Interview en français en première page !
Vietnamese female rapper Suboi, who we already interviewed in 2013, stopped by in France this summer, to work but also to rest a little bit. After several months without seeing her release new music, Suboi unveiled the single ‘Đời‘ earlier this year, and let us expect for more songs later. In spite of his tight schedule during her trip in France, Suboi took the time to answer our questions ! Learn more about her future projects and the way how she sees Vietnamese hip-hop culture nowadays !
Check it out :
Hi Suboi, today is our second interview with you since your last visit in Paris in 2013, why are you here again in our capital city ?
“Hi, this is Suboi, I was there for a fashion shoot. You know, it’s kind of a big deal for me for this year to my comeback and my carrier. This is all I can say right now (laughs). They’re gonna announce why I was there in September and they’re gonna launch it in October. I’m very excited, this is a big new for me and it’s like one of my first international work ever.”
Lately, you revealed a brand new logo for your 2016 comeback, is this a way for you to show a new image of yourself ?
“I mean, for the image you will see day by day I guess. But the logo really is something personal and I’d like to call it a ‘rebranding’. You know, I love to relaunch Suboi entertainment, I love to rebrand myself and I’m all independent. This logo is actually designed by The Lab Saigon [editor’s note : a design company] and there are very talented people in Saigon. They know my story, they know what I’ve been through and they know what I stand for, so I’m thankful to have new people around me, that put things together and make it happen.”
The first single that you released this year was « ĐỜI », could you talk about the main topic of the song ?
“‘ĐỜI’ is about my past. You know, I’ve been through some, but I learned so much, as to my dad. Really, he was always like a man who kind of talked negative about life, cause he’s been through a lot, and it’s so unfair for him. He tried so hard, he learned, he studied very well and then he worked really hard for the family but he always have struggle with his life. ‘ĐỜI’ is about my dad when he was going through the stress of losing our house. He worked his whole life for our family, he even got into a motorbike accident and then lost his job around the same time. So, from what I saw, dealing with humiliation as the man of the family was what broke him down. And I really wrote the song for this event to show that things in life are very unexpected, unpredictable. ‘ĐỜI’ means ‘Life’.”
‘ĐỜI’ music video :
Asia is also well-known for its censorship, have you ever got any issues regarding the lyrics of your songs in Vietnam ?
“I mean, I talk about this a lot. I have songs that cannot be played on the radio just because of one word. It’s Vietnam, to have their own type of system running through the country. I mean, to preserve the power of course, but I understand and it’s also a perspective of a culture. You know, hip-hop is new to them. In the beginning, it really affected my music because Vietnam is a communist country but now it’s actually giving me a lot of chance to improve my writing skills. At first it’s a curse, but now it’s a bless (laughs). Not really, I’m just kidding, because I’ve been using my metaphors and poetic rhymes. But now I really don’t care anymore, because of internet. There is always a way to say what I want to say and everything belongs to its place. Like if I go on TV, I’m gonna have a selective song or if I play in some club, I do whatever I want. The messages are the same, so it’s the just the way I say it that is different. But yeah, censorship is a thing in Vietnam and they want everything under control because especially if you’re an artist you’re an influencer with some people.”
A few weeks after the release of « ĐỜI », you unveiled the song « Lắm Mồm » in June. Are you planning to release another single this summer ?
“At first, I’d like to talk about the song ‘Lắm Mồm’ because this is something very personal. One time I was in New York, and I received a Facebook message from a young friend and he just informed me that the producer of the song – his name is Le Huy Viet – really killed himself. He was a young brother of mine – I called him ‘brother’ but he was like a young friend – he was 23, and he was very talented. We were in the process of this ‘Lắm Mồm’ song. Ironically, ‘Lắm Mồm’ is about how I fight with myself internal, like the side of being an artist and the side of being a woman in Vietnam, a side of being a person, a side of being a young person trying to find a way. So they argue in the first and the second verse. I say ‘Anh ơi! nghe làm chi… lời người ta lắm mồm’, meaning ‘Hey, why are you listening to them, they’re just being talkative, they’re just talking bullshit right here’. I wish that I found time to really talk to him, really understand what he was about, but he seemed to never talk to anybody except to the young friend that I heard the news from. It’s just really sad, he was only 23, he hadn’t seen the world yet and he just moved to a small city to Saigon to work. He then had issues with his family but he was acting like he was okay. In the studio, he didn’t show much emotion, he seemed shy… I don’t really know, but this song is something really personal for me. I had to release this song. And you can here that the voice is not mixed and not mastered. It’s still unpolished but it’s a tribute to him.”
‘Lắm Mồm’ single :
Is a new album coming by the end of the year ? Could we find new collaborations on it ?
“Talking about a next single, I don’t know. Of course, I’m gonna have a new single but talking about an album is too much of a burden for me since I produced ‘RUN’ [editor’s note : Suboi’s second album released in September 2014]. It’s such a hard work and it doesn’t work like that anymore. Maybe a mixtape, or an EP, but of course I will announce it !”
