HIEUTHUHAI: The Life Story Behind Vietnam's Rap Star

In a few short years, HIEUTHUHAI went from a teenager in Ho Chi Minh City who loved rap to one of the most talked-about young stars in Vietnam. His face is now on television almost every week, his songs play in cafes and on motorbikes across the country, and young fans copy his clothes, his hair, and the calm way he carries himself on stage. Yet the rise was not instant. It was built on small steps, on rap contests watched by millions, on songs written late at night, and on a television show that let the whole country see his humour and his warmth.

His real name is Tran Minh Hieu, and he was born in 1999 in Ho Chi Minh City, the busy southern city that most people outside Vietnam still call Saigon. He grew up in a time when Vietnamese rap was changing fast. For years, rap in Vietnam had lived mostly underground, shared on YouTube and in small clubs. Then, around 2020, rap suddenly became the biggest thing on Vietnamese television, and Hieu was standing in the middle of that wave at exactly the right moment.

What makes his story interesting is not only the music. It is the way he mixed two worlds that do not always go together. On one side, he is a rapper with a cool, quiet style, a young man who writes about love, loneliness, and late nights in the city. On the other side, he is a television star, a funny and gentle guest on a travel game show who wins over older viewers as well as teenagers. This is the story of how Tran Minh Hieu became HIEUTHUHAI.

Growing Up in Ho Chi Minh City

Tran Minh Hieu was born on 29 September 1999 in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. The city is loud, crowded, and full of energy, with millions of motorbikes, street food stalls on almost every corner, and new buildings rising all the time. A child growing up there learns early how to move fast and how to find his own space in the crowd. Hieu was a quiet boy in many ways, and people who knew him when he was young have described him as calm and thoughtful rather than loud.

Like many teenagers of his generation, he found music on the internet before he found it anywhere else. Vietnamese teenagers in the 2010s were listening to rap from America and Korea, and they were also listening to a growing group of Vietnamese rappers who were putting their own lives into their songs. Rap felt honest to Hieu. It was a kind of music where a young person could say what he really thought, in his own words, without needing a big studio or a famous teacher.

He started writing his own lyrics while he was still at school, and he began to share his work online. In those early days, almost nobody knew his name. He was one of thousands of young Vietnamese rappers posting songs on YouTube and Facebook, hoping that someone would listen. The difference was that he kept going. He kept writing, kept recording, and kept learning how to make his flow smoother and his words clearer.

His family background is not something he talks about in great detail in public, and it is better not to guess at private matters. What is clear from his own story is that he did not come from a famous family or a music business family. He came from an ordinary home in a big city, and he built his name the slow way, song by song. That ordinary beginning is part of why so many young fans feel close to him. He looks like them, he talks like them, and his rise feels possible.

Finding Rap and the GERDNANG Crew

The turning point in Hieu’s early career was joining GERDNANG, a Vietnamese hip hop group that brought together several young rappers from Ho Chi Minh City. The group became a home for him, a place where he could trade ideas, practise his flow, and learn from other rappers who shared his taste. In hip hop, a crew matters a great deal. It is not only about music. It is about friendship, trust, and having people who will tell you honestly when a song is weak and when it is strong.

GERDNANG helped Hieu find his own voice. His style is not the loudest or the fastest in Vietnamese rap. He raps in a smooth, relaxed way, and his lyrics often talk about feelings that young people know well: liking someone from far away, missing someone late at night, and trying to stay hopeful when life feels hard. That calm style made him stand out, because many rappers around him were trying to sound tougher or louder.

In those years, Vietnamese rap was still finding its place in the wider world of Vietnamese music. Pop singers and ballads ruled the charts, and rap was often seen as a small scene for young people in the cities. Hieu and his friends in GERDNANG did not seem to mind. They made music for their own generation, and they shared it online, where it slowly found a bigger audience. Every new song was a small step, and the steps began to add up.

By the late 2010s, his name was starting to travel beyond the underground scene. People in Ho Chi Minh City who followed Vietnamese hip hop knew who HIEUTHUHAI was. They knew his flow, they knew his crew, and they knew that he had something different from the rest. But the rest of the country had not met him yet. That would change in 2020, when rap came to Vietnamese television in a very big way.

