As the Vietnamese entertainment industry evolves and grows every day, there are rooms for all types of art forms and talents. Recently, a new show called "Rap Viet" was organized to encourage individuals who are passionate about Rap to showcase their skills. After only a few episodes, the show went viral as its third episode reached a total of more than 700,000 viewers watching the live show on Youtube as it streamed. So what makes it a phenomenon?
A Professional Team of Coaches and Producers
One of the factors that contribute to the show's success is probably the participation of extremely talented artists that have proven their success in Viet showbiz.
There are four coaches with their stage names being Suboi, Karik, Binz, and Wowy, all prospered in the field of Rap and have released countless pieces that are well-received by fans and the public.
Suboi (Hang Lam Trang Anh) - 1990
The first Vietnamese female rapper to become successful.
In 2017, she was featured in Forbes Asia's 30 under 30.
The only female coach in Rap Viet, she is known for her wisdom and creative topics that she assigned to contestants in her team.
Bin Z (Le Nguyen Trung Dan) - 1988
Joined Vietnamese underground rap in 2008 and became more widely known in 2010 with the release of his mixtape M-da Legend.
He is known for his distinctive rhythmic and melodic rap style and now very famous for making hits, such as Krazy, They Said, and Big City Boi.
Karik (Pham Hoang Khoa) - 1989
He started pursuing his passion since 2008, and started to perform professionally since 2011. Having more than 10 years of experiences in the rap and art field, he is very popular with songs such as "Khu tao sống", "Anh không đòi quà", "Người lạ ơi".
Karik's rap focuses on personal experiences and hardships in life.
Wowy (Nguyen Ngoc Minh Huy) - 1988
He is known as the "master" in Vietnamese rap with his experiences.
Started his solo career in 2008 but became known in 2010 when he released "Khu tao sống" and "Hai thế giới" in collaboration with Karik.
First Vietnamese rapper to have the song featured in a U.S drama.
As for the producer team, they all come from the same label, Spacespeakers, which manages a lot of popular and skilled Vietnamese artists, rappers, and producers.
Rhymastic (Vu Duc Thien) - 1991
He started off his career professionally Spacespeakers in 2011 both as a rapper and a producer.
With his deep singing voice and distinct rap, his work is greatly adored by young people. Significantly, his track "Yêu 5" topped the chart for several consecutive weeks.
His songs often contain his thoughts as if they were his journal. He also produced a lot of songs for other artists such as Cuong Seven, Bich Phuong, etc.
JustaTee (Nguyen Thanh Tuan) - 1991
He began with underground but changed to R&B and became very successful with countless hit songs that are largely known among youth and the public such as: "Imma Heartbreaker", "Người lạ nơi cuối con đường", "Forever Alone", etc.
With his soft voice and catchy melody, he became very popular with a lot of fans.
He is now a rapper/producer under Spacespeakers and recently collaborated with Phuong Ly, a popular singer to come out with hits such as "Thằng Điên", "Mặt trời của em", and "Đã lỡ yêu em".
Touliver (Nguyen Hoang) - 1987
Known as the Wizard of music in Vietnam for his ability to create beats and produce music.
Before becoming a producer, he pursued piano for 11 years.
He organized a lot of events and show for youth such as Drop Da Bass, SpaceBass, Youth Festival,... and left an unforgettable impression with the public when participated in a show called "The Remix" in 2015.
Touliver is the CEO of Spacespeakers.
Talented Contestants with Impressive Stage Presence
The next reason for the show's extreme popularity is the impressive line of contestants. They are all unique, passionate, and possess strong personalities.
Their individualities and talents manifest as soon as the show started at the very beginning round, where contestants have to pick a song and remake it into their own style to rap. The goal is to impress and persuade the coaches so that they would want to recruit the contestant to their teams.
