In an interview with Tatler, Rich Brian talks about his new EP, Brightside, his go-to Jollibee order, and what his songwriting process with Warren Hue is like
“It's a simple question, do you got it or not?” Rich Brian opens in New Tooth, the first song from Brightside, his new surprise four-track EP. In the self-directed music video inspired by The Raid, an Indonesian martial-arts film, Brian acts out his own police thriller, portraying a S.W.A.T officer turned business executive who takes revenge on a double agent. New Tooth’s heavy, piano-driven instrumentals are matched with his equally hard-hitting lyrics. This isn’t a filler track, and it’s nothing like Brian’s recent releases. It’s rap. Quick. Intense. Yet smooth. Brian is going back to basics, and it’s clear that he’s still got it.
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Steering away from his other recent releases such as Edamame, Love In My Pocket, and Sins—which blends rap with pop and indie-pop inspired beats—Brightside has a grittier edge to it. “I wanted to just put out songs, and to just let people hear me rap, because it's something that I haven't really done as much recently,” Brian tells me over Zoom. Dressed in a black sweatshirt and a silver necklace, his hair has grown out and been dyed back to black, a striking contrast from the bright pink buzzcut he previously sported for Brightside’s album cover.
Rich Brian, whose real name is Brian Imanuel, is a 22-year-old Indonesian rapper who first rose to fame with his viral single, Dat $tick in 2016. Since then, he has moved to Los Angeles after being signed by 88rising, an American record label and Asian arts collective that specialises in managing Asian artists, with other notable artists including Joji, Niki and Keith Ape.