Biography
Vava rose to become one of China’s foremost rap figures toward the close of the 2010s, setting herself apart through razor-sharp delivery and beats oriented toward pop listeners. While building a devoted audience during her climb from underground rap phenomenon to mainstream pop presence, she began regularly securing wins in rap categories at major award shows. That fusion of street attitude and wide-reaching pop appeal appeared across projects such as the 2017 mixtape 21.
Born Mao Yanqi in 1995, she spent her formative years in Sichuan province in Southwest China. At age 18 she left high school to focus on music, performing in bars while composing her own songs. As she forged stronger links inside China’s underground hip-hop community, she sought broader exposure and landed spots on televised contests including Voice of Dream and The Rap of China, frequently advancing at least to the semifinals. The 2017 release 21 contained the song “My New Swag,” whose placement in the 2018 romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians propelled her profile sharply upward. By then routinely labeled “The Rihanna of China,” she had become an established rap star. In 2019 she entered a recording agreement with Warner Brothers and, later the same year, issued the album Mao Yan Qi.
Born Mao Yanqi in 1995, she spent her formative years in Sichuan province in Southwest China. At age 18 she left high school to focus on music, performing in bars while composing her own songs. As she forged stronger links inside China’s underground hip-hop community, she sought broader exposure and landed spots on televised contests including Voice of Dream and The Rap of China, frequently advancing at least to the semifinals. The 2017 release 21 contained the song “My New Swag,” whose placement in the 2018 romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians propelled her profile sharply upward. By then routinely labeled “The Rihanna of China,” she had become an established rap star. In 2019 she entered a recording agreement with Warner Brothers and, later the same year, issued the album Mao Yan Qi.
Singles