Exporting Hip Hop Culture, Why Not?

Hip Hop has gradually become popular among young people. After a conversation with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Viet Max, a representative of the underground community, shared more deeply about Vietnamese Hip Hop art and culture.

Viet Max's family took a souvenir photo with Apple CEO. (Photo: NVCC)

Can you share your feelings when talking with Apple CEO Tim Cook when this world-famous CEO recently visited Vietnam? Is there any opportunity for cooperation between the Vietnamese underground community and Apple, and if so, to what extent?

I was lucky and really surprised when Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the Workshop event about skills as well as building the image of Street Dancer and the Hip Hop community. From here, the story about Hip Hop street art culture was the topic of the conversation with Mr. Tim Cook. What impressed me about Tim Cook is his friendliness and always asking questions to explore and discover about Vietnam's Hip Hop culture.

I don't know what Apple's future strategy will be, but I believe that with Apple's ideals, they will always aim for high quality and social value in cooperation as well as promotional campaigns. It is a bridge to people with real talent in all different fields.

Viet Max has been involved with Vietnamese Hip Hop culture and art since his youth. (Photo: NVCC)

In your opinion, what positive changes can Vietnam's Hip Hop art culture create for young people, more specifically Gen Z - the generation known to be familiar with technology since birth?

Vietnamese Hip Hop culture has a profound influence on young people, not only the Gen Z generation but also starting from the late Gen X generation. Participating in Hip Hop culture helps young people practice many useful skills such as composing music, producing music, dancing, drawing... encouraging young people to be creative and express themselves in a unique way.

These skills not only help young people in their studies and work, but also help them develop themselves comprehensively. Participating in Hip Hop activities also helps them improve their communication skills, teamwork, confidence, and community building. This is also an opportunity for them to introduce Vietnamese culture to the world through Hip Hop art.

Working in Hip Hop, as you shared, is community-oriented and community-oriented. So what do you think the current Vietnamese Hip Hop community has contributed to the community and society in general?

During the 30 years of being associated with Hip Hop Vietnam, I have clearly seen the positive influence of Hip Hop on young people, helping to change their thinking positively, stay away from social evils and create a career. Currently, there are many young people who can live a stable life with their passion.

Performing and competing with the international Hip Hop community has helped promote Vietnamese culture to the world. Typical examples are the gold and silver medals at the SEA Games in the Breaking dance category.

Besides, there are many Hip Hop friends who contribute to charity activities, donating to the needy. Therefore, it can be said that Hip Hop is also contributing to creating income for many people, attracting investment, promoting economic development.

Apple CEO Tim Cook took a souvenir photo with Max Viet, his family and young people. (Photo: NVCC)

You started out as a dancer and have successfully branched out into many different roles such as director, artist, and choreographer. Which role are you most proud of, up to now?

Everything to me is art with roots in Hip Hop culture. I believe that perseverance and belief in the ideals of Hip Hop has helped me discover myself, all the hard work and effort I have put in makes me proud.

Suppose you were wearing virtual reality (VR) glasses - a product of Apple - and living in a virtual world that required you to re-establish world order from scratch, how would you choose to set up that world?

I will never choose to set up the world or want to change the world because the world will always be there. If we can change, let's try to change ourselves for the better, the world will also be better. And if a game lets me set up the world in Apple's VR glasses, I will definitely set up a Hip Hop world where there is only peace, love, unity and fun.

How can Vietnamese Hip Hop culture and art connect Vietnam with the world, in your opinion?

As I have shared, Vietnamese Hip Hop has more than 30 years of history. In 2005, the Big Toe dance group represented Vietnam to participate in the international event Battle of the Year in Thailand for the first time. Since then, Hip Hop culture has made many strides and achieved many high titles in the international arena and the Vietnamese Hip Hop community is also considered a very developed community in the Asian region.

In the past two years, RFJam – one of the world’s largest Hip Hop festivals – has come to Da Nang to organize. This clearly shows that Vietnamese Hip Hop culture and art has great potential and will develop brilliantly in the coming years.

Viet Max wants to spread the cultural and artistic values ​​of Vietnamese Hip Hop so that everyone can live a more positive life. (Photo: NVCC)

Hip Hop originated in America. In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Vietnam in using Hip Hop culture to promote its national image to other countries?

Hip Hop originated in America but when it came to different countries, it changed according to the local culture and people there. This has been proven through all the countries where Hip Hop culture is developed. If we talk about advantages and disadvantages, I think the disadvantages are only small because we have not really seen the full potential of Hip Hop culture in "cultural diplomacy".

Here are some advantages that we need to exploit more strongly:

Hip Hop is a dynamic, creative culture that is increasingly popular in the world. Vietnam is no exception, with the strong development of the Hip Hop community in recent years. Using Hip Hop to promote the image of Vietnam will bring many benefits. Reaching a wider audience because not only in Vietnam but also in the world, Hip Hop also attracts a large number of young people who are dynamic, creative and tend to accept new cultures.

Hip Hop has the ability to effectively convey messages through music, dance and images. At the same time, it has the ability to connect people together through culture. Therefore, Vietnam can use Hip Hop as a bridge to connect the Vietnamese community at home and abroad, creating the image of a united country.

In general, for me, using Hip Hop to promote the national image of Vietnam is a creative and effective strategy, with the potential to attract the attention of the international community and introduce the unique values ​​of Vietnam to friends around the world.

Thank you! I wish you continued success with your choice!

Viet Max is a dancer, choreographer, actor, and trendsetter of Vietnamese Hip Hop. With over 30 years of experience in the dance industry, Viet Max is considered a talented dancer and pioneer of Hip Hop dance in Vietnam.

He is a dance editor for major Hip Hop programs such as Big City, Ring Masterz... helping to build the Hip Hop Peace United community - a place to update information about Vietnamese and world Hip Hop.

In cinema, Viet Max made his mark in films such as "Dance of Passion" or "Saigon Yo", notably the film "Love" which caused a fever in movie theaters in Vietnam.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/xuat-khau-van-hoa-hip-hop-tai-sao-khong-269757.html