NEW YORK, USA — Coming off the heels of the Sundance premiere of his first-ever feature film, the Justin Chon-directed Jamojaya, Indonesian rapper, singer, and producer Rich Brian recently released a new single “Sundance Freestyle” via 88rising/Warner Records with an accompanying music video.
“Sundance Freestyle” features surreal, haunting production that underscores sentimental bars about Brian’s steady rise in the music scene and his recent Sundance debut. The cleverly written and catchy song carries a near cinematic quality as Brian spits incredulously, “I just took a flight to Utah man that’s a first time… Five years ago I’d be so happy to get five bands for a 30-minute set.”
The music video directed by frequent collaborator Daniel Cloud Campos, sees Brian in full movie star persona on an imagined talk show set preparing to chat about his starring role in Jamojaya. An elaborate one-take shot reveals a wide array of characters – including skateboarding keytarists and disco dancers – disrupting and causing disarray to the entire production.
This past weekend, Jamojaya premiered at the 2023 Sundance film festival. Directed by seasoned actor and filmmaker Justin Chon, the film depicts a story of a growing gap between father and son. Rich Brian stars as a young, up-and-coming rapper who wants to hire a manager and a music label from the United States to take over the reins from his father, played by Yayu Unru, who has guided his son’s career as a singer from start to fame. Most of the scenes in Jamojaya are in the Indonesian language. 88rising CEO and Co-Founder Sean Miyashiro also contributed to the film as an executive producer.
“Sundance Freestyle” notably follows Brian’s recent, self-produced track “VIVID” featuring $NOT. The breakup anthem features the rappers trading verses in a hypnotic volley, dissecting relationship ups and downs. Complex raved how on the track: “Brian effortlessly switches between his low-pitched, distinctive rapping voice, and more angelic singing vocals.”
Brian also recently headlined 88rising’s fourth annual, flagship Head in the Clouds festival in Los Angeles last August to an audience of over 35,000 and the festival’s globally expanded stages in Jakarta and Manila in December 2022.