King of Rap and the Big Television Break

In 2020, Vietnamese television launched King of Rap, a contest that put rappers on a big stage in front of judges and millions of viewers. It was one of two rap shows that arrived in Vietnam that year, and together they turned rap from a small scene into a national conversation. HIEUTHUHAI entered King of Rap, and his performances quickly made him one of the most talked-about contestants of the season.

The show gave him something the internet never had: a huge audience watching at the same time. Viewers who had never listened to rap before saw a calm young man from Ho Chi Minh City who could hold a stage with his words alone. He did not shout, and he did not try to look tough. He let his lyrics and his steady flow do the work, and audiences responded to that quiet confidence. His performances were shared widely online, and his name began to appear in newspapers and entertainment news.

King of Rap did not make him a winner in the simple sense, but winning the trophy was not the only prize. The show made him famous across Vietnam, and it opened doors that had been closed before. After the show, he was invited to perform at bigger events, to appear on television, and to work with other artists. The underground rapper from Ho Chi Minh City was becoming a mainstream name.

The year 2020 was also important because it changed Vietnamese music itself. Rap was no longer a small scene. It was on television, in advertisements, and in the charts. HIEUTHUHAI was one of the faces of that change, and he carried it lightly. He kept making music in his own style, and he did not try to change himself to fit what television wanted. That steadiness would help him again and again in the years that followed.

Songs That Stayed With Young Listeners

After King of Rap, HIEUTHUHAI began to release songs that reached far beyond the rap scene. One of his best-known songs is “Ngu Mot Minh”, a gentle and sad song about sleeping alone and missing someone. It is not a loud rap song. It is soft, slow, and full of feeling, and it showed that he could write about love in a way that made people stop and listen. The song was played millions of times, and it became one of the songs most closely tied to his name.

Another song that many fans love is “Ve Tinh”, which he made with other artists. The song talks about being like a satellite, always circling around someone from far away, never quite able to reach them. The image is simple, and that is why it works. Anyone who has ever liked someone they could not be with understands the feeling at once. His gift as a songwriter is taking a big feeling and putting it into a small, clear picture.

He also released songs that showed a lighter side, with playful words and catchy hooks that work well in a car or at a party. The range matters. A rapper who can only write sad songs will bore people. A rapper who can only write party songs will be forgotten when the party ends. HIEUTHUHAI could do both, and that is why his music kept finding new listeners.

Over time, his songs began to appear in the daily life of Vietnam in a quiet way. They played in coffee shops, they were used in short videos, and they were sung by fans at concerts. He was not the kind of star who forced himself on people. His music slipped into people’s lives, and it stayed there because it felt true. That slow, steady kind of fame often lasts longer than a sudden burst of noise.

2 Days 1 Night and Becoming a Television Star

The next big step in HIEUTHUHAI’s life came from television, but not from music. He became a cast member of “2 Days 1 Night”, the Vietnamese version of a famous Korean travel game show. In the show, a group of stars travel around Vietnam, play games, eat local food, and sleep in strange places. It is funny, warm, and sometimes chaotic, and it shows the stars as real people rather than polished performers.

On the show, HIEUTHUHAI surprised many viewers. Rappers are often expected to be cool and distant, but he was gentle, polite, and funny in a quiet way. He looked after the older members of the cast, he laughed at himself when he lost a game, and he worked hard at every task even when he was tired. Older viewers who had never listened to his music began to like him as a person, and younger viewers loved seeing a rapper who was kind as well as talented.

The show also took him to places across Vietnam that many people never visit. He travelled to mountains, beaches, and small villages, and he tried local food and local games. For a young man from Ho Chi Minh City, it was an education in his own country, and for the audience, it was a pleasure to watch him discover it. The show made him a household name in a way that music alone never could.

His time on “2 Days 1 Night” changed how the public saw him. He was no longer only a rapper. He was a television personality, a young star that families could enjoy together. That wider fame brought him more work, more fans, and more pressure, but it also gave him a rare gift: a career that did not depend on one song or one show. He had music, and he had television, and each one made the other stronger.

