Meet the ‘Rihanna of China’ Who Was Featured in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

August 21, 2018

China’s “Queen of Rap” made her international debut after being one of the featured artists in the “

Rapper Mao Yanqi, popularly known as Vava, has already made a name for herself in China after joining a couple of local reality shows and releasing several hit songs.

She is now gearing for a wider audience after gaining international exposure with the inclusion of one of her songs in the official soundtrack to “Crazy Rich Asians.”

Originally from Sichuan province, the 22-year-old hip-hop artist has been described as the “Rihanna of China” for her flowing beats and catchy lyrics.

Mainly raised by her grandmother and her single mom, Vava stopped her formal education after graduating from junior high school.

In 2011, at the age of 16, she started working as a local singer in her hometown to help her family. At age 18, she went to Beijing alone to start making professional electronic music and rap songs.

Vava’s popularity skyrocketed in China after joining the first season of hip-hop talent show “The Rap of China.”

While she lost to winners PG One and GAI, Vava earned the distinction of being the only female contestant to make it to the final four. Following her successful run on the show, Vava gained advertisement deals and became one of the faces of Chinese hip-hop in the country.

In December 2017, the artist performed in 10 cities across the country in a national tour concert which lasted for 43 days.

“My New Swag,” a song she originally released in October 2017, would eventually find its way into the spectacular soundtrack of “Crazy Rich Asians.”

Vava fans geeked out after hearing the familiar track in the movie.

“Yeesss love that they are showing some love to VaVa and added her track to the list,” said an excited fan.

“I knew this song before watching the film, definitely geeked out when I heard it while viewing,” one netizen wrote.

“This song is the only reason I’ll watch the movie, gotta get my girl VaVa her recognition,” another one chimed in.

Featured Image via YouTube / 華納音樂 Warner Music Taiwan Official

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