Rich Brian grows up: Indonesian rapper, formerly known as Rich Chigga, shows mature side on new album
- Rich Brian’s second album The Sailor shows a new side to the young artist whose latest songs paint a more realistic picture of his life
- The album features the likes of Wu-Tang Clan rapper-producer RZA and has an old-school hip-hop vibe
In his latest single, Kids, Indonesian rapper Rich Brian gamely tells Asian youths that they can do what they want: “Might steal the mic at the Grammys just to say we won/ That everyone can make it, don’t matter where you come from.”
At face value, these lyrics offer words of encouragement to Asians wishing to break into the (predominantly white) American entertainment industry. But if you look closer at the songs on his new album, The Sailor, you’ll see just how far this 19-year-old artist has come.
To be fair, Imanuel was then a 16-year-old living in Jakarta who learned English from watching hip-hop videos on YouTube, and had an ironic sense of humour. The nuances of American culture, especially when it comes to cultural appropriation, could be hard to grasp when you are an Asian teen who had never visited, let alone lived, in the United States.
Warning: video contains offensive language
Three years later, and after a name change and an apology, Imanuel has released his second album, showing his growth as an artist and as an individual.