Dat Maniac: Eminem Rap Viet, King Of rap coach, was once criticized by students for cliché music

Dat Maniac (real name is Tran Son Dat), born in 1992 in Ho Chi Minh City. Initially, Dat was a rock lover, but hip-hop, casually receiving Eminem CDs from his friend, Dat Maniac did not think it was something that completely changed his life.

"The original concept of rap was very vague to me, like people talking to music. Then I started listening to more about Vietnamese rappers to understand what rap music is like.

From there, I became interested in this kind of music. When I get to voice my feelings in music, I feel free. In the beginning, I had a group of friends who played rap together, recorded music with computers and microphones from headphones, sent music to each other through yahoo, uploaded to music websites. At that time, no one thought far away, simply playing Rap was to live your passion."

Dat knew he had a talent for Rap when he became a member of G-Fam – one of the prestigious Hip-hop organizations in the Southern Underground community. And the confidence to pursue this passion also came shortly after the remuneration appeared. VND 50,000 - that's what Dat Maniac received for his first time standing on stage and performing a rap song composed by himself.

Describing himself as someone who doesn't like to learn, Dat confessed to wondering if he would continue to rap when he was between choosing to go to school and work. For the rapper born in 1992, every school day is like coping while his family still pays money to send him to class every month.

In the end, Dat decided not to further study but to work to support his family – "I did enough jobs to make a living. When I go to work as a waitress, the food in the restaurant in my head always flies and dances words. There was no waitress like me, his demeanor was very odd. I can name or even rap about any thing or phenomenon seen like a piece of meat, a bunch of vegetables...

For many, choosing to follow an artistic path was forbidden by his family, but it was his mother who inspired him to realize his passion for rap.

When I first listened to Vietnamese Rap, I often turned on the loud speakers. Mom passed by and heard her say: "What music keeps talking. But then she saw her child getting drunk on this kind of music, making music, she saw her child enjoying Rap and not harming anyone. Maybe I've had a different perspective since then."

When my family saw that I was playing Rap, I was always energetic, my family didn't forbid it anymore. Dat knew his mother supported him to play Rap when he gave Dat money to take a taxi to attend a rap contest.

"When Dat gradually proved his ability, his mother also often went to cheer for him. At least more than 5 times I've stood on stage and seen my mom below. At times, the acting was a bit of a match.

Sometimes I wish she was in some corner that I couldn't see to act. But I was happy when she stood with a bunch of young people of this generation and danced. She didn't sit down, but stood and followed the music throughout my performance," Dat said.

Datmaniac's talent was proven by the title of winner of Rhymes Fes 2012 - a Hiphop event that attracted great attention from the rap music community.

Along with the rapid development of social networks, Dat Maniac was famous for the clip "Fastest rapping in Vietnam" posted on Youtube in 2013. The clip attracted the attention of the online community because of the young Rapper's ability to Rap quickly.

Not stopping there, Dat's ability to rap fast is further confirmed through the work "Thugs on the boat", setting a record of 176 words in 20 seconds. He is likened to the Eminem of Vietnamese Rap.

Dat revealed: "When I stopped at a red light, the countdown was about 20 seconds, then I started practicing rap. I originally planned to Rap that segment in 15 seconds – the same way Eminem did in Rap God but 20 seconds seemed more reasonable. The good use of Vietnamese, including the arrangement of words and accents in sentences, also makes the rap sound more attractive."

In addition to the remarkable "speed" of Rap, Dat music is rustic honest lyrics close to life, thereby sending thoughts of reflection on people and society.

Growing up in a family in District 1, every step on the street is the center of Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City, Dat Maniac has the opportunity to witness many pieces of life, many life stories twisted right in this prosperous land. Enjoying the variety, he did not consider himself to belong to any particular school.

In 2018, fortune brought Dat Maniac to Crow's Nest (Crow n Hyenas) - the most prestigious underground hiphop organization in the South today. Active in music, good news came to Dat Maniac at the end of 2018 when the rapper born in 1992 received an invitation to attend the program Yo! MTV Raps Asian version.

The big invitation came a way... unusual made Dat Maniac feel confused - "I received an invitation from... Facebook. I didn't even believe it was true, I had to go check how reputable the account sent me the invitation. When I found out it wasn't fake news, I was happy. I consider it an achievement in my Rap playing career. Being invited to Malaysia for the program was also an opportunity for me to get my first passport. The brothers who played with me were also happy, afraid that I would miss this occasion, so they kept reminding me to get a passport."

In 2020, DatManiac was the coach of King Of Rap with many other veteran rappers. He made headlines for choosing rapper ICD — someone who had diss him in a previous rap song that criticized Dat cliché's lyrics. At the end of the program, ICD under the guidance of DatManiac became the first and only champion of the program.

Recently, DatManiac attracted attention when launching the first solo album in their music career 'Stars Enough to Cover', and also announced a community project combining the tour through Vietnam with 2 main activities: collecting recyclables during the day, singing together at night.

According to the information, the tour travels through many provinces and fans can collect recyclables in exchange for the physical version of the album. Specifically, for every 5 kilograms of plastic waste, 1 physical album will be exchanged enough to cover. With this project, Datmaniac and its team hope to create a spread - a real positive impact on people, as well as collect more recyclables to create more sustainable products.

Dablo: Karik's student, incomplete childhood, once confronted HIEUTHUHAI Hoa Tuyết15:23:25 05/03/2025Dablo is known as a talented rapper, impressing at the shows Gentlemen Dai Chien, King of Rap and Rap Viet. Before becoming famous, he had a childhood that experienced many thorns and difficulties.