When we last checked in with Rich Brian he was pivoting from video to a respectable rap career with his 88rising debut, Amen, last February. The nineteen-year-old artist recently announced his follow-up The Sailor, out next week, with a pair of singles, the second of which was given the video treatment today. In case you were wondering, it seems as if Brian is doing very well.
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Since announcing The Sailor last month, the rapper has been announced as a headliner for 88’s Head in the Clouds Festival (no surprise there, really) alongside Joji and met with the president of Indonesia (a bit more surprising). The new video for “Kids”—not to mention the track itself—is pretty transparent in terms of how much fun Brian’s having, as well as how much influence he has on the youth of his hometown of Jakarta. “I won’t lie, this shit is fun,” he raps as a group of young fans flocks to him, “Tell these Asian kids they could do what they want.”
Contrasting only slightly with the horror-rap influence of previous single “Yellow” and its video, “Kids” doubles down on themes of racial identity on The Sailor. With little more than a track list boasting verses from Joji and RZA to go by, the record sounds like a ton of fun—quite possibly the most fun we’ve had online since we had Vine.
The Sailor is out July 26 via 88rising. You can pre-order it here.
