Fans of US-based Indonesian rapper Rich Brian and R&B singer/songwriter NIKI will have something to look forward to next year, as their label 88rising just announced today that they will hold a Head In The Clouds music and arts festival in Jakarta on March 7, 2020.
ANNOUNCING…HEAD IN THE CLOUDS INDONESIA ☁️ MARCH 7TH
ON-SALE THIS THURS 11AM JAKARTA TIME ⏳
2ND PHASE ARTIST ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON pic.twitter.com/GsuwAGC3tx— 88rising (@88rising) November 26, 2019
The hometown heroes will be performing on Indonesian soil alongside their label mates, such as former internet personality-turned R&B and trip-hop Japanese singer Joji, Chinese rap quartet Higher Brothers, and American singer-songwriter August 08, with more acts set to be announced soon.
Seeing that the event will be held at JIExpo Kemayoran, 88rising is likely bringing the experience of the Head in the Clouds festival in LA, which was held back in August and hailed as the “Asian Coachella” for featuring the label’s roster of mostly Asian acts. In addition, the Jakarta concert marks the festival’s first international expansion.
Tickets will be on sale starting this Thursday at 11am Jakarta time on the official website of Head in the Clouds Indonesia.
The 20-year-old Rich Brian, full name Brian Imanuel Soewarno, last performed in Jakarta on Spotify on Stage concert early last month. He’s currently on a world tour, titled The Sailor, to promote his second album of the same name, which was released in July.
Brian shot to fame with the viral hit dat $tick in 2016, known then by his controversial stage name Rich Chigga. He relocated to Los Angeles from Jakarta in mid-2017 to embark on his first US tour and joined American record label 88rising, opening him up to collaborations with his current label mates and artists such as K-pop singer Chungha and Wu Tang Clan’s de facto leader RZA.
Nicole Zefanya AKA NIKI is a 20-year-old R&B singer/songwriter born and raised in Jakarta. Thanks to her late mother, NIKI grew up listening to 90s R&B such as Aaliyah and Destiny’s Child. When she studied at Pelita Harapan School, NIKI gained popularity due to covers and original songs uploaded on Youtube, amassing more than 40 thousand subscribers at the time. NIKI opened Taylor Swift’s The Red Tour concert in Jakarta in 2014.
In 2017, NIKI moved to Nashville to study music in Lipscomb University, releasing I Like U and See U Never. She released her debut EP titled Zephyr in May of last year, as well as wanna take this downtown? EP earlier this year that featured hit single lowkey. NIKI recently released the acoustic versions of her singles in 88rising’s label-wide album, Head in the Clouds II, titled NIKI Acoustic Sessions: Head in the Clouds II.
Other than Brian and NIKI, Indonesian acts included in 88rising’s roster is 19-year-old singer Stephanie Poetri of I Love You 3000 fame, who was just signed in August. The daughter of Indonesian diva Titi DJ released the remake of her viral hit with GOT7’s Jackson Wang titled I Love You 3000 II, also included in Head in the Clouds II. At the moment, she has not been announced as a performer in the upcoming Jakarta event.
To gear you up for the concert, listen to Head in the Clouds II album below:
Related: Faces of Jakarta: Rich Brian’s ‘Kids’ video, explained
