Decoding Black Vau

From a sanitation worker, Den Vau became a top rapper. Den Vau's love for music and always striving for good things has inspired him to live and contribute to the community.

Private path

Den Vau in community activities. Photo: Trong Tai

Den Vau's music is simple, with many elements of everyday life since he first started his career. Dua nhau di tro has been successful because of that simplicity and closeness, in the period when the color of rap in the Vietnamese music market was still dry, the number of rappers making their mark in the mainstream was still modest.

Cooking for you is the 16th MV topping the trending music list of Den Vau on YouTube. After 10 years of posting videos on YouTube, the rapper from Quang Ninh has earned nearly 2 billion views. Den Vau currently has more than one million listens on the Spotify platform, placing him among the Vietnamese artists with the most listeners in digital music alone.

Den Vau puts his soul into art and creates his own path.

“Thank life for giving Den a job, the ability and opportunity to serve the community!”

Rapper Den Vau

Whether Den Vau’s products truly reflect the personality and culture of rap is a topic that is always debated. However, one thing is certain: Den Vau has succeeded in integrating rap music into the mainstream of the popular music market. Thanks to that, Den Vau has a path that can separate the rap world but is closest to the Vietnamese audience.

Rappers often choose a unique style and fashion, worshiping Hip Hop culture, while Den Vau is rustic and simple. Most rappers will wear something on their body to show their “coolness” such as hairstyle, jewelry, tattoos; but Den Vau is simple and is likened to a farmer in the form of a rapper.

Vietnamese rap music, influenced by European and American rap, is constantly updating its genre. Right now, most Vietnamese rappers follow the Trap, Drill, Melodic genres, with increasingly powerful, electronic music, with lyrics mostly featuring flexing (showing off) and criticizing themes. Meanwhile, Den's music remains safe, ignoring the trend of writing English lyrics or using Auto tune (voice-correcting technology).

Expressing personality and individuality is one of the important factors of a rapper in the market. However, it is different for Den. The factor that creates his brand does not come from music that shows off and elevates his own value, but is expressed through products that connect with the community.

The key to Den Vau's success is his rap songs that have a strong impact on the majority. Each of his words makes listeners ponder and wonder: "Is that me?". Typically, in "Dua nhau di tro", Den Vau calls on listeners to enjoy life more. In "Bai nay phet" (This is pretty chill), Den Vau exploits the suffocation and pressure of those who "Still go to work early and come home late but their salary is still not enough".

Den Vau made a strong impression with a rap about his mother - Bring money back to mom - and created an effect, when: "Bring money back to mom, don't bring worries back to mom". In his latest hit - Cooking for you, he wrote about children in the highlands, with their deprivation, hardship, and need of help from the community.

A rapper, who asked not to be named, commented to Tien Phong about Den Vau's success: "From the very first point, which is the message of the products, Den Vau has been successful. His products are all harmonized to form a rap that suits the spirit and taste of Vietnamese audiences. Not every rapper is as restrained in lyrics and music compared to the inherent nature of rap as Den Vau. Only Den Vau can do that and the success that comes to this rapper is different from the rest."

Bringing heart to the community

After finishing high school, Den Vau became a garbage collector in Ha Long Bay. Due to his family's financial difficulties, he chose to start working early. During the seven years from 2009 to 2016, Den Vau sometimes collected garbage far from shore, sometimes worked as a ticket inspector, provided information to tourists... There were times when he felt self-conscious and hung around the garbage pile all day, not knowing where to go, only knowing how to live alone, dreaming of a distant day.

Den Vau and his younger brother opened a coffee shop, met people with similar interests, but the business failed and had to close. However, he feels grateful because those years gave him life experience and motivation to pursue music. It is not difficult to find the words "thank you" and "grateful" in his public statements. As someone who has experienced hardship and life, he always appreciates everything he has, without illusions. "I feel grateful. Not because I am good but because I am lucky. I know how to appreciate the simplest things, know where I come from and what is necessary for life" - Den Vau shared.

From music to lifestyle, the way of dealing with people, Den Vau creates a feeling of honesty and closeness, even when he is an A-list rapper, as he affectionately calls his audience "homonyms" - a metaphor for people who are in tune with Den's emotions or love his music. At the age of 26, receiving his first salary, he knew how to "prepare" himself, sending money back to his parents. With positive changes in his career, his music has changed from dark to more cheerful and optimistic.

Bringing many good things from work to life, that is Den Vau. Saying this, he admits that he is an ordinary person, shy to hear compliments and thinks that what he does simply comes from innocence and sharing with the community.

Up to now, Den Vau has sponsored 690 million VND to build two schools in Son La and Dien Bien, sponsored the Spring Bus Trip - Tet Sum Vay 2024 program of the Ho Chi Minh City Student Support Center to support buses to take 2,000 disadvantaged children home for Tet. In addition, he contributed to the Nuoi Em project with more than 160 million VND to raise 30 students for 4 years. The entire revenue from the MV Cooking for Children is 400 million VND, which Den used to build four computer rooms for children in the highlands.

When being honored as one of the 10 Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces of 2023, Den Vau expressed that this is a great honor in his life and believes that this is a highlight in his artistic journey. He also expressed his wish to serve society, the community and the audience. He sent his thanks to the public, life "always encouraging, supporting and tolerant so that Den's compositions can reach everyone's ears".

Den Vau's real name is Nguyen Duc Cuong , born in 1989, in Quang Ninh. With his positive contributions in the field of art as well as community and social activities, he was honored by the Central Youth Union as one of the 10 Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces of 2023.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/giai-ma-den-vau-post1631796.tpo