Hàng Lâm Trang Anh, known by her stage name Suboi, was born in Hồ Chí Minh City (Sài Gòn), Vietnam on January 14th, 1990, is the first recognized female rapper, songwriter, and singer in the country. Suboi’s stage name is a combination of her nickname “su”, as well as “boi” (for boy), due to her tomboy nature; the nickname “Su” is still to this day, used by fans and fellow celebrities, who give her the nickname “Chị Su”, for “big sister Su”.

Suboi was born to a mother worked at the Australian consulate, while her father worked as a factory manager. Despite her current demeanor and stage presence, she admits that she was shy growing up, and threw herself into poem writing and composing.

At the age of 14, she began to grow an interest in hip-hop and rap and skateboarding, and also practiced English through the genre, citing artists like Eminem as one of her “teachers”. A year later, she joined a nu-metal band that covered many Linkin Park songs and gained relevance in the underground music scene.

In her personal life, Suboi admits that around this time, she began hanging out with people who she now admits and considers as bad influences and began to become a rebellious teenager, which made her parents keep a closer eye on her as a result.

In order for Suboi to pursue a career in music, she took up jobs as an English teacher as well as being an entertainer for children’s parties. Eventually, she was signed to her first label – Music Faces – by the age of 17, after being noticed by rapper and producer Rapsoul. However, around this time, her father also lost his job due to an unfortunate accident. As a result, Suboi was forced to find work, while also dealing with the death of her best friend. The record contract came just in time for the budding star.

Later, Suboi fell in love with a foreigner from abroad on the internet, however, the relationship would turn out to be no fairytale. When the boyfriend traveled to Vietnam to meet her, he began to physically abuse her. As a result of the traumatic experience, Su further buried herself into music.

Thankfully, two years later, in 2009, she signed with an entertainment company at the age of 19 – signing to Đức Trí’s company after being recommended by Dương Khắc Linh. Such an occasion was rare in Vietnam at the time, as hip-hop was only popular in the underground and on online forums.

In 2010, Suboi released her debut EP Bước (Walk), which featured a 2009 track with one of Vietnam’s pop princesses – Hồ Ngọc Hà. The track helped the newbie rapper reach mainstream stardom; she was only 20 years old at the time.

In 2016, during former president of the United States President Obama’s visit to Vietnam, Suboi once sat in the audience and asked him a question and even rapped for the sitting president after discovering she was a rapper; she had rapped a verse from her early track “Trời Cho”, which released in 2015 – a year prior to the former president’s visit.

Suboi can speak English as well as Vietnamese and is considered a pioneer in hip hop for Vietnamese women, paving the way for other Vietnamese women to express themselves in the genre.