Trần Lập

Trần Quyết Lập (12 December 197417 March 2016) was a Vietnamese singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lead songwriter, and co-founder of the rock band Bức Tường (The Wall). The band is considered to have the largest fanbase and most persistent activity in Vietnam, having "Đường đến ngày vinh quang" ("The Road to Glory Days") as their signature song.

In the early days of rock music in Vietnam, Lập and his band were among the pioneers of Vietnamese rock. His songwriting is considered "consistently of high quality". He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2015 and died on 17 March 2016 at his home.

Early life Trần Quyết Lập was born on 12 December 1974 in Vụ Bản district, Nam Định province, Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The youngest son of an impoverished family, he showed a natural talent for music from an early age. When Lập was a teenager, his father was half-paralyzed, and his mother suffered from severe arthritis. Because his siblings worked far from home, he had to take care of his parents by himself.

Career Lập's musical career began in 1993–1997, when he took classes on performing arts and vocal techniques in the Department of Theatre of the Hanoi College of Art. In May 2006, during Bức Tường's long hiatus, Lập was asked to host Hanoi Radio Television's game show "Vượt qua thử thách" ("The Vault").

Bức Tường years

On 26 March 1995, Lập cofounded the rock band Bức Tường, in which he was the lead vocalist and chief songwriter. The band is considered to have the largest fanbase and most persistent activity in Vietnam, having "The Road to Glory Days" as their signature song. Lập wrote the song "The Road to Glory Days" in 1998, when his band was struggling to overcome financial problems. The following year, the band hosted a live performance of their debut album (this was also their first live performance); it was estimated that about 10,000 people attended the first rock show in Vietnam. Although this show was prepared carefully and was well received, Lập regretted that the show was not as successful as he had expected. The live show was named one of 10 notable Vietnamese cultural events of that year.

In 2003, Bức Tường had a live performance in the Visages Francophones Music Festival in France. A year later, Bức Tường became the first Vietnamese band (and the only Vietnamese band at that time) to embark on a national tour. Four performances were held in Hanoi, Haiphong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2006, Lập's Bức Tường announced that they would give a farewell show named "Last Saturday". The band's fans who were not in Hanoi could watch the show on Voice of Vietnam.

After a four-year hiatus, on the Millennial Anniversary of Hanoi, Lập and his bandmates reunited and released their fourth album Ngày khác (Other Days), which showed a significant change in their musical style from hard rock/metal to modern rock (or alternative rock). The album's CD cover art included the tattoo on Lập's right hand. A year later, they performed a show called "Nhiệt" ("Heat"). The band was one of the acts performed at the ASEAN Rock Music Festival in Indonesia. On 14 December, Lập and his bandmates performed on tour in Da Nang; this show was well received by Vietnamese rock fans.

Other activities In the summer of 2007, Lập performed his song "Dế mèn" ("Cricket") in the opening ceremony of Kim Đồng's Children's Book Fair that was held in Hanoi's Children's Palace. In the same year, he served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Asian Football Confederation. Starting in 2008, for three consecutive years he served as Rock Storm's programming director for a variety of events.

In 2012, Lập was one of the judges in the gameshow The Voice of Vietnam (season 1). He attracted attention after supporting and praising the singer Bảo Anh, even though she had been criticized by others as "a disaster", and letting her pass the show's qualifying rounds, drawing many critical comments from the online community. A few days later there was an angry public reaction when he responded to the criticism by saying "leave us alone, don't mess with us". Criticism of Lập's bias towards Bảo Anh intensified. Some said that Lập was damaging his own image through his decisions on that show. There was public criticism of Lập's role and the staging of the first season of The Voice of Vietnam. In 2013, he released an autobiography titled "Bên kia Bức Tường" ("On the Other Side of The Wall") that focused on his rock music career and his tenure with Bức Tường. Lập had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer that had metastasized. On the evening of 6 November, Lập underwent nearly four hours of surgery to remove a colorectal tumor; by noon of the next day he awoke and said that he was fine. While the public was shocked by the news of Lập's cancer, he reassured them and conveyed an optimistic outlook, even saying that "it was just like a dream".

