Rating: 6/10

The career of Brian Imanuel has been unconventional. In 2016 aged 16, he released the track ‘Dat $tick‘ under the name ‘Rich Chigga‘. The music video, in which he wore a pink polo shirt and a Reebok fanny pack, was a ‘sort of’ parody of a typical rap track. I say ‘sort of’, because whilst the video and his stage name poked fun at the genre, the song itself demonstrated his natural rapping ability. The song went viral and it currently sits at just shy of 125 million views on YouTube.

Last year he rebranded himself to Rich Brian, a slightly more PC stage name, and shortly after he released his debut project ‘Amen‘. The album had a few standout moments such as ‘Cold‘ and ‘Glow Like Dat‘, but sadly the project equally had a lot of forgettable moments.

What was perhaps more notable than any specific song on the debut album was the production. Most of the beats were made by Rich Brian himself, and they were the true highlight. Fortunately for us, this trend continues in Brian’s second studio album, ‘The Sailor’, with slick and catchy instrumentals from start to finish.

Particular production standouts include the boombap style anthem, ‘Kids’, and the chilled out summery song, ‘100 Degrees‘. Brian didn’t produce the album alone, working with a couple of outside producers, but the range of beats and styles is refreshing.

On the album, Brian takes a personal approach; discussing his struggles being away from his family in Indonesia, getting used to his new fame, all whilst still struggling talking to girls. Whilst not all his issues are necessarily relatable to listeners and his lyricism is quite average at times, his raps are endearing and engaging, especially when layered on top of polished instrumentals.

Whilst there are only twelve tracks on ‘The Sailor’, a fair few shouldn’t have made the cut. ‘Confetti‘ for example, comes across as a generic club-type song. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not awful, but given the previous track ‘Drive Safe‘, is a particularly personal and emotional moment in the project, to then transition to a song that opens with the line “blow me like confetti“, just detracts from the atmosphere and vibe that had been built up.

Given Rich Brian’s origins in comedic rap, the penultimate track ‘Curious‘ particularly stands out. Brian opens up about his struggles with anxiety, whilst joking about more light-hearted concerns, like “Imagine if there was no Drake?“: effectively rapping about a serious issue, in a comedic manner.

This project will definitely give more attention to Rich Brian and tracks like ‘Yellow’ definitely have more longevity than anything from his debut release last year. Sadly, despite the growth that ‘The Sailor’ demonstrates, I feel that he’s not quite made it to his final destination just yet, but he’s well on his way; especially given that he’s only 19.