When artists criticize each other through music: is it "work" or "trash"?

Is there a trend of dissing "exes" through music ?

Hieu Thu Hai just returned to the music scene with the MV "Crocodile Tears" on April 2 and immediately caused a stir on the charts.

Currently, the MV is at the top 2 trending in the Music category on YouTube after just one day of release.

Image of Hieu Thu Hai in the MV "Crocodile Tears".

The return to the MV race of the male rapper from Da Nang immediately attracted attention. Besides the different musical color compared to the previous song, the content of the lyrics in the MV also received much speculation from the public.

In the MV, Hieu Thu Hai transforms into a man who is deceived and betrayed by his girlfriend. The rap and singing lyrics have many lines such as: "Why didn't you pick up the phone last night/ Who did you go with and where did you spend the night?", or "Crocodile tears can't save you, I'll throw your suitcase out of here"...

This is the rare time Hieu Thu Hai shows this aspect in his work. Many netizens speculate that he is alluding to his story with his girlfriend? However, the male rapper has not yet explained this suspicion.

Previously, the song "Ngư nghiệp hư" by rapper Phao was also said to be a dig at his ex-lover. Musician and streamer ViruSs was suspected of being the male lead in the song's story. The reason was because Phao released a new product at a time when he was suspected of being involved in the tumultuous love affair between Ngoc Kem and ViruSs.

Without naming anyone, the song attacks women and promiscuous men. The song's melody is catchy, humorous but still poignant. In addition, the rap lyrics of "Ngư nghiệp hưnh" also caused a stir on social networks.

Among them, the most prominent passages are: "The person I love is extravagant, flirtatious, and has a flirtatious personality/ Unfortunately, the love song is a hindrance/ Or in other words, you call me an obstacle/ An obstacle, an eyesore and an earsore", "Making diss music like this is too nice/ Which girl is an employee/ Which girl is a partner?", or "That night, he took her into a small room/ Closed it, just listening to it, you know the current story is happening in the movie"...

Phao's diss rap was released right at the time ViruSs was involved in a love scandal.

Hieu Thu Hai and Phao's case reminds the public of the case of American singer Taylor Swift. She is famous for her habit of writing songs dedicated to her ex-lovers after breaking up. The content of the songs is often about memories or reproaches, "insulting" the person who spent time with her.

For example, "Teardrops on my guitar" (174 million views, released in 2007) was once confirmed by Taylor to be about Drew Hardwick - her unrequited love in high school.

"Forever and Always" is said to be Taylor's first song to disparage her ex-lover, Joe Jonas. Previously, Taylor Swift revealed that Joe Jonas did not dare to meet her face to face and only said goodbye through a short phone call.

Soon after, Joe Jonas released a song called "Paranoid" - believed to be an act of "revenge" on his ex-girlfriend.

John Mayer even criticized Taylor for "composing cheap music" when he released the song Dear John aimed at him.

In the songs "We are never ever get back together" and "All too well", many people also think that the singer born in 1989 alluded to her romantic relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal.

Not only exes, showbiz figures with not-so-good relationships are also said to be the subject of Taylor's songs.

For example, "Bad Blood" is said to be a satire on singer Katty Perry - a former close friend who interfered in Taylor's relationship. "Look What You Made Me Do" is considered a compilation of characters that the female singer hates.

MV "Bad blood" by Taylor Swift.

Many types of disses in Vpop

The trend of using music to criticize each other is not new. Vpop has also witnessed many cases where artists were suspected of "disparaging" others through their music products.

Remember, in the MV "Loving a Heartless Person" (currently has more than 29 million views) released in 2016, Bao Anh mentioned her retirement and being betrayed, causing public opinion to suspect that she was "indirectly criticizing" young master Phan Thanh in his love affair with Midu.

In the MV, there is a section describing the article: "Singer Bao An announced his retirement at the peak of his career, officially married young master Thanh Phan", making the audience immediately remember young master Phan Thanh and the love story between Phan Thanh and Midu.

The character's appearance in Son Tung M-TP's MV "Not Just Any Guy" is said to have many similarities with musicians Duong Khac Linh and Pho Duc Phuong.

Singer Son Tung M-TP was once said to have directly mocked musicians Duong Khac Linh and Pho Duc Phuong with the MV "Not Just Any Guy" (2015). The MV attracted more than 1 million views in less than a day after it was posted.

In the MV, Son Tung plays a guy who plays music in a tea room and is forced by two musicians to play according to their wishes. Because he was too oppressed, in the end, the guy refused to play according to the two musicians' wishes and improvised in his own way, making the two musicians angry.

Notably, these two musicians' images have similarities with musicians Pho Duc Phuong and Duong Khac Linh. Many viewers suspect that Son Tung is mocking Pho Duc Phuong and Duong Khac Linh because they are the ones who criticized him the most in the scandal of stealing foreign music beats for the song "Chac ai do se ve". Musician Pho Duc Phuong even asked the Copyright Office to ban the circulation of the male singer's song.

Similarly, Minh Hang's MV "What I need is just you" (2017) was also suspected of "teasing" Thanh Hang. In the MV, the character played by Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc declared in front of the show's organizer: "With you, there wouldn't be this Miss Ba", reminding the audience of Ho Ngoc Ha being suspected of oppressing Minh Hang when she was invited to be a judge on the game show "The Face - Brand Face".

In the MV "Little Extraordinary Thing" (2020), Chi Pu shared the entire line Huong Tram shared in 2017 - the time when Chi Pu had just entered the singing field. At that time, Huong Tram wrote: "Why are some hot girls so beautiful, so lovely, until the day you decide to hold the mic to become singers?" Along with the status are a series of angry icons.

Although Chi Pu did not directly explain this detail, her move was considered a "warning" to Huong Tram.

Chi Pu posted a photo shared by Huong Tram on the MV "Little Extraordinary Thing".

Not only stopping at suspicion, the Vietnamese rap world also witnessed a direct rap diss battle between rappers such as: ICD vs Richchoi, 16 Typh vs Thanh Draw, Rtee vs $A Milo...

With the nature of a beef (rap war), these rappers are getting more and more bogged down, using music to expose all the dark corners and worst things of their opponents.

It's 'trash' not 'music'

Musician Nguyen Van Chung also expressed that rap diss is a culture of this music genre. However, he condemned rappers who use vulgar words to insult their opponents through a product that is considered a work of art.

According to media expert Hang Nguyen, songs aimed at "revenge" and personal grudges are not new in the domestic and international music market. However, the quality of the songs has a clear hierarchy.

"Music in general and art in particular need materials from life. But copying that material with the purpose of degrading or insulting each other or elevating that material into a work of art is completely different.

Most of the songs in Vietnam that are suspected of being aimed at "teasing" individuals are not highly rated in terms of quality. The songs are still just to satisfy personal egos, "scold for pleasure", a place for people to vent their anger rather than being an artistic product.

That is why these music products only exist for a short time even though they have millions of views. The number of views only reflects the audience's curiosity, not because the work is good or of good quality.

Believing that the "indirect" works in the current music industry, if not controversial, are considered... disasters because of their lack of quality vocals and vulgar, empty language, Ms. Hang Nguyen expressed her opinion: "I consider them 'trash', not musical works."

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/khi-nghe-si-da-xeo-nhau-bang-am-nhac-la-tac-pham-hay-la-rac-pham-192250403160004257.htm