#korla

Before Liberace, there was Korla Pandit. He was a pianist from New Delhi, India, and dazzled national audiences in the 1950s with his unique keyboard skills and exotic compositions on the Hammond B3 organ. He appeared on Los Angeles local television in 900 episodes of his show, “Korla Pandit’s Adventures in Music”, smartly dressed in a suit and tie or silk brocade Nehru jacket and cloaked in a turban adorned with a single shimmering jewel. The mysterious, spiritual Indian man with a hypnotic gaze and sly grin was transfixing.

Offstage, Korla—known as the "Godfather of Exotica"— was living the American dream: he had a house in the Hollywood hills, a beautiful blonde wife, two kids, and a social circle that included Errol Flynn and Bob Hope. He even had his own floral-decorated organ float in the Rose Bowl parade in 1953.

Korla (库尔勒) by After Journey (艾福杰尼). 2017.

After Journey is a Chinese rapper and producer from Xinjiang. His rise in popularity can be attributed to his solid performances on the popular show, The Rap of China (中国有嘻哈), where he earned a third place finish. Since then, he has released several singles, and has toured the U.S. performing with fellow Xinjiang rapper Huang Xu. Most recently, After Journey was the rap trainer for the Chinese idol survival show, Idol Producer (Season 2). 

After Journey sang Korla in episode 10 of The Rap of China. The song is inspired by and dedicated to the eponymous Xinjiang town in which After Journey was born, featuring a slow beat, uplifting lyrics, and the bright voice of fellow The Rap of China contestant Cat (雨馨).