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TO GO WITH Vietnam-music-social,FEATURE BY CAT BARTON This picture taken on November 17, 2013 shows rap singer Suboi performing at an event in Ho Chi Minh city. In a land of simpering karaoke stars, Vietnam’s first female rappers are foul-mouthed queens of the musical underground — battling government censorship and rapant piracy to spit flow and make dough. AFP PHOTO/HOANG DINH Nam (Photo credit should read HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images) HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images
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President Obama

wants to hear Suboi’s flow. Please let him host a mixtape soon

Clinton Yates @clintonyates

Up Next From Culture

    5:12 PMPresident Barack Obama’s trip to Vietnam has been extremely fruitful.

    He’s making political moves, lightweight flexing with world food stars and now he’s out here soliciting raps from native hip-hop stars. If you don’t know, her name is Suboi, and she is heavy in the streets in Ho Chi Mihn City. Based on the description of her verse, she’s relatively woke, too.

    “For Vietnamese people, it’s different. They think rapping is not for women,” she said.

    “But that’s true in the United States, too,” Obama added, pointing out that there’s nothing singular about discrimination in the rap game to Southeast Asia. “I just mean that there’s always been sexism and sort of gender stereotypes in the music industry like every other part of life.”

    We need to see him truly flex those beatbox skills next time, though.

    Clinton Yates is a tastemaker at Andscape. He likes rap, rock, reggae, R&B and remixes — in that order.