The edgy but earnest Indonesian-American rapper further leans into his identity on his first album in six years, welcoming a variety of guests on his trek through self-actualization.
Bringing up the word "identity" when it comes to one's introspective musical journey is as trite a proposition as my usage of the word "journey." And yet, when those detailed-storyline lyrics related to such congruence come from edgy but earnest Indonesian-American rapper, singer, and producer Rich Brian on laidback trap-pop songs such as "Seventeen" or "Yellow" and albums such as 2019's The Sailor, the listener gets swept up by his giddy sense of gravity and the intricacy of emotion, to say nothing of his warm, slow-grooving pace and tautly memorable melodies. What is deeply personal and solemnly silly to Brian -- even the littlest of things -- winds up as intriguing to all without any loss of self, heritage, or history. Suddenly, "identity" isn't such a limp-noodle woke word after all, but rather something with which we all can, well, identify.
From the slippery romanticism of "Butterfly" ("She the only bitch that make me clingy") and its flitting into rude sex ("She get weak for the dick, a feeling I recognize") to the chatter of his native tongue on "Jelly Air Island," Where Is My Head? sees the tough, inward-looking Brian further finding out who he is as the stranger in the strange land with the upper hand and a good, syrupy groove. Occasionally, Brian even welcomes guests on his first album in six years -- such as Toro y Moi on "Body High," Kurtis Wells on the lonely blues of "She," and Ski Mask the Slump God on the aptly titled "Jumpy" -- to aid him on his trek through self-actualization. That's all fine, and the features are solid and frisky, but ultimately, Where Is My Head? doesn't need anyone else save for Rich Brian to make his case for authenticity.