Itâs been one year since Rich Brian released his debut project,Amen. In February, he tweeted, âHope ur ready for the next one :)â but didnât give any hints or details on what to expect from his sophomore album, The Sailor, coming July 26. The Indonesian rapper has kept a low profile since wrapping up the 88 Degrees and Rising Tour last year, where he got to travel across America with his 88rising labelmates Joji, Higher Brothers, Keith Ape, NIKI, August 08, and Don Krez. In 2019, Brian showed up as a guest feature on Higher Brothersâ Five Stars album, but other than that, he has been focused on creating the album.Â
It starts with âYellow,â a single that Brian has teased by clearing his Instagram, then sharing a portrait of himself in an extremely golden hue. Brian says âYellowâ is an important step forward for his art, explaining that he pushed himself to write about things that are deeply personal to him. He describes it as a song in three acts. In the first, he overcomes obstacles during his journey to America. In the second, he breaks through to prove himself. And in the third, he finds victory.
Produced by Bekon and the Donuts, âYellowâ features Bekon on vocals. Itâs a departure from older Rich Brian songs (most notably âDat Stickâ). This isnât about making another song to start mosh pits, but rather showing maturity in his songwriting and challenging himself to experiment more with warmer production. âYellowâ also has a deeper message: the idea that âeverything is possible.â In Rich Brianâs case, he immigrated to America from Indonesia after teaching himself English and became one of the biggest Asian rap stars in the world.
During our conversation, Rich Brian talked about nicotine withdrawals while on tour, working with director Dave Meyers for the âYellowâ video, the concept behind his album The Sailor, his thoughts on Tyler, the Creator, and more. The interview, edited and condensed for clarity, is below.
Your last project, Amen, dropped in February 2018. What has been the biggest change since then?
The biggest change is the writing has improved a lot. I realized on this album that I can literally title it anything. When I was making it, I was still kind of learning about writing and still trying to find my style. And I wasnât really sure, like, âOK, what can I write about?â I truly thought you can run out of things to talk about, but you actually cannot. You can literally talk about anything. Itâs just a matter of how things are worded. On this album, I am writing about things that are really, really personal to me. I am just trying to be as vulnerable as possible. Production-wise, too, Iâm collaborating a lot more versus me doing it all by myself. On this album, Iâm learning to let things go a little bit, while not sacrificing my creative freedom.
You posted a golden photo of yourself for the artwork. Tell me about the creative direction behind it.Â
That was me and Sean [Miyashiro]âs idea. First, I want to talk about how the song came about. It was about nine months ago. I was on tour with 88rising, with the whole group. It was an amazing tour. It was a bus tour, and we were playing pretty big cities. In the middle of the tour, I quit nicotine. I was like, you know, âIâma quit.â I just quit in the middle of it and I was like, âItâll be fine.âÂ
As the tour kept progressing, I didnât experience any withdrawals or anything like that, until the last show. In San Francisco, I was about to go on stage, and for some reason, I just felt really nervous. But at the same time, Iâve been nervous before shows before. As soon as I get on stage, I'm still nervous. Then I realized, every time the spotlight goes to me, I get even more anxious. I stuck it out until the fourth song. Then, mid-song, I was just so anxious and I couldnât handle it. I was like, âFuck this.â I actually ran off stage and I puked in the trash can. Â
Holy shit.
Yeah, it was terrible[Laughs]. My song was still playing. The people around me were radioing other people like, âYeah, heâs throwing up right now.â Iâm like, âYup, this is my fucking nightmare.â I finished throwing up and I went back on stage to do the show. I didnât really think about it that much later that night. I was like, âThatâs just a weird, one-time thing. No big deal.â And then I realized that was part of the symptoms of nicotine withdrawals.
A day after that show, me, Sean, and NIKI had to go to UC Berkeley for a talk. Iâm used to doing shows and this was just a talk. No big deal. I get there, and before I go on stage, I suddenly feel very, very anxious again. I was like, âOh shit, I want to fucking puke right now.â I told the assistant, âYo, Iâm gonna throw up. I donât know if I wanna go on stage right now, but Iâma try my best.â I sat down onstage and I was like, âI am so fucking nervous right now for absolutely no reason.â I had to leave in the middle of the talk just because I got so anxious. I told everybody, âSorry guys, itâs my dad calling. I think itâs an emergency.â I had to leave because I was feeling so sick. Thatâs when I realized, âOh shit, this is not a one-time thing.â
I was feeling really fucked up about that. Later that night, me, Sean, NIKI, and some of NIKIâs friends were at Seanâs hotel. Sean played me the âYellowâ beat. When everybody heard it, they were just like, âWhat the fuck was that?â But I said, âYo, play it again.â And I kept asking Sean to play it again, like, âOh shit, Iâm going to have this.âÂ
When I first started writing it, I was mostly writing about how I felt. I wasnât thinking about yellow and the whole concept yet. The song kind of felt like a play. Itâs like a song with three acts. The first act is: Iâm fucked up and Iâm suffocating. Thatâs initially how I felt at the time. I felt like every time I hit a wall. I came to America when I was 17. And thatâs when I felt like, âOK, whatâs next?â From a creative standpoint, I felt like I hit a wall and it was going to be like writerâs block. And then, the second act, which is kind of the second verse of the song, is me breaking through all that and me proclaiming that Iâm going to try to be the best artist that I can be. I want to try and inspire people. Thatâs what keeps me going.
