In recent days, social media has been stirred up by RichChoi’s new MV “Anh biet ma” (You know I do) which is filled with gambling advertisements. The product was released on February 13 on RichChoi’s official YouTube channel but failed to create an impact, with only 350,000 views so far.

Recently, some viewers discovered that the MV promotes gambling and criticized it on social media. Within just 2 minutes and 41 seconds of the MV, the logo of bookmaker B. appears frequently and prominently in scenes featuring buildings, lighting, settings, dining items and dancers’ outfits.

RichChoi even incorporated the bookmaker's name into his rap. The line "Co B. chua, ok anh co ma" (Got B. yet? OK, I have it) is repeated five times. These images and sounds were repeatedly posted by the rapper on his personal social media channels like Facebook and TikTok.

Legally, Clause 1, Article 7 of the 2012 Law on Advertising stipulates that products, goods, or services prohibited from business are also prohibited from being advertised. Therefore, advertising gambling and betting is a violation of the law. Under Article 33 of Decree 38/2021/ND-CP, individuals who violate these regulations face fines of VND50–100 million and are forced to remove the advertising content.

Recently, the press strongly condemned artists advertising gambling in the MV “Anh em truoc sau nhu mot” (unwavering brotherhood) by the group Ngu Ho Tuong. Singers Ung Hoang Phuc, Duong Ngoc Thai, Khanh Phuong, Lam Chan Huy, and Luu Hung were summoned by authorities and fined according to regulations.

RichChoi's behavior can be seen as deliberately persistent, showing contempt for the audience and disregarding consequences for money. The singer appears to have known this was a legal violation and a moral failure regarding an artist's responsibility to the community.

Limited talent, numerous flaws

RichChoi gained attention through several rap parodies noticed by the underground music community. He became famous mainly from rap battles at Dissneeland and various freestyle competitions in Hanoi. 

However, as he rose, his weaknesses became more apparent: difficult-to-hear rapping, incorrect pronunciation, and an inability to rap fast, which became major limitations in battle rap.

Even during his underground days, RichChoi was already associated with notable controversies.

Emerging from battle rap, he and other rappers often let conflicts escalate into real-life brawls. In 2018, a clash between RichChoi's group and rapper Kancc's group left some people injured and hospitalized.

In 2019, RichChoi became widely known after causing chaos in a classroom at Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted in Hanoi while filming an MV. He and his friends littered, drew graffiti and left cigarette butts in a classroom of a 10th-grade history-specialized class.

When suspected of burning textbooks, the rapper responded mockingly, saying he was "helping students incinerate books to reduce academic pressure."

RichChoi continued to cause outrage by publicly insulting the group BlackPink and using rap to sexually harass singer Jisoo in a battle rap product. At the height of the controversy, a South Korean news site criticized RichChoi by name, and the wave of anger spread to BlackPink and Jisoo fan communities in the region.

In fact, RichChoi once produced "clean" work, proving his ability to create valuable products. However, countless other rappers, more talented and decent than RichChoi, have transitioned from underground to mainstream. Unlike him, they work hard, earn money from shows, events, and legal advertisements, while adhering to mainstream artist standards and social responsibility.

After a series of past scandals, RichChoi promised to change but never abandoned vulgar rap. Recently, he drew attention by advertising illegal gambling. When the advertising scandal broke, RichChoi quietly hid/removed the MV without an apology or explanation. This action sparked speculation that RichChoi and the bookmaker had terminated the advertising contract.

Consequently, when discovered and criticized, the rapper, like many other artists, often chooses to hide the product and remain silent until the incident subsides, a dishonest attitude that shows contempt for public opinion.

Unlike Khanh Phuong or Ung Hoang Phuc, the singers who made certain contributions to Vietnamese music, RichChoi lacks such achievements; overall, his career remains dominated by shadows rather than highlights. Thus, there is almost no reason for RichChoi to continue mainstream activities while maintaining a vulgar, uncultured professional style, arrogant behavior, and legal violations for money.

Mi Le