‘A boy in Hanoi’: US ambassador releases rap video to ‘connect with Vietnam people’

US Ambassador to Vietnam, Daniel Kritenbrink, released an unexpected rap video to coincide with Lunar New Year, in which he sings the country’s praises alongside Vietnamese rapper Wowy (US Embassy in Hanoi/AFP Via Getty)

The US ambassador to Vietnam has unexpectedly released a rap called “Your boy in Hanoi” ahead of Lunar New Year, to both local adoration and cringing.

Of the eight US ambassadors to the south east Asian country since diplomatic relations were restored in 1995, Daniel Kritenbrink will go down in history as the only one to ‘drop’ a music video in which he jumps out of a bus wearing head-phones and a dark suit, ‘spitting’ the lyrics: “US and Vietnam, from now to forever / We’re trusted partners, prospering together.”

It is an unusual move for the career diplomat who was appointed by former President Trump in 2017, having held positions in China, Japan and Kuwait. 

In the video, produced by culture magazine Vietcetera, Kritenbrink walks the streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Min city with Vietnamese rapper Wowy, who rose to prominence with the group SouthGanZ in 2006, and helps him prepare to enter the second season of rap contest ‘Rap Viet’.

They drink “cà phê sữa đá”, Vietnam’s famously strong iced coffee drinks, “not cappuccinos,” as Kritenbrink promises “cash for the kids, blessings for the family, love for my parents and everyone around me.”

Lyrics for his musical debut also include the gem: “I’m from Nebraska, I’m not a big-city boy / Then three years ago, I moved to Hanoi.” 

More importantly, Kritenbrink has used the stunt to wish the country a happy Lunar New Year, known locally as ‘Tet’, which is the biggest holiday of the year across much of east Asia. 

“Check the calendar, Tet is coming soon,” he sings, “Tet in Vietnam is tops”, as reported in The New York Post.

The song includes several nods to holiday traditions including cleaning the house and buying cherry or peach blossoms or “hoa mai and hoa đào,” and features Kritenbrink with a duster, rapping: “Clean the house now, friends are on the way”.

Whilst many of the country’s residents posted online about their delight in his enthusiasm and attempts to speak Vietnamese (he already speaks Mandarin and Japanese) and embrace local musicians, others were less than complimentary about the lack of dignity on display.  

“Has the US State Department turned into a rapper department?” asked Phuong Nguyen in a post on the US embassy's official Facebook page.

Whilst Stephen Turban joked in a comment on YouTube: "Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. A work that will be remembered for generations to come.”

Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that rapping has been involved in calming diplomatic relations between the US and Vietnam, who were involved in a decades-long war in the 1960s and 70s. 

In 2016, when President Barack Obama famously visited and lifted a long-standing embargo,  Suboi, one of Vietnam’s most popular artists, rapped during an 800-person reception.

But tensions have increased recently, after Washington accused Hanoi of alleged currency manipulation, as reported by The Washington Post. 

But Kritenbrink seems keen to put that to rest, rapping: 'From my shores to your shores, our friendship endures.’