Anh Trai Say Hi and the Next Level of Fame

In 2024, HIEUTHUHAI took part in “Anh Trai Say Hi”, a large music reality show that brought together thirty young male singers and rappers in Vietnam. The show was one of the biggest entertainment events of the year, and it mixed music, dance, and competition in a way that kept audiences talking for months. For HIEUTHUHAI, it was a chance to show a new side of himself as a performer.

On the show, he performed songs, worked in teams, and learned dance moves that were new to him. Rappers do not always dance, and he was honest about how hard it was. But he worked at it, and audiences liked watching him try. The show also gave him new songs to release, and some of those performances became hits in their own right. It was a reminder that he was still growing as an artist, even after years of fame.

The show also brought him closer to other young stars in Vietnam, and those friendships led to new music and new projects. In the entertainment world, working with other artists is one of the fastest ways to learn, and HIEUTHUHAI seemed to enjoy the teamwork. He was not trying to be the loudest person in the room. He was trying to make good music with good people, and that attitude won him respect.

By the end of 2024, his fame had reached a new level. He was not only a rapper or a television guest. He was one of the leading young stars in Vietnam, with fans across the country and across Southeast Asia. Yet he still carried himself in the same calm way. That calmness, more than any single song, may be the thing that defines him.

What His Rise Means for Vietnamese Music

HIEUTHUHAI’s career tells a bigger story about Vietnam itself. In a short time, Vietnamese rap went from a small underground scene to the centre of the country’s entertainment world. Young people who once felt that Vietnamese music belonged only to pop singers and ballads now saw a rapper from their own city on television every week. That change gave confidence to a whole generation of young artists.

His success also shows how fame works in Vietnam today. It is no longer only about one hit song. A star needs music, television, social media, and live shows, and he needs to be good at all of them. HIEUTHUHAI managed that mix well, and he did it without losing the quiet style that made him different in the first place. He stayed himself while the world around him grew louder.

Today, he continues to release music, appear on television, and perform for crowds that grow bigger each year. He is still young, and his story is still being written. The boy from Ho Chi Minh City who wrote rap lyrics in his spare time is now one of the faces of Vietnamese entertainment, and the next chapter of his career is still open. What happens next will depend on the same things that brought him this far: good songs, hard work, and a calm head in a noisy world.

The Sound of the City at Night

There is a particular feeling in HIEUTHUHAI’s music that is hard to describe unless you have spent a night in Ho Chi Minh City. The city never truly sleeps. Motorbikes hum along the streets long after midnight, food stalls stay open for people coming home late, and the air is warm and full of sound. His songs often feel like they were written in those hours, when the city is quieter but still alive, and when a young person has time to think about the day and about the people they miss. That night feeling is one of the reasons his music connects so deeply with young Vietnamese listeners, because it sounds like their own lives after dark.

His voice plays a big part in that feeling. He does not rap in a loud or aggressive way. His flow is smooth and unhurried, and he lets each word land before he moves to the next one. In a genre where many rappers try to impress with speed, his calm delivery stands out. It makes the listener slow down too, and pay attention to what he is actually saying. That is a rare skill, and it is one that takes confidence, because a rapper who slows down is trusting that his words are strong enough to hold the audience on their own.

The subjects he chooses are also part of his appeal. He writes about love that is far away, about friends who have moved on, about the feeling of being young in a city that is changing fast. These are not grand subjects. They are small and everyday, but they are true, and truth is what makes a song last. A song about a sports car will be forgotten when the car is old. A song about missing someone at two in the morning will still be true in twenty years, because people will always miss someone at two in the morning.

He has also shown a good ear for melody. His choruses are simple and easy to remember, and they stay in the head long after the song has ended. That is not an accident. A good chorus is built with care, and it is the part of the song that carries it into people’s lives. When fans hum his songs on their motorbikes or in their kitchens, they are usually humming the chorus, and that humming is the best kind of fame a singer can have.

Working With Others and Learning the Craft

One of the strengths of HIEUTHUHAI’s career is the way he works with other artists. He has made songs with singers and rappers from across Vietnam, and each collaboration has taught him something new. Working with another artist is like a conversation. You have to listen, you have to respond, and you have to find a sound that belongs to both of you. He seems to enjoy that conversation, and his collaborative songs are often among his best work.

