Scene Report
The LiFTED 50 Number 6: VannDa
The versatile rapper, producer & songwriter keeps on winning in 2023
The LiFTED 50 Number 1: DIVINE
The LiFTED 50 Number 2: Jay Park
The LiFTED 50 Number 3: YOUNGOHM
The LiFTED 50 Number 5: MC MC STΔN
It would be hard to surpass a 2021/2022 like VannDa had, with the meteoric success of his first few singles, but 2023 has shown that now is indeed his ‘Time to Rise.’ Even as that now-classic single passed 100 million YouTube views [the first-ever for a Khmer artist], VannDa’s second album Skull 2: Season One provided more hits, and became a legitimate Pop album on the Cambodian charts. This brought regional attention and opportunities to perform outside of Cambodia, most notably Thailand where the language barrier is less important.
Now a legitimate Asian Hip Hop star, VannDa has started collaborating with other big names like Thailand’s F. HERO, 1 MILL, and SPRITE on ‘Run the Town’, and with OG Bobby on the slappers ‘BONG’ and ‘Young Man.’ He turned in a hot set at Rolling Loud this past April and is now a name on everyone’s lips in SE Asia.
You wanna talk about juice? VannDa has over 800K Instagram followers and he only has four posts showing. Together with his label Baramey, Vannda has done the heavy lifting of putting Cambodia and Khmer Hip Hop on the musical map. We see no reason why this gifted rapper, producer, and songwriter won’t have a 2023 as big as anyone’s in Asian Hip Hop.