Bersama @richbrian, rapper Asia pertama yang mampu memuncaki tangga album iTunes untuk musik hip hop, tadi di Bogor. Nama sebenarnya Brian Imanuel Soewarno. Ia anak muda asal Indonesia yang membanggakan.
Kami berbincang soal karier Brian sendiri, juga tentang musik Tanah Air. pic.twitter.com/AgwWsiGfVS— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) July 7, 2019
Source:
https://scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/3018990/jokowi-loves-rich-brian-diplomat-thinks-rapper-rude-who-has-right Society
Jokowi loves Rich Brian, but a diplomat thinks the rapper is rude. Who has the right end of Dat $tick?
- Dino Patti Djalal, Indonesia’s former ambassador to the US, sparked controversy online by calling the 19-year-old viral sensation’s tweets ‘disgusting, pornographic and demeaning to women’
- But President Widodo is a big fan, hosting Brian at the presidential palace and calling him a young man who ‘makes us proud’
Rich Brian’s career as a rapper kicked off in 2016, when he uploaded a home-made video of his first viral song, Dat $tick, which was filmed in his west Jakarta neighbourhood. Photo: Handout
Dino Patti Djalal, Indonesia’s former ambassador to the United States, rocked the social-media-mad Southeast Asian nation on Wednesday for a reason that had nothing to do with diplomacy: he criticised viral sensation Rich Brian, a 19-year-old Jakarta-born rapper, and his tweets.
“Sorry, even though he has achievements, but I think as a father that [Indonesian] diaspora rapper Rich Bryan [sic] is not a role model for Indonesian youth,” Dino said on his verified Twitter account. “His tweets are disgusting, pornographic, rude, and sometimes demeaning to women.”
The former diplomat’s stance is at odds with that of President Joko Widodo, who earlier this month hosted the rapper at the presidential palace in Bogor, an hour away from Jakarta – and afterwards tweeted effusively about the meeting.
“Rich Brian is the first Asian rapper that could top iTunes’ hip-hop chart. His real name is Brian Immanuel Soewarno. He’s a young man from Indonesia that makes us proud,” the president said on Twitter.
Brian is an Indonesian of Chinese descent signed to American hip-hop label 88rising, which promotes Asian artists including South Korea’s Keith Ape and China’s Higher Brothers.
He initially rose to popularity for his funny content online, including jokes on Twitter when he was around 11 years old and short videos uploaded to now-defunct platform Vine. All of his content at that time was posted under a racially charged moniker, which he changed in February last year.
His career as a rapper kicked off in 2016, when he uploaded a home-made video of his first viral song, Dat $tick, which was filmed in his west Jakarta neighbourhood. A year later he signed with 88rising and embarked on his first tour in the US, where he has lived since. Last year, he was picked as one of Forbes Asia’s “30 Under 30” for his influence and huge online following.
His expletive-riddled tweets range from pure meme fodder to biting self-deprecation, such as this offering from earlier this week: “I miss when it was cool to have swag, now you have to have a personality.”
Dino, 53, has defended his opinion, telling local news portal Detik he was only voicing his opinion as “a father with teenage children”.
“I know there will be different views, it’s fine. I’m not afraid of being bullied,” he said. “I hope Rich Brian can watch what he says in the public space. Creative doesn’t mean having a dirty mouth. He can do that in the US but it’s different in Indonesia.”
Rich Brian with Sean Miyashiro,the chief executive of label 88rising, to which the rapper is signed. Photo: Bennett Sell-Kline
The former diplomat’s comments sparked an uproar online, with internet users posting about how Dino had tried to book Brian to speak at an event in Los Angeles last year alongside him and West Java governor Ridwan Kamil. Others defended Brian, saying that famous people do not have to be role models.
“Post-power syndrome is hard, sir. The Indonesian diaspora needs to support, not bring down, each other. You can be jealous, but use it to compete for goodness and achievement,” said a Twitter user named Ulin Yusron.
Said Zulfan Fathoni on the social media platform: “This is where we draw the line. Indonesians always assume that famous people [in the media] are representable, a role model, when the artist just does what they like and there is a market to sell to. Stop blaming the artist when the parents lack the capability to be a role model.”
Triawan Munaf – who heads Indonesia’s creative economy agency, and arranged the meeting between Brian and Jokowi – also came to the rapper’s defence.
“That kid is amazing, he is humble and very kind. People who know Rich Brian, and his fans, would be hurt reading [Dino’s tweet]. I always said to watch what you tweet, think before you tweet,” Triawan told Detik.
Brian is playing at the Head in the Clouds festival in Los Angeles next month before touring Australia and New Zealand.