After learning of Lập's severe condition, Bức Tường's current and former bandmates and other musicians performed in support of Lập's cancer treatment. Lập's final performance, "Bức Tường và những người bạn: Đôi bàn tay thắp lửa" ("Bức Tường and Their Friends: Hands Lighting a Fire"), was held on 16 January 2016. Lập wrote a song for that show that was dedicated to his wife. In spite of his severe condition, which made him perform in a wheelchair, his appearance was described as "healthy and charming...with a great vocal". About two months before his death, during the cold season in Hanoi, Lập visited and gave presents to sick children.

Death Lập died at noon on 17 March 2016 in his home in Hanoi, at age 41. However, according to Lập's last wishes and his family's request, he was buried in Thiên Đức Cemetery, Phù Ninh district, Phú Thọ province.

Personal life Lập was married in 2003; he had a son and a daughter. His wife, Ngô Thị Mai Hoa, is a physician in the Central Maternity Hospital.

Lập's first tattoo was an angel tattoo that he got when he was 18 years old. He said that the tattoos were connected with "unforgettable moments" during his 10-year rock music career. In an online interview with the Vietnamese electronic magazine Zing, he revealed a Sagittarius tattoo chosen for his zodiac sign. He also had each family member's name tattooed on his chest.

Lập was not keen on travelling around Vietnam on Tết or other holidays. He said that on those days he usually stayed home, watching movies or playing tennis. His hobby was backpacking with one of his cruiser motorcycles. He was the owner of many cruisers, from heavy vehicles to various lines of Magma, Steed, Shadow, and others. In 2006, he bought an Intruder 800 motorcycle, valued about US$3,000 at that time. He requested a total compensation of 150 million Vietnamese đồng (equivalent to USD in ), including his songwriting fee of over 55 million Vietnamese đồng, compensatory damages of 50 million Vietnamese đồng because he was not able to release a new album featuring that song, and 50 million Vietnamese đồng for his attorney's fees.

VNG did not agree to pay compensation to Lập and claimed that, although they are the owners of the mp3.zing.vn website, Zing MP3's recorded audio content was uploaded by users and not by them.

Honors and legacy

Two days after Lập's death, the president of the Vietnam Musicians Association announced that it and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism would award him a posthumous honorary medal. In 2017, a performance titled "Trần Lập – Hẹn gặp lại" ("See You Again") was held in tribute to Lập. Almost all of Bức Tường's thirty songs (all written by Lập) have been covered by numerous bands and artists, such as Microwave, Ngũ Cung, Tùng Dương, Anh Khoa, and Tạ Quang Thắng.

Two years after Lập's death, Bức Tường reunited for a show titled "Ngày trở về" ("Return Date"). Bức Tường had a competition to determine whom to add to the band's line-up in their national tour in 2019.

The current leader of Bức Tường, guitarist Trần Tuấn Hùng, revealed that Lập would be featured in a special way on the live show "Trở về" ("Return") held at the Hanoi University of Civil Engineering. In the show "Music Home" that aired on channel FPT on 28 May 2021, Lập's wife for the first time told stories of his early life and revealed secrets about the beauties mentioned in his songs. In 2022, a documentary about Bức Tường titled Những bức tường (The Walls) was released. The film, with a running time of 116 minutes, follows Bức Tường's struggles and comeback after their leader died.

In 2015, Lập was nominated posthumously for the "Musician of the Year" award. In 2016, the Dedication Music Award committee announced that they would honor Lập posthumously the following year. In 2017, Lập won a VTV "Person of the Year" award. In 2021, five years after his death, Lập again received a nomination at the Dedication Music Awards.

Lập (center, white shirt) with Bức Tường band in a liveshow named Nhiệt in 2011. Lập and his band were among the pioneers of Vietnamese rock music. According to VnExpress, "when people listen to their music, they find a fire of passion, an intense love of life." After a Bức Tường performance in 2011 that drew over 7,000 fans, VnExpress wrote that "Trần Lập occasionally lost his voice" and that "time has had a significant impact on his voice".