Rising Khmer Rap Star Vannda

Two weeks after the release of his latest smash hit, “Catch Me If You Can,” Cambodian hip hop star VannDa shared what went behind the scenes of filming the heist-themed music video.

He spoke on his excitement about having two-and-a-half extra days to film the music video compared to his previous single, “Time To Rise,” but lamented how COVID-19 restrictions are “slowing our work down. If we don’t take time to shoot this, I won’t have any song ready for you guys to enjoy.”

The Jeremiah Overman-directed music video, which premiered on August 13, has since reached over 6 million views on YouTube as of writing. In an exclusive interview with HipHopDX Asia, VannDa revealed the process of conceptualizing the theme and said that it was “inspired by the film from my idol, Leonardo [DiCaprio], from stuff around me, from Cambodia, and everything, really.”

In a statement, the musician explained he wanted to give fans a taste of what the creative process was like, stating, “I would like to share new flavors that are fun, creative, recording, the plot twist in a song, metaphorical and inspiring for everyone during this Covid-19.”

Following the release, VannDa’s label, Baramey Production, announced that they have entered into a partnership withWarner Music Group’s ADA Asia, becoming the first Cambodian label to sign a deal with a major international record company.

Watch the BTS footage below:

Original reporting by Anisha Khemlani Via Hip