Soho Rising: Vinida, the Chinese rapper pioneering a new sound in hip-hop

We caught up with the singer in Shanghai, following a performance for our Cities Without Houses members in the city, to hear about her journey so far

Chinese rapper and singer-songwriter, Vinida Weng, from Fuzhou, Fujian province, has amassed a serious following. She has more than half a million followers on Weibo, 145,000 on Instagram, and is known equally for her huge energy on stage as for her high-production videos and songs.

Vinida has come a long way over her seven-year journey, with 2021 seeing the release of her third album, Truth Of The Clay. Over the course of 17 songs and interludes, Vinida expands her fusion of US hip-hop, R&B and trap with Chinese lyrical context and traditional aesthetics.

One of the major videos for the track, ‘Jasmine’, sees the rapper star in multiple sets and looks with a crew of synchronised dancers. Programmed drums and autotuned vocals lend distinctive trap qualities to the song, while Vinida’s lyrics (translated here) read like Chinese nature poetry: ‘Jasmine, jasmine, more fragrant than all other flowers in the garden. When the jasmine blossoms even the whiteness of snow is not purer.’

Watch the video above to find out more about Vinida.