No place at Hong Kong hip-hop festival Rolling Loud for Vava after Chinese rapper backed police amid protests in city

In July, China’s top female hip-hop star posted Instagram video captioned ‘Rolling Loud in Hong Kong … see ya’. But Vava’s not in just-issued festival line-up

In August she shared People’s Daily meme saying ‘I support Hong Kong police, you can hit me now’. Was she dropped from Rolling Loud? Organisers won’t say

Reading Time:2 minutes

Chinese rapper Vava suggested in a social media post that she would perform at Rolling Loud in Hong Kong, but her name is missing from the line-up for the festival announced on Wednesday.

Published: 3:48pm, 11 Sep 2019Updated: 4:37pm, 11 Sep 2019

China’s biggest female rapper will not be appearing at a large-scale hip-hop music festival in Hong Kong, despite having earlier suggested she would be on the line-up. Vava’s absence from the bill for the debut Rolling Loud event in the city comes after she expressed support for the city’s embattled police force amid the ongoing anti-government protests.

On July 8, Vava – known as the Rihanna of China – posted a promotional video for the Rolling Loud festival on her Instagram page, with the caption “Rolling Loud in Hong Kong, October 19-20 see ya”. That led to speculation she would be performing at the event at the West Kowloon Art Park.

Then, on August 14, Vava shared a pro-police meme created by Chinese Communist Party media outlet People’s Daily. It reads, “I support Hong Kong police, you can hit me now” in Chinese characters, with the English phrase, “What a shame for Hong Kong” written below it.

“Hong Kong is part of China forever,” Vava wrote in her post.

On Wednesday Vava’s name was nowhere to be seen when event organisers released the long-awaited line-up for the Rolling Loud festival. It is headed by A-list American hip-hop artists, including Migos, Wiz Khalifa, Playboi Carti, Ski Mask the Slump God, and Smokepurpp. China’s burgeoning hip-hop scene is represented by rappers Young13DBaby, Xigga and Jinx, among others.