[Video] Indonesian Teen Rapper Dons Fanny Pack, Spits Hot Fire

When a 16-year-old puts his homemade rap video on YouTube, you don’t really expect it to go viral.

And yet the exceptionally strange video for “Dat $tick”, the work of homeschooled Indonesian teen Brian Imanuel, has attracted 6.8 million views and the attention of several online music magazines.

According to the Observer, Imanuel’s rap alter ego, Rich Chigga, began partly as a joke. The teen, who had been making comedy videos for his small online audience, began rapping about a year ago. Since then, Imanuel’s following has ballooned to include listeners from all over the world.

“It was actually half-serious,” Imanuel told Hype Trak. “In the music video, I was going to dress like a rapper, like Post Malone and A$AP Rocky. However, I had a last-minute concept change and did not want it to look like some scrawny Asian kid that’s trying to be hard and gangster—so I chose a less serious costume. But even then, there are still people who don’t get it.”

While you have to see the video to understand the hype behind “Dat $tick”, it’s worth noting that Imanuel has garnered the attention of not only your run-of-the-mill YouTube commenters but also the likes of Ghostface Killah, Cam’ron, Desiigner and Flatbush Zombies. While the rappers praised the song, there were mixed feelings about Imanuel’s fanny pack.

See for yourself below (lyrics NSFW):

[Video and Photo via YouTube user Brian Imanuel]