Creator

VannDa

វណ្ណដា

VannDa is a Cambodian rapper, singer and producer whose work blends hip hop with traditional Khmer music.

VannDa (វណ្ណដា), the stage name of Mann VannDa, is a Cambodian rapper, singer, songwriter and producer who blends hip hop with traditional Khmer music.[1][2] His 2021 single "Time To Rise," recorded with Master Kong Nay, carried Khmer-language hip hop to audiences across Asia and to the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.[3][4]

Early career

VannDa grew up in the coastal city of Sihanoukville. He has been writing songs since 2009 and began making music in high school, teaching himself production on a cracked copy of Fruity Loops at internet cafés.[5][3] His first single, "Y.O.U.," came out in 2014.[1] His early songs were pop and love songs, among them the ballads "A Song For My Ex" and "A Song For Ex's Boyfriend."[5][6] In 2016 he moved to Phnom Penh to pursue music, and that year he began rapping seriously.[1][7][3]

He released music on his own from 2016 to 2018 and then joined Baramey Production, the talent management and music company founded by Laura Mam.[1][8] VICE dates the signing to December 2018; other accounts give 2019.[6][1] From then on his songs turned to his love for Cambodia, its people and his pride as a Cambodian.[6] His first album, $kull the Album, came out in 2020.[1]

Time To Rise

"Time To Rise" was released in March 2021. It was written for a campaign by the mobile network Cellcard and went on to become a pop hit.[8][6] VannDa wrote it with his Baramey label mates Vanthan and Songha. Laura Mam asked Master Kong Nay to join the song, and he plays the chapei, a two-stringed Cambodian lute, and sings verses.[5][3] The track sets Khmer instruments and singing against hip hop and drill beats, and its lyrics call on young Cambodians to keep the traditions and knowledge of the past and carry them into the future.[5][1] The video was filmed at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, with VannDa and Kong Nay in traditional Khmer clothing.[1][3]

LiFTED Asia named it the best video of 2021.[1][8] In October 2022 it became the first music video by a Cambodian artist to pass 100 million views on YouTube.[1][9]

Later career

"Khmer Blood" (January 2022) was the first song VannDa mixed himself, and he has said its lyrics and video reflect Cambodian life in every province.[6] Its video was part of a campaign with Wildlife Alliance against poaching in the Cardamom Mountains.[5] His second album, Skull 2 (Season 1), came out on July 1, 2022, with the single "Young Man," recorded with the Thai rapper OG Bobby.[6][1] He has also worked with the Cambodian artists Sophia Kao, La Cima Cartel and Khmeng Khmer and the Thai rappers F.HERO and 1MILL.[8][1]

He performed at the ASEAN Music Showcase in Singapore in 2021, and he has played the Rolling Loud festival in Thailand and made his Japan debut at RAISE Club in Tokyo with the rapper Awich.[8] In the final episode of the third season of the Vietnamese show Rap Viet, he performed his song "Solo" and joined the rapper Suboi on her song "Not Ok But Sickerrr."[8][9] He was a producer and anchor of the first season of The Rapper Cambodia, working with co-producer Juvie Lin. He placed contestants on coaches' teams and advised them on flow, stage presence and voice.[8]

On August 11, 2024, VannDa performed at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics with Phoenix, Angèle, Ezra Koenig and Kavinsky.[2][1] Phoenix had found his work through "Time To Rise," which he sang at the ceremony.[3] He dedicated the performance to Kong Nay.[2] When he returned on August 14, Cambodian Olympic officials welcomed him at Phnom Penh International Airport.[2]

His third album, Treyvisai (ត្រីវិស័យ, Compass), was made with Baramey Production and Tiger Beer and released in three parts in 2025: Treyvisai I: The Search for Light on March 14, Treyvisai II: Burn Like the Sun on March 21 and Treyvisai III: Return to Sovannaphum in May.[4][3][1] The album deals with self-doubt, strength, anger, success, identity, Buddhism and the idea of a new Khmer era. VannDa describes it as the first Cambodian album divided into three parts.[3][4] Concerts for the album were planned for May 3, 2025, in Battambang and May 17 in Phnom Penh.[4] In 2025 he also appeared on "Asian State of Mind" with Awich, Jay Park, Kr$na and Masiwei, and he performed at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco on July 19.[1][3]

Music and community work

VannDa names the traditional singing styles ayai and smot, along with instruments found only in Cambodia, as the sources of a Cambodian rap sound.[8] He mainly makes his own beats and draws on Khmer oldies and pop as well as hip hop.[5][3] His 1River Music Festival and animation project supported a campaign against plastic waste with UNDP, Cambodia's Ministry of Environment, the Swedish Embassy and Mitsubishi Corporation. In 2023 the project's film was selected by festivals including the Shenzhen Youth Film Festival and the Tbilisi International Animation Festival.[5] He also played the Bon Phum On The Move concert in Kratie Province on World Children's Day, an event supported by UNICEF and the Ministry of Environment that focused on protecting Irrawaddy dolphins.[5]

Recognition

  • LiFTED Asia, Best Video of the Year, for "Time To Rise" (2021)[1]
  • LiFTED Asia, Top 50 artists, sixth place (2022 and 2023)[1][9]
  • NME, best albums of 2022, for Skull 2[8]
  • Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, Class of 2023[8]

Works


See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Vannda, Wikipedia
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Phnom Penh Post, VannDa returns to hero's welcome (August 14, 2024)
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 JoySauce, Cambodian rapper VannDa: 'We're honoring what was lost while creating something new' (July 10, 2025)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The Star, VannDa continues to push Khmer music onto global stage (March 11, 2025)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Focus Cambodia, "I am VannDa" (June 13, 2024)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 VICE, Rapper VannDa Is a New Voice From Cambodia's New Generation (July 4, 2022)
  7. ↑ HipHopDX, Meet VannDa, Cambodia's unlikely hip hop superstar (interview)
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 Phnom Penh Post, Rapper VannDa bridges borders with beats
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 VnExpress International, Cambodian rapper impresses Vietnamese audience on hip-hop TV show
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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:42.