During this round, a lot of contestants' performances are so spectacular and quality as if the songs they presented were actual products that have been made before. The remade songs are imbued with the contestants' characters and charisma, and they are not simply just rap songs, they are meaningful stories that performers want to tell. The topics are also very diverse, ranging from school, family, and love to Vietnamese culture, and traditions.
Some of the highlight stages from the first round are:
R TEE - Rằm Tháng Bảy
The song is about the seventh lunar month in Vietnamese culture, which is considered as the month of wandering souls where the deceased pays a visit to the living world.
R Tee creatively incorporated Xẩm singing, a type of Vietnamese folk music that is often performed by blind artists back in the day to earn a living.
R Tee said he got inspiration from his mom when she told him a story about a ritual tradition of Vietnam.
Dế Choắt - Chú Bé Loắt Choắt
This song retells a popular poem by Tố Hữu, a notable poet of Vietnam who often wrote about wartime.
Dế Choắt successfully illustrated the image of a fearless boy named Lượm, who diligently contributed to his country during the hostile and disturbing time of war.
Ricky Star - Bắc Kim Thang
Ricky Star took the audience and the coaches by the storm with this rendition of "Bắc Kim Thang", a folk song that is popular among children.
He modified the song in a darker and more powerful approach, which gave audience goosebumps with both the song's "supposedly" actual meaning of a tragic friendship and his stunning performance.
Meaningful Topics that Highlight Vietnamese Culture
The show brings out a new aspect of Rap to showcase to the public. Back in the day, Rap was not well-received in Vietnam as this type of art form does not align with Vietnamese traditions and values. Those who pursue this genre of music were often assumed to be rebellious, under-educated, and spoiled. People would think that they hold no future.
However, Rap Viet has successfully proven to the public, especially older generation that Rap is a healthy playing field and is a creative way to address issues, to express oneself, and to introduce Vietnamese culture to everyone.
As the show proceeds to the 2nd round, contestants from the same team are grouped together to make a song about a specific topic assigned. This brings room for a lot of creativity
Wowy assigned the topic of the environment to his members, where they must highlight the importance of protecting Mother Nature.
Karik's team performed songs that revolved around parental love and family, which brought about reminiscing feelings to the audience when thinking about parents and their childhood.
Suboi intrigued viewers with unique and abstract themes, such as "what if Earth was triangle", which demanded contestants to be creative and go out of their comfort zone.
As for Binz, he brought nostalgia as he wanted his team to remake "ancient" songs from the past decade and bring a new vibe to them. This required a lot of skills from contestants, as they need to work with already successful hits that are near and dear to the public. Through this, Binz also intended to showcase the quintessence of Vietnamese music and how it evolves through time.
Engaging interaction between the coaches, producers, MC, and contestants
Even though it is a game show about Rap, the show does not come across as intimidating and intense like other typical Rap show, instead, it is filled with moments of humor, compassion, warmth, and tenderness.
With the participation of Vietnam's top-rated MC, Tran Thanh, the show is cleverly delivered and balanced so that it stays light-hearted, positive, and meaningful to viewers. Jokes are often made about the coaches and producers to bring out a friendly and casual aspect of them, as opposed to their serious demanding side when evaluating performance.
With the encouraging environment, contestants are also more likely to show their personal stories, some about their hardships, some about how they overcome others' expectations to pursue their dream, and some joyful, relatable exchanges of contestants' personal lives that the audience can relate to.
Coming to an End
As there are only a few episodes left, audiences are anticipating and eager to see the ace who is going win. It is becoming harder and harder to send contestants home as those who have made it to the third round are all talented, hard-working, and have been able to prove their ability; however, just like every other competition, coaches and producers have no option but to bear emotional farewell to their team members.
What worth remembering is how Rap Viet has successfully put together a playing field to encourage young people to pursue their dreams, show their personalities, and express themselves as dynamic, confident, and ever-growing young individuals.
Sources for biography:
https://rapviet.fandom.com/vi/wiki/Rapviet_Wiki
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