When looking for 30 people under 30 years of age who are changing the game in and around the Pan-Asian region, Forbes found a paralympic skier, a few actors and actresses, a handful of athletes, a K-pop band, and a Cambodian rapper.

Record scratch and the word “Rewind” is yelled…

What is an Asian Hip Hop artist doing on this list? Even Forbes, a notoriously out-of-touch publication for the young, can feel the wave of Rap crashing onto the shores of Asia like a midsummer typhoon. They named VannDa to their Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2023 list on May 19, and the Cambodian superstar is deserving.

In 2021, VannDa put out the mega-single ‘Time to Rise,’ and things have never been the same. There was a time before VannDa and a time after VannDa. The video has over 100 million YouTube views and VannDa had the chance to be one of the biggest flash-in-the-pans in Cambodian history.

Instead, VannDa and his management team at Baramey have taken his notoriety and turned it into a lifestyle. VannDa now sells Cambodian beer [shout out to Hunuman], watches [Klassy!], cell phones [Vivo!], and more. He’s even a big part of Cambodia’s version of The Rapper, which is taking applications now.

It’s not only the extras, though. VannDa is keeping it real by producing a lot of his own beats and putting material that rocks it. He’s also got a live show with a band set-up that is one of the best in Asian Hip Hop. On top of all these things, the MC is friendly to everyone.

There are a lot of big reasons why VannDa is the first Asian rapper that was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2023 list.