Suboi is the real deal. We felt that the first time we sat down across her at a cafe in Saigon and she started free flowing mid conversation. Before meeting her, I already knew she was the dubbed Vietnam’s Queen of Hip Hop. After meeting her, I knew she belonged among hip hop royalty anywhere in the world.
Her worldwide status is coming into fruition this March. After gracing her presence around Asia, Suboi is making her US debut in San Francisco (CAAM), Austin (SXSW), and New York City.
Suboi at South By Southwest in Austin.
As expected, Suboi is making splashes in the US and cultivating new fans along the way. She packed the house in San Francisco (the line was out the door), was a highlight at South By Southwest (one of the US’s biggest music festival), and is making her way to New York, the birth place of hip hop.
If you’re in the Greater New York area, grab a ticket now (here). It’s going to be a special show – this is why:
Playing to a packed house in SF
And because of censorship in Vietnam, Suboi has to watch what she says in her songs and on social media.
“I can’t talk about drugs, sex, or making money in the streets,” she said. “When I tell that to other rappers, they say, ‘What do you rap about?’”
Suboi also needs to avoid any criticism of the government.
“I have to use metaphors all the time,” she said. “It gives me a sense of a challenge that I have to go any way around what I want to say. That’s what’s exciting to me about coming here—I can say whatever I want.”
