带《年轻的男孩》。这首歌融合了舞曲和拉丁嘻哈音乐，在电视节目Video Music Box和Asian Panorama中播出，并在Copacabana和Palladium这样的夜总会中流行开来。廖锦俊引证他开始为自己的传统而自豪的那一刻成为他创作音乐的灵感时说：“没有亚洲人出来代表他们自己。而且那个时候，我意识到作为一个中国人其实也不差。我有一种很强烈的感觉……我没有必要被同化成为白人。”带着绰号“Leonard Youngboy”，廖锦俊继续将嘻哈音乐融合到中国、美国、以及拉丁音乐中。廖锦俊目前还继续着他的传统家族生意，位于杰克逊高地的古巴中餐馆，Mi Estrella。
Countdown to the TCS NYC Marathon on November 3, 2019: 216 Days.
2019年是美国第一条横贯大陆铁路建成150周年，为了纪念第一批华人来美建设这条铁路所做出的巨大贡献， MOCA将其2019 TCS NYC Marathon的活动命名为 MOCA Spike 150 – Running Forward With Our Stories！ 鼓励大家通过马拉松公益跑，全国线上接力，以及一天一个故事的方式讲述150个华人的历史故事，敬请大家持续关注， 讲出华人自己的故事，回顾过去，立足现在，展望未来，共同书写美国历史，使之更加充实完整。