Since our last interview, your albums are available on legal downloading service like iTunes, do you think of releasing physical copies of your future albums for your international fans ?
“It’s digital time so, let’s make an album first and then we’ll talk about it ! You know, if people want it, I’ll give them what they want, but right now I just want to focus on my music.”
A few weeks ago, you went to a meeting in Vietnam to share Vietnamese culture, but also to strengthen relations between the United States and South East Asia. Then, President Obama asked you to rap for him. What kind of message did you want to send to the American president, but also to the entire world ?
“The president Obama came to Vietnam and I signed up to an event, like a townhall, and I had a question for him. A lot of people talked about my rap to him but not a lot of people mentioned the question I asked him. I didn’t show up to perform, I asked the president a question about the importance of promoting artists, and culture or creativity of one nation. So, before he answered he asked me to drop some lines. I was really surprised ! I was really nervous too because he is the most powerful man in the world and I was having a conversation with him. It’s better than being on the news, so I just wanted to ask him the question. I guess, everybody wanted to hear the answer from him. What I want to say to people, is that in Vietnam we’re not just a war country, a lot of people talk about Vietnam as just a war country. Our generation was really born after the war, and everything has moved on and is growing really fast right now. A lot of people are doing their own things. I’m just one of them. The most important thing for me to really send a message is to the young Vietnamese : you know there is no perfect nation, from what president Obama answered me after that. And of course, we know our issues, we know our place, we know where we’re from and I just want people to give themselves a chance to look outside, to go outside and try to do things with other people in the world. Your life isn’t just in Vietnam, especially for the hip-hop people in Vietnam, you’re not just competing each other in this rap game that you create, but also you have to show people from the outside what you really stand for, especially coming from a country like Vietnam. It’s very small, it’s very crowded and it has a lot of opportunities right now.”
You’re becoming famous in the US, especially after attending the American music festival ‘South by Southwest’. The daily newspaper Wall Street Journal even named you « Vietnam’s Queen of Hip-hop ». Do you think that, since our last meeting, Vietnamese music scene has developed, especially thanks to your popularity ?
“I don’t really think about my popularity at all, because when we talk about famous people you can name some big names but to me I’m just one person from Vietnam trying to do my things and trying to present myself to the world. Since our last meeting, Vietnamese music scene of course has developed but not just thanks to me, because everybody has a talent. I think people are doing better than me (laughs). I like to keep it low and I’d like to say how far I can go and how much more I’m willing to learn. And that’s all I care from now on.”
Do you have any routine before going on stage ?
“To be honest, I wanna feel the vibe, I wanna see who is there at the time, I wanna see how is the venue like, how is the sound, how is the mic, and then I wanna check up with myself that my energy is okay. You know, I’m like ‘What am I gonna bring to them ?’ and ‘How am I gonna present myself ?’. I’m pretty much very nervous before any stage ; it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, inside Vietnam or outside.”
Is the American public different from the Vietnamese public ?
“I wish next time will be the question that say ‘How is the French public to you ?’ (laughs). But, the American public is like actually cool because they are open to see new things, that are open for any art around the world. They want to learn about people. The difference about the Vietnamese audience is just based on the culture. They’re not used to being loud or dancing in public or cheer for someone, but they would cheer for their favorite artist of course. If you come to big festivals you see that, you see happy young kids dancing around, jumping up and down with the music, and I think it’s really nice. Western culture is very independent, they know how to party and that was cool about it but I think the generation is in transit. The young generation is changing. I feel like we are in this transit time, when the young generation really go out. They do their own things, speak their mind and they’re very adapting.”
For you, what do people have to remind about Suboi ?
“I am someone who understands myself enough not to explain myself to a lot of people. That’s okay, because they will see it through my actions. I’d like to test myself to see how much I can do and how far I can go. I do what I love and I’m really happy with my life right now because I hang on to what I have, not to what I don’t.”
Which one of your songs would you recommend for someone who doesn’t know you yet ?
“I’d like to recommend the song ‘Trời Cho’ because that’s my favorite song, from my personal life, from the way you can dance to it, from the lyrics and the message in there. I also love ‘ĐỜI’ because it’s a part of my story and ‘Lắm Mồm’ cause it’s really something that is really personal. And more songs coming up, I don’t want you to see me angry all the time (laughs). Because I’m indeed a very happy person !”
‘Trời Cho’ song :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iSYhF7K8SQ
Suboi, Thank you so much for your time ! See you next time !
“Merci beaucoup [editor’s note : which means « thank you very much » in French], see you next time !”
In the meantime, the announce for the fashion shoot was made. The young woman was presented as one of the ambassadors of the fashion collab between Kenzo et H&M. The collection will officially be launched on 3rd November, a little later as previously announced. We’ll have to wait a little bit more for newt Suboi’s single, because she’s now working for fashion industry !
Thanks a lot Suboi for your sweetness and your time !
