HANOI, Vietnam — The taxi was weaving through evening traffic, inches from the motorbikes that were swarming it like hornets.

Such maneuvering, and proximity to danger, is common on Vietnamese roads. But Mai Khoi, the singer-songwriter in the back seat, said it felt familiar on more than one level.

“We keep going,” she said, speaking of artists who offer social commentary under the gaze of Vietnam’s sprawling police state. “But we have to be careful to avoid problems.”

Mai Khoi, once a conventional pop star, is now a protest singer who challenges Vietnam’s political status quo. Her metamorphosis, and the government’s efforts to silence her, have drawn attention to the escalating repression of political activists since 2016 by the ruling Communist Party.