His work with the singer and producer in his circle has also helped him grow as a recording artist. A rapper alone in a room can write good lyrics, but a good producer can give those lyrics a sound that makes them shine. The beats behind his songs are clean and modern, with space for his voice to breathe, and that space is important. A crowded beat can drown a rapper. A clean beat lets him be heard, and his producers seem to understand that.

He has also learned from the older generation of Vietnamese artists. He respects the singers and songwriters who came before him, and he has spoken about learning from their work. That respect matters, because an artist who only looks at his own generation will soon run out of ideas. An artist who looks back as well as forward has a deeper well to draw from, and his music shows that depth.

The craft of making music is also about discipline. Writing a song takes time, recording it takes patience, and performing it takes practice. HIEUTHUHAI has shown that discipline in the way his work has improved year by year. His early songs were good. His later songs are better, with clearer words, stronger melodies, and a more confident sound. That improvement is the mark of an artist who takes his craft seriously, and it is one of the reasons his fans trust him to keep delivering good music.

The Calm Star in a Noisy World

Vietnamese entertainment today is loud. There are many stars, many shows, and many songs competing for attention every day. In that noise, HIEUTHUHAI stands out because he is quiet. He does not shout on social media, he does not start arguments, and he does not try to be the centre of every conversation. He lets his music and his work speak for him, and that quiet approach has made him more trusted than many louder stars. Audiences can tell when a person is calm because he is confident, and when a person is calm because he has nothing to say. He is calm because he is confident, and that confidence is attractive.

His calmness also helps him handle fame. When a star is always in the news, every mistake is shared and every word is judged. A loud star feeds that cycle, because loud words make loud news. A calm star breaks the cycle, because there is less to argue about. HIEUTHUHAI has understood that, perhaps without even thinking about it, and it has protected him. He is famous, but he is not exhausted by his fame, and that is a rare thing for a young star.

The quiet approach also fits his generation. Many young Vietnamese people are tired of noise. They work hard, they study hard, and they want music that helps them relax rather than music that shouts at them. His songs give them that rest. They are calm, they are honest, and they feel like a conversation with a friend. That is why his music is played late at night, when the day is over and people want peace. A star who gives people peace is a star who will be loved for a long time.

My Take:

I want to be honest about what I think of HIEUTHUHAI, because his story is interesting in a way that goes beyond the usual fame story. I have seen many young rappers rise fast and fall fast, and I have seen many television stars who are famous for being famous and not for any real skill. HIEUTHUHAI is different from both of those types, and that is why I keep thinking about his career. He has real skill as a songwriter, and he has a real gift for being likeable on television, and those two things do not often live in the same person.

The first thing I admire is his calmness. In a world where so many young stars shout, show off, and try to be louder than everyone else, he stays quiet. He does not need to scream to be heard. His rap flow is smooth and relaxed, and his television manner is gentle and polite. I think that calmness is not an act. It looks like the way he really is, and audiences can tell the difference between a person who is pretending to be calm and a person who actually is calm. That trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, and he has earned it.

I also admire the way he writes about feelings. A lot of rap is about money, cars, and being tougher than the next person. His best songs are about missing someone, about being far away from the person you love, and about the quiet hours of the night when you cannot sleep. Those are feelings that almost everyone knows, and he writes about them in simple pictures that anyone can understand. A satellite circling far away. A bed that feels too big when you sleep alone. These are not clever tricks. They are honest images, and honesty is what makes a song last.

There is something else I respect, and that is his patience. He did not become famous in one day. He spent years writing songs, sharing them online, and working with his crew in GERDNANG before television ever noticed him. When King of Rap came along, he was ready, because he had already done the hard work in private. Too many young artists want fame before they have done the work. He did the work first, and the fame followed. That order matters, and I think young people who want to be artists should pay attention to it.

His time on 2 Days 1 Night taught me something too. I think it is easy to be cool on a stage with lights and music. It is much harder to be likeable when you are tired, dirty, and losing a silly game in front of millions of people. He was kind to the older cast members, he laughed at himself, and he never acted as if he was too important for the show. That tells me a lot about his character. Fame can make people selfish. He seems to have stayed generous, and that is rare.

