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You said in a song that you were working with Pharrell on something.
We didnt finish it, but that was the first time I was in L.A. Before that, Id never worked with anyone else in the studio.
Id just do it in my room; Im not used to it.
I never had to write in front of anyone.
It was a now-or-never moment.
That was the fastest Ive ever written anything, because Pharrell was in the room.
Has this always been an interest for you?
They usually never get it right.
You learn so much other stuff from self-producing.
Mixing, the other technical stuff, how to set up a hard-ass drop, what makes songs catchy.
So have any artists reached out to you about producing for them?21 Savage, actually.
I havent sent it to him yet.
Thats the kind of thing you would want to wait on doing.
To tailor it for him, theres a certain strike zone for him.Definitely.
Also, Ive just been so focused on this record.
The lyrics on this album, theyre quite different from what you were doing before.
Im super into Kendrick Lamars style of writing.
And, like, Childish Gambino too.
All the songs I put out sinceGlow Like Datwill be on this record.
I feel like that song was the turning point.
That was my first time singing on a track.
And some people were like, what the fuck is this.
I remember watchinga YouTube videothat was, like, how to make a Rich Chigga song.Ah yeah.
That was really good.
The one where he was actually rapping on it?
I love that video.
So Offset is on this album.
Id made the song (Attention), already made the beat.
Offset would sound so dope.
I thought of a couple of people, but Offset was really the best.
Sean just hit him up.
Sean was managing Dumbfoundead, he was managing Keith Ape, telling me all about his vision.
This was before 88rising started, on YouTube at least.
And I was like, This is super dope and I want to be part of this.
And its been a great relationship ever since.
I assume youve seenThe Raidfilms?Yeah.
You like those?Oh, definitely.
The second one was so good.
I feel likeThe Raid 2is underrated.
The first ones great, but if you rewatchThe Raid 2the plot is so intricate.The cinematography, yeah.
Also,The Raidwas a pretty big part of my motivation and drive to do this.
Say more.This guy, Joe Taslim, he was one of the actors.
He was, I think he was the lieutenant?
[Taslim plays Jaka, the sergeant.]
After that movie came out, he got a role inFast & Furious[6].
It wasnt even that big of a role, he was one of the bad guys.
But even that, seeing it as a kid, I was like, holy shit.
A couple ofThe Raidguys were in the first [new]Star Wars, right?
[Laughs] That was amazing.
Tell me a bit more about your family.
Theyre Chinese but theyre part of the diaspora, right?Were like a Chinese and Indonesian mixture.
I have three siblings; Im the youngest one, and my parents have been nothing but supportive.
Now, shes a fashion blogger.
I think my parents just understand the whole entertainment world because of that.
But they were also really against my decision.
And at one point Im like, All right.
Im probably never gonna be in America now, Im gonna be in Indonesia.
But then the 88rising thing happened and I told my mom.
Hey mom, I might be going to America to perform a show.
And my mom was like, Go, do it.
I definitely cannot do it without their support.
Is there a track on the album for your family?I definitely have a few lines.
But not a whole track.Not yet, not yet.
I would love to make that, though.
Youve got a lot of Asian fans, I feel like they would really like that.For sure.
Can you see past this album yet?Yeah, Id say so.
Im definitely going to keep working on songs, nonstop.
I havent lately because I have to focus on everything, like music videos.
Im thinking of just consistently putting out singles.
And I want to get into acting, that was part of my passion.
I need to take acting classes, though.
And youre how old now, 19?Eighteen.
In an American movie?Just to be, like, the second Joe Taslim.
[Laughs]
It could happen.
Theres this Asian rapper, her names Awkwafina …Yeah, I love her.
Shes going to be in the nextOceans Elevenmovie.I saw her onNeighbors 2.
I love her role in that one.
Have you seen that one?
Which is totally what I would want to do, if I was like her.
I noticed some lyrics on the album are directed at what its like to be Asian.
Is that something youre starting to delve into further?
Or are you aiming more at the mainstream?I dont think I actually went over that that much?
I did mention the
The straight-A stuff, right.Yeah, that was one of them.
Im not really thinking about it too much.
Im just writing about what Im thinking, what I think needs to be said.
Honesty is the key to good art.
Back then, when I would write lyrics, sometimes I would cringe at lines that were too embarrassing.
Thats what Ive been trying to do more.
How often do you get to go home these days?
Last time I was here for six months, though, for the tour.
Has your family been in Indonesia for a long time?Yeah.
Like they were around for the pogroms, 50 years ago?The what?
Back when all the killing happened, 50 years ago.
It was when Suharto took over.There was a thing in 98.
I wasnt born yet, but they told me some crazy stories.
My dad built a Molotov bomb and everything.
They were hiding in bakeries and my siblings were still little babies.
Is that part of the reason they kept you out of the school system?Theres multiple reasons.
Another thing is my mom noticed that I would stress out a lot about school.
I would ask my teacher how good my grades were and think about that all the time.
Being home-schooled, you really get to explore your hobbies, what you want to do for a living.
I figured out I wanted to do cinematography just watching YouTube videos.
You speak perfectly now.Thank you.
How long did that take you?
It was like having a friend to talk to.
I made an American friend on Twitter and talked to him every day on Skype.
And that was around the time you started listening to rap music?2012, yeah.
I got into Drake, Started From the Bottom, 2 Chainz.
The first album I ever listened to was by Childish Gambino.
Its like a whole different language within English.I learned a lot about American culture.
Learning rap songs, learning how to rap, really helped my pronunciation.
You have to do it fast.
It was constantly changing.
A lot of marketing, seeing how people respond.
So what was different about the response to you as a musician?
What did you have to learn that you didnt know before?Sounds, music videos.
Did you understand why people didnt like you?
Were you interested in that aspect as well?Yeah.
What did you conclude?
How did you adjust to that?…
You dont have to deal with that as muchas a comedian.
Now youre a musician who calls himself Rich Chigga.
The flows on this album, youre going less with the deep voice.Yeah.
One thing I learned through producing was this thing I call the day-and-night effect.
Going from the deep voice to the high voice.
Ive been doing a lot of that.
Youve toured in Asia.
How do they know about you there?
How big are the crowds there?The crowd is very big, actually.
I think they just like seeing an Asian face, it automatically resonates with them.
Because I didnt put it out that much.
I still repped Indonesia, but it wasnt in my bio or anything.
Do you feel like youd ever do an album focused on Jakarta?
Or would that not be something Americans would be interested in.I dont know.
On this project there are some songs where Im talking about my home country.
I would love to do that though.
Can we talk about money for a bit?Yeah.
What level of money would it’s crucial that you feel comfortable?
Like, are you already past that point?Im definitely already comfortable.
Im really not a materialistic person.
I very rarely shop.
The only money I spend is on, like, Uber and food.
This whole tour, the only thing I bought was an Airsoft gun.
[Laughs] That was it.
Even when I bought that I felt kind of guilty about spending my money on that shit.
