Indonesian rapper Rich Brian is arguably the country’s biggest export to the global music scene, having parlayed his insanely viral 2016 music video Dat $tick into a successful hip-hop career in the US. The 19-year-old rapper was even invited to meet President Joko Widodo just over a week ago, with the head of state proclaiming that Brian “makes Indonesians proud”.
But, not everyone is happy with how Rich Brian — real name Brian Imanuel Soewarno — represents his country. Former Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal falls in that category, making his case in a tweet published yesterday:
Maaf, walaupun ia mungkin berprestasi, saya sbg seorang ayah memandang rapper diaspora Rich Bryan BUKAN panutan / tauladan bagi pemuda Indonesia, mengingat tweetnya yg sering bernada jorok, porno, kasar dan kadang merendahkan wanita.
— Dino Patti Djalal (@dinopattidjalal) July 16, 2019
“Apologies, even though he may have achieved a lot, I as a father see the diaspora rapper Rich Brian NOT as a role model for Indonesian youth, seeing that his tweets are mostly dirty, pornographic, rude, and sometimes degrading towards women,” Dino wrote, without specifying which of Rich Brian’s tweets he was talking about.
Dino, who resigned from his ambassador post to pursue a presidential primary bid for the Democratic Party in 2013, received mixed reactions from netizens for his tweet, but most of them defended the rapper.
rich brian mah kan rapper, bukan guru ppkn
— ardi ☮ (@ardibrilian) July 16, 2019
Rich Brian is a rapper, not a social studies teacher
This is where we draw the line. Indonesians always assume that famous people on media, is represent-able, a role model, when the artist just do what they like and there is a market to sell. Stop blaming the artist when the parents lack of capabilities being a role model
— Abang Ijul Targaryens | زولفن (@zulfanfathoni) July 16, 2019
Just hours later, Brian’s older sister, popular fashion blogger Sonia Eryka, responded to Dino with a screenshot of another one of the ex-ambassador’s tweets from last year in which he sought to get in contact with Brian in order to invite him to an event called Supermentor.
— Sonia Eryka (@SoniaEryka) July 16, 2019
Supermentor was an event put on by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) last year and is described on its event page as “a platform which features iconic figures and high achievers to share their life experience, work ethics and secrets of success with the general public, especially the youth”. The hypocrisy in Dino trying to invite Brian to that event and then later calling him a bad role model was apparently so obvious Erika didn’t even need to spell it out.
Dino hasn’t yet responded to Sonia or anyone regarding his tweet about Brian. On the other hand, Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) head Triawan Munaf, who was present when Rich Brian met Jokowi, defended Brian from Dino’s criticism.
“Amazing, that kid is so humble. He’s really nice. That’s why people who know Rich Brian, especially his fans, would get hurt upon reading what he (Dino) said. I always said [to Brian] to be careful when it comes to tweeting. Think before you tweet,” Triawan told Detik today.
The news about Dino’s criticism towards Brian has even reached the Presidential Palace, with presidential spokesperson Ali Mochtar Ngabalin joining those defending the rapper.
“There’s no way Dino Patti Djalal would have invited Rich Brian if he’s not competent and doesn’t serve as a symbol for youth with great careers and high achievements,” Ali told reporters today, as quoted by Detik.
“I really regret if Mas Dino has issued such a statement. What’s with the change? It’s possible if [Rich Brian had tweeted dirty things] when he just started [his career], but he’s now very focused and professional,” he continued.
Dino’s tweet became viral coincidentally with the release of Rich Brian’s latest single off his upcoming album, The Sailor, titled Kids:
“KIDS” out now. This one’s special. VIDEO COMING SOOOON
listen now: https://t.co/OU9IOsZrDb pic.twitter.com/gbBlUEHKVC
— Rich Brian (@richbrian) July 17, 2019
In the song, Brian recounts his struggle in making it big in the US as well as brushing off his haters:
Remember my first days here when it was all foreign
Now I’m on TV with James Corden that shit was crazy
[…]
You hating on me, but you know I gotta
You big in your city, I’m the king of a continent
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