I also think about what his success means for Vietnam. When I was younger, rap in many countries was treated as a small thing, a hobby for teenagers. In Vietnam, rap became the biggest thing on television, and HIEUTHUHAI was one of the faces of that change. That matters, because it tells young Vietnamese artists that their own music, in their own language, can fill a stadium. They do not need to copy America or Korea. They can tell their own stories, and their own country will listen.

But I do not want to praise him without thinking about the hard parts too. Fame at a young age is not easy. He is in his twenties, and millions of people watch everything he does. Every song is judged, every television appearance is judged, and every mistake is shared online in seconds. That kind of pressure can break a person, or it can make a person afraid to try new things. I hope he keeps taking risks in his music, because the safest path is also the dullest one. A star who only repeats what worked before will slowly fade.

I also worry a little about the balance between television and music. Television made him famous to a much wider audience, and that is a good thing. But television also takes time, and time spent on game shows is time not spent writing songs. The music is the foundation of everything. If the music weakens, the television fame will not last on its own. I think he knows this, and his new songs after Anh Trai Say Hi suggest that he is still putting music first. I hope he keeps it that way.

Another thing I think about is how young his fans are. Many of them are teenagers who look up to him the way teenagers always look up to stars. That is a big responsibility. When he is kind on television, when he works hard, when he stays humble, he is teaching those fans something without ever giving a speech. I think he understands that, even if he does not talk about it. The way he behaves is a kind of teaching, and it is a good one.

I also want to say something about his style as a rapper. He is not the most technical rapper in Vietnam, and he would probably be the first to admit that. There are rappers with faster flows and more complex wordplay. But music is not only about technique. It is about making people feel something, and he does that better than almost anyone in his generation. A simple song that makes a million people feel less alone is worth more than a clever song that only other rappers admire. I think that is a lesson for every artist, not only for rappers.

When I look at his whole story, from a teenager in Ho Chi Minh City to a star on national television, I see a young man who stayed true to himself while everything around him changed. He did not change his style to please television. He did not pretend to be someone else. He brought his quiet rap style and his gentle manner into every room, and the rooms changed to fit him, not the other way around. That takes a kind of quiet courage that people often miss, because it does not look dramatic. But it is real.

I think the next years will be the most important of his career. He has already proved that he can be famous. Now he has to prove that he can stay interesting for a long time. That means writing songs that surprise people, trying new sounds, and not being afraid to fail in public. It also means looking after himself, because the pace of fame in Vietnam today is fast and tiring. If he can keep his health, his friendships, and his love of music in good shape, I think he will still be making music people care about in ten years.

For a reader who is just learning about him, I would say this: listen to his quiet songs first, not his loudest ones. Watch him on 2 Days 1 Night and see how he treats other people. Then you will understand why so many people in Vietnam like him. He is not famous only because he is talented. He is famous because he is talented and kind, and because his songs say what a lot of young people feel but cannot say themselves. That is a rare combination, and it is worth respecting.

In the end, I think HIEUTHUHAI’s story is a hopeful one. It says that a young person from an ordinary home, in a big and noisy city, can build a career out of words and feelings, and can do it without losing himself. That is not a small thing. It is the kind of story that makes other young people believe their own dreams are possible, and that may be the most important thing he has done so far. I will be watching what he does next, and I hope he keeps writing songs that feel true.

There is one more thing I want to add, and that is about his age. He is still in his twenties, and he has already achieved more than most artists achieve in a lifetime. That is exciting, but it is also a little frightening, because the question is always what comes next. I have seen young stars who peaked early and then spent the rest of their lives trying to repeat their first success. I hope he is not one of them. I hope he keeps growing, keeps learning, and keeps surprising people, because a career that grows is a career that lives.

I also think about the young fans who copy his style. They wear the same clothes, they use the same calm manner, and they listen to his songs again and again. That kind of influence is a responsibility, and I think he carries it well. He does not use his fame to be cruel or to show off. He uses it to make good music and to be kind on television. That is a good example, and it is one that young people need. The world has enough stars who teach young people to be loud and selfish. It needs more stars who teach them to be calm and kind.

