My guest today is Dustin Payne, aka DPayne.

You might know him from SYTYCD15 where he made the Top 20, or from music videos with DaBaby, Kid Cudi, or Kurtis Blow.

If you participate in the LA dance scene you DEFinitely know D Payne, and near the end of 2024 you might have seen him win the hip hop category of Versa-Style’s 18th LTMMY battle.

CREDITS:

Production, Writing, Concept, Design, Video, Audio, Music, and ⁠Photography by John Nyboer⁠.

Son Lam Nguyen happened to be in town just as I was launching this podcast, and I was lucky enough to be able to book him as my first guest!

• 0:00 - 2:00 Introduction
• 2:01-49:14 Conversation
• 49:15 Drum/Dance Improvisation 

Son Lam came to Los Angeles in 2017 on the heels of winning So You Think You Can Dance Vietnam. His talent, commitment, and open personality have earned him a lot of love and respect in the L.A. street dance community, and that reputation has gone global.

He won the 2024 Red Bull Dance Your Style U.S. Championship in Atlanta, which sent him to the World Final in Mumbai. To finish off the year, his all-Vietnamese team with MT Pop and Rufu won the Flava Of The Year 3 on 3 title.

Back home in Ho Chi Minh City, he co-founded Movement Art Research, a Yoga and Dance Studio.

CREDITS:

Production, Writing, Concept, Design, Video, Audio, Music, and Photography by John Nyboer.

Photographs of SonLam Nguyen in Ho Chi Minh City by Phu Thanh Tran.