Brian “Rich Brian” Imanuel is an Indonesian producer, rapper, singer-songwriter, and web comedian. He was born in 1999 and reached internet fame at the age of 16 after he released a music video called “Dat $tick” in February 2016, then going by ‘Rich Chigga’ before changing his stage name in early 2018.

Shortly after the success of his first music video, Imanuel signed onto CXSHXNLY (then re-named as 88rising), the Asian-centric music collective responsible for managing notable Asian rappers such as Dumbfounddead and Keith Ape. The move signaled a serious dedication to music by Imanuel amongst beliefs that his original music video had been created as a joke.

In 2018, he dropped the stage name Rich Chigga, which was seen by some to be racist, and began to go by Rich Brian. In an interview with The New Yorker, he expressed regret that he had chosen a “corny” stage name. His debut project, Amen, was released February 2nd of 2018, and a year later, on July 26th, 2019, he released his first studio album, The Sailor

Imanuel has stated in multiple interviews that he taught himself English by browsing the internet and watching YouTube videos. In 2012, one of Imanuel’s online friends introduced him to hip-hop. He began following popular American hip-hop artists, notably Macklemore – the first rap song Imanuel tried to learn was the 2012 hit, “Thrift Shop.” Later, in 2014, Imanuel started writing his first rap lyrics.