After ‘Swipe’ success, rapper Alyph reveals how cosmetic tycoon Vida got involved
KUALA LUMPUR: The latest single ‘Swipe’ by Singaporean rapper Alyph featuring local cosmetic mogul Datuk Seri Vida has been making waves, both local and internationally.
The official music video for the song has garnered over four million views on YouTube since it was released on Oct 28. Meanwhile on Spotify, the song has been played over two million times.
The song has also been turned into a TikTok challenge which has garnered participation from the public including celebrities such as local girl group Dolla and veteran actor Jaafar Onn.
Even some local politicians were seen using the challenge for their campaign in the recent general election.
In an interview with portal MStar, Alyph said that he’s happy with the song’s reception and admitted he was surprised by the outcome.
The 33-year-old added that he wanted to challenge his listeners by giving them something fresh and new every time he worked on a song.
During the making of Swipe, Alyph intended to insert a dialogue in between the song and he had to go over documentaries, films and interviews online just to find the right sample.
He then came across Vida’s laugh from one of her Instagram Live sessions.
“She was laughing in that IG Live. I sampled it and when I put it into the track, her laugh actually made the song feel more lighthearted.
“It wasn’t too serious or aggressive and I liked that,” said Alyph, whose real name is Aliff Abdullah.
“I presented it to the management and they loved it as well. They said ‘Why not we just approach her (Vida) to see if she’s interested or not’,” Alyph explained.
He said that by adding Vida, it brought balance to the track and her presence in the music video has added more flair.
However, there are fans who are not so happy to see Vida, with some in the YouTube comment section asking for another version of the song minus the cosmetic mogul.
“That is the risk I’m taking. I can’t make everyone happy but that’s what art form is right?
“Some will love it while others would disagree but what I know for sure is that it was my decision and it is my choice,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Adakah Kau Mendengar singer pointed out that he may be seen as trying to utilise Vida’s popularity but that was never the case.
“I accept that some people may see it like that. But honestly, if I was jumping on her popularity, you can notice it from our marketing.
“The truth is, we kept Vida’s involvement a secret. And the track was already trending when the video came out,” he said.
On the possibility of another collaboration with Vida, Alyph simply teased “only time will tell”.