A Unique Aura: Rich Brian Wraps Up The Sailor Tour

At the tender age of 20, Rich Brian is exactly what this generation of Hip Hop needs.

Known for his sarcastically awkward theatrics, the Indonesian rapper is proving to kids everywhere that anything is possible, including accidentally becoming one of today’s most prominent Asian figures in the rap scene.

In support of his second studio album, a rather sick Brian pulled up to The Observatory in Santa Ana for The Sailor Tour and didn’t disappoint.

Despite being under the weather, Brian still showed up and was able to display his raw talent as a musician and an entertainer to a sold out venue. To be quite honest, it wasn’t noticeable that he was sick. At all.

With a live band performing behind him, his energy was felt throughout the building. A quick glare and smile into the crowd evokes wild cheers and screams of joy.

But it wasn’t always like that for Brian.

His pre-fame history is filled with seemingly pointless Youtube videos at first glance. His rise to fame in the music industry was one that wasn’t planned or expected, but more so something that just fell straight onto his lap.

One of those videos, the viral visuals for his first hit “Dat $tick” started off as a joke but caught the attention of rappers like 21 Savage, who mentioned that the song was dope but “didn’t match (Brian).”

The joint even caught the attention of an OG in Ghostface Killah. Eventually, Ghostface even jumped on the remix along with Pouya a few months later.

The “Glow Like Dat” rapper, who was known as Rich Chigga at the time, then realized that he could take this music stuff seriously and began to roll with it.

To add another impressive bullet point to his resume, Brian even garnered interest from the late XXXTentacion. The two collaborated on an intense track dubbed “Gospel” along with Keith Ape, another well-known figure in the Asian rap scene.

Riding the high horse of his success, Brian ended up signing with record label 88Rising, releasing both of his albums: Amen in 2017 and The Sailor earlier this year. Since then, the rest has only been an upward trend for the deep-voiced artist.

Although The Sailor Tour US leg wrapped up last Saturday in San Diego, you can check out some of the shots from the show below. With Brian being such a youngster, he’s sure to hit the road again sometime in the future.

Contact the writer/photographer at brianaustinalvarado@gmail.com or @visualsnipe on Twitter and Instagram.