In the second verse, you rap, âDinner, desert, eat these rappers for fun/Donât give no fucks if you donât fuck with my shit/Rock 50 stages in all 50 states, bitch/I did it all with no citizenship/To show the whole world that you just gotta imagine.â Youâre proving yourself.Â
Thatâs what I was feeling when I was writing it. That was my story.
Going back to your question about the âYellowâ cover art, it came from the creative of the music video, too. When we were thinking about the concept of the video, we wanted to do some cool, golden shit. We were shopping the idea around and pitching it to a bunch of directors. I wanted this video to look as crazy as can be because the song felt like a movie. I wanted to make sure the music video felt the same.
We pitched it to Dave Meyers as a joke, not even thinking he would reply to us. But he did. He got back to us and he was like, âOh, weâre gonna have to do the song.â We were just like, âWhy?â He said when he heard the song, he knew how important it was going to be. He was really inspired as a creator. He just said he had to do it. Dave has been so great as a creator. Me, him, and Sean worked on the concept together. He has been with us all along the way. Even after the shoot, weâve been talking every day about the edit revision. Heâs been there the whole time.
Why did you clear your Instagram?
It's cool when other rappers do it so I just did it, too [Laughs]. Iâve never done that before. I havenât dropped songs in a while. I just want to make sure people know that something is coming.
I represent those people who feel like they donât have the support that they need.
Does âYellowâ tie into Asian identity? Thereâs a lyric in the song where you say, âDonât fight the feeling cause Iâm yellow.âÂ
Absolutely. Itâs about Asian identity and in a more general sense, I wrote the song to let other Asians know that they can do what they want. Everything is possible. Thatâs not something that you really think about, but if you donât have a role model to that... Iâm not saying I am the role model or whatever. It's tough, you know? In a world where there arenât that many people doing it, itâs like, âOh, is it even possible?â Itâs not something to even think about. With this song, I just wanted to make sure people know that.
But for people that arenât even Asian, like I was saying, thereâs the whole three acts of the song. Itâs kinda like at first, youâre a version of struggling. It's basically showing that you can go through struggle with a victorious kind of ending.Â
How would you describe the final act of the song?
It's like Iâm breaking through all that shit. Itâs really a victorious feeling. Thatâs what I was trying to capture on the third act. Itâs like the world is coming together. Thatâs just the feeling.
The song is produced by Bekon and the Donuts. After mostly producing your first album, are you getting comfortable working with outside producers?
Yeah. absolutely. Theyâve been helping me on the side, just executive producing it and helping us form this album sonically. Itâs been a huge help. I have been feeling very comfortable around those guys. Itâs really tight. Itâs a really cool feeling to go to the studio every day and see the same people. Itâs kind of like going to an office, except youâre making really dope shit [Laughs].
How these guys work is theyâll do jam sessions. With Bekon and the Donuts, itâs kind of like six different producers, and theyâre all fire. The way people usually make music is they make it on the computer and send it to other people. That works, too. But the way these guys did it, and I had never done before. They would actually set up jam sessions. They would connect keyboards and guitar and computers all through ProTools and just record everything live. There would be a mic in the middle of the room for the artist. If I ever get inspired to do a melody or a four or something, I can just say it to the mic and itâs all being recorded.Â
We would jam for three hours straight, and some of them were fully realized ideas. Some were short, rough ideas, but we listened to all of it at the end of the day, like, âOK, this one can turn into a full song.â We have quite a bit of those that actually made it on the album. Itâs a really cool process.
Whatâs the story behind The Sailor?
There are two meanings. One of the meanings is a personal kind of journey. Just like me growing up, coming here to this country, being an explorer, and being curious about everythingâjust exploring uncharted territory. Thatâs one of the more general meanings. The Sailor is someone who is curious, an explorer, and just not afraid to explore new stuff. The other meaning is kind of a metaphor for all the people who came to this country, like the Asian American parents and grandparents who came to this country as immigrants. Any immigrants that came to the country for a better opportunity and to live a better life. Itâs representing all people.
Youâve always talked about Tyler, the Creator being your biggest inspiration. You saw him live for the first time in May. Have you listened to IGOR yet?
I have listened to IGOR, and I love that album. What I loved the most about that album is that it is a whole body of work. You can really tell. The whole thing from start to finish kind has its own sound. Itâs all really cohesive. Thatâs another thing that I try to achieve with this album. People donât really do albums anymore. People just make a folder of songs with two or three hit singles. I really miss being able to listen through a whole album. I was listening to Acid Rap by Chance the Rapper the other day on YouTube. Thatâs how I found most of my music: just people uploading mixtapes and albums on YouTube.
I remember being able to listen to the whole thing, where it feels like its own thing. I donât get that feeling on albums anymore, because people donât have that attention span, and that causes artists to reverse engineer things and make albums that fit what the people want. I really just want to bring that shit back. The album experience is something. Itâs crazy man.
Weâve seen a Latin boom in American music these past couple of years. Do you think we are at the same place for Asian artists? Are they being embraced more in the mainstream?
I think we are starting to. When people ask me about how Asian people are represented in America right now, I think it's better than it was. I still think we are on our way, and I think all these things that are happening are amazing, like K-Pop. K-Pop is some other shit. People love K-Pop. It is the best thing ever. Itâs amazing. I saw BTS live at the Staples Center and just seeing all these American girls singing all the Korean lyrics is the craziest shit to see. I think we are still on our way there.
My way of separating myself from [others], is I represent the independent artist, the kids who are in their bedrooms making music, and Asian kids from fucking Idaho or something like that [Laughs]. You know what I mean? People in the middle of nowhere who want to do something and want to make a change in the world. I represent those people who feel like they donât have the support that they need.