Amid ongoing controversy over Rap Việt allegedly borrowing foreign designers’ graphics for their posters, the popular rap show has now landed in hot water again, this time involving a hardware brand.
“I received this image on LinkedIn. Can any of our fans in Vietnam tell me what Rap Việt is and why they are using the Razer Zephyr?” Singapore billionaire Ming-Liang Tan, co-founder and CEO of gaming gear giant Razer, wrote on Facebook. Alongside his post were several posters showing Rap Việt contestants wearing the Razer Zephyr face masks.
Some netizens analyzing Ming-Liang Tan’s post suspect that the Rap Việt images might have been digitally altered using Photoshop. Instead of actually buying and having the rappers wear the Zephyr masks, the show may have simply edited the masks onto the contestants’ faces.
Of course, it’s still possible that Rap Việt’s production team did purchase the masks for the contestants to wear in the posters. However, the show has yet to respond to Razer CEO’s questions. Meanwhile, Ming-Liang Tan’s post has sparked a flood of comments from Vietnamese netizens. The billionaire even promised to give away Razer products to fans in Vietnam if his post hits 2,000 likes.
As for the Razer Zephyr, it’s a sleek, high-tech mask launched on October 21, priced at $99 (about 2.3 million VND), designed specifically for gamers. Besides protecting the wearer’s health, the Zephyr doubles as a stylish accessory to boost one’s cool factor, according to Razer’s marketing.
Specifically, like other gaming peripherals and PC components from Razer, the Zephyr features flickering Chroma RGB light strips on both sides of its air filters. This lighting design makes the mask stand out, evoking the look of advanced military-grade gas masks.
In terms of health protection, this gamer-focused mask comes with an N95-grade filter and UV sterilizing lights, claiming to filter out 99% of dust and bacteria, including particles as small as 0.3 microns, according to Razer. The mask’s filter and RGB lights run on a rechargeable battery via USB-C, providing all-day power. Plus, the filters are replaceable after extended use.
