Today, I talk about something by Rich Brian, the fruit of our globalised times.
I like this song for the obvious reasons. Brian Imanuel, or Rich Brian as he goes by, has a knack for cadence. The beats are heavy but not too aggressive. His flow is just that little bit out of my grasp, but once I’m on track, the lyrics are fun, reflecting the brainchild of someone born near the turn of the millennium. It makes me think about the younger generation’s worldview and how I had previously thought of mine as becoming more and more irreconcilable with theirs. Yet, the Internet is powerful, and sometimes the result is a teenager name-checking Ronda Rousey, Dory, and Chance the Rapper in the same song. It is also how a boy born and raised in Indonesia who didn’t really learn English in the classroom comes to be going toe-to-toe with the best English-speaking rappers in the world. It reminds me that there is so much more talent in the world, whether English-speaking or not, and as it gets smaller and smaller, the pearls will reveal themselves. How can one not be excited?
Joel Mak 