Another point I keep coming back to is the way he handles pressure. Millions of people watch him, and every mistake is shared online within minutes. That kind of scrutiny would break many people. He seems to handle it by staying the same person in public that he is in private, which is the best defence there is. When you are not pretending, there is nothing to expose. I think that is why he has lasted, and why he will keep lasting. Pretence is tiring. Honesty is restful.

I also want to say something about Vietnamese music as a whole, because his story is part of a bigger change. When I think about how Vietnamese rap went from a small underground scene to the centre of national entertainment in just a few years, I am amazed. It is one of the fastest musical changes I have ever seen. HIEUTHUHAI was in the middle of it, and he helped to make it happen. That is a historic achievement, and it should be remembered as one. He is not only a star. He is a part of music history in his country.

For a reader who wants to understand him, I would add one more piece of advice: pay attention to how he treats the people around him. On 2 Days 1 Night, he looks after the older cast members. In his collaborations, he shares the spotlight. In his interviews, he is polite and humble. Those small acts tell you more about a person than any hit song. A hit song can be written by anyone. Kindness has to be lived, and he lives it.

I also believe that his best work is still ahead of him. He is young, he is talented, and he is learning all the time. The songs he writes in his thirties may be deeper than the songs he wrote in his twenties, because he will have lived more, loved more, and understood more. I look forward to those songs, and I think his fans do too. A career is not a single moment. It is a long story, and his story is only beginning.

Finally, I want to say that I respect the way he has stayed connected to his city. He is a son of Ho Chi Minh City, and his music sounds like that city: busy, warm, modern, and full of feeling. He has not forgotten where he came from, and he has not tried to become someone else. That loyalty to home is a beautiful thing, and it is one of the reasons his fans feel so close to him. He is one of them, and he always will be.

I also think his calmness is a lesson for the whole entertainment world. In a time when every star is told to be louder, to post more, and to fight for attention, he shows that quiet can win. His music is quiet, his manner is quiet, and his fame is built on that quiet. That is a brave choice, and it is one that more young artists should consider. Noise gets attention for a day. Calm earns trust for years, and trust is the foundation of a lasting career.

There is one final thought I want to leave with you. HIEUTHUHAI’s story is still being written, and the next chapters will tell us what kind of artist he truly is. He has already proved that he can be famous. Now he must prove that he can stay interesting, that he can keep writing songs that feel true, and that he can grow without losing himself. I believe he can, because he has already shown the two qualities that matter most: patience and honesty. A patient and honest artist will always find an audience, and I think his audience will be waiting for whatever he does next.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is HIEUTHUHAI in real life?

HIEUTHUHAI is the stage name of Tran Minh Hieu, a Vietnamese rapper and television star born in 1999 in Ho Chi Minh City. He first became widely known through the rap contest King of Rap in 2020 and later became a household name as a cast member of the travel show 2 Days 1 Night.

How did HIEUTHUHAI become famous?

He became famous step by step, first by sharing rap songs online and working with the hip hop crew GERDNANG, then by appearing on King of Rap in 2020. His fame grew much wider when he joined 2 Days 1 Night, which showed his humour and kind nature to viewers who had never listened to rap.

What are HIEUTHUHAI’s most popular songs?

His best-known songs include “Ngu Mot Minh”, a soft song about sleeping alone and missing someone, and “Ve Tinh”, a song about circling far away from the person you love like a satellite. He has also released many other songs, including performances from the music show Anh Trai Say Hi in 2024.

Is HIEUTHUHAI part of GERDNANG?

Yes, he is a member of GERDNANG, a Vietnamese hip hop group from Ho Chi Minh City. The crew gave him a home in his early years, a place to practise his flow, share ideas, and learn from other young rappers who shared his taste in music.

What is HIEUTHUHAI’s role on 2 Days 1 Night?

He is a regular cast member of the Vietnamese version of 2 Days 1 Night, a travel game show in which stars visit places across Vietnam, play games, and try local food. Viewers like him on the show because he is gentle, polite, funny in a quiet way, and kind to the older members of the cast.

How old is HIEUTHUHAI?

He was born on 29 September 1999, which makes him 27 years old in 2026. He was still a teenager when he began sharing rap songs online, and he was about 21 when King of Rap made him famous across Vietnam.