For the first time in sixteen years, 30-year-old TV star Lalla Hirayama has gone on a pilgrimage of sorts to the land of her ancestors, Japan. The star jetted off just under two weeks ago and she and her mom have been living their best lives ever since.
Although Hirayama was born in Hiratsuka in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, she has a white South African father of Jewish descent and her parents moved to South Africa when she was really young - six years old to be exact. Another interesting fact about the star is that her father is a shaman, which is basically a sangoma and she has been raised in a home that introduced her to various belief systems.
She last returned to Japan in the early 2000's where she worked as a hip-hop dance instructor for about a year before returning to South Africa.
Upon her return, she co-founded the Clinch City Entertainment hip-hop marketing and events company in 2006 with Jay Kayembe (among others) which went on to provide official dancers for renowned artists of that time. Said artists included the likes of the late Lebo Mathosa of Boom Shaka fame, Tshwarelo ‘Relo’ Nhlapo and Skwatta Kamp. She also featured in music videos for artists like Unathi Msengana and Loyiso Bala.
She has since worked for a number of TV shows and channels as a presenter and is currently the M-Net Movies girl - traveling the world and chatting to Hollywood's biggest stars and directors. After doing that much work, it's only right that she returns home. Check out some of the other pics from her trip.
