The Sailor (Rich Brian album)

Last updated

The Sailor
TheSailorRichBrian.jpg
Studio album by
Released26 July 2019
Length44:00
Label
Producer
Rich Brian chronology
Amen
(2018)
The Sailor
(2019)
1999
(2020)
Singles from The Sailor
  1. "Yellow"
    Released: 26 June 2019
  2. "Kids"
    Released: 17 July 2019
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Exclaim! 8/10 [2]
Pitchfork 6.8/10 [3]
RapReviews7.5/10 [4]

The Sailor is the second studio album by Indonesian rapper Rich Brian. It was released on 26 July 2019, through 88rising and 12Tone Music and it served as the follow-up to his debut studio album Amen . [5] The album was primarily produced by Bekon and The Donuts, alongside Rich Brian with production contributions by Teddy Sinclair, among others and features guest appearances from RZA and Joji. [6] [7]

Contents

Background

On 18 June 2019, Rich Brian announced the lead single from the album "Yellow" through his social media accounts. The song and its accompanying music video was released on 26 June 2019, with the video revealing a new album from Brian was to be expected on 26 July 2019. [8] Days prior to the release of the album, Brian released snippets for the tracks "The Sailor" and "Rapapapa".

In an interview with Complex about the album and how it was different from his last project, Amen, Brian said:

The biggest change is the writing has improved a lot. I realized on this album that I can literally title it anything. When I was making it, I was still kind of learning about writing and still trying to find my style. And I wasn't really sure, like, 'OK, what can I write about?' I truly thought you can run out of things to talk about, but you actually cannot. You can literally talk about anything. It's just a matter of how things are worded. On this album, I am writing about things that are really, really personal to me. I am just trying to be as vulnerable as possible. Production-wise, too, I'm collaborating a lot more versus me doing it all by myself. On this album, I'm learning to let things go a little bit, while not sacrificing my creative freedom. [9]

Promotion

The album's lead single, "Yellow" was released on 26 June 2019, along with an accompanied music video and features vocals from singer and producer Bekon. [10] [9] The music video was directed by Dave Meyers. [11] [12]

The album's second single, "Kids" was released on 17 July 2019, with a music video being released 2 days later. [13] The music video was directed by Sing J. Lee. [14]

Following the release of the album, Brian released a short film titled, Rich Brian is The Sailor, on 30 July 2019, which was written and directed by Sing J. Lee. [7]

He also teamed up with Spotify and his label 88rising to present an exhibition for his new album called "The Sailor Experience" and was held in his hometown Jakarta, Indonesia, 8–10 August 2019. [15]

Track listing

The Sailor track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Sailor"
3:41
2."Rapapapa" (featuring RZA)
  • Bekon
  • The Donuts
  • Balmoris
4:07
3."Yellow" (featuring Bekon)
  • Imanuel
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • Hein
  • Sean Miyashiro
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
  • Bekon
  • The Donuts
4:51
4."Kids"
  • Adam Feeney
  • Imanuel
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • Miyashiro
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
4:30
5."Drive Safe"
  • Imanuel
  • Christian Dold
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
  • August Grant
  • Maurice Powell
  • Bekon
  • Rich Brian
  • Diamond Pistols
  • The Donuts
4:00
6."Confetti"
  • Imanuel
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
  • Bekon
  • Balmoris
  • The Donuts
  • Rich Brian
2:52
7."Vacant"
  • Imanuel
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • Melissa Lingafelt
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
  • Bekon
  • Balmoris
  • The Donuts
  • Rich Brian
2:33
8."No Worries"
  • Imanuel
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • Hein
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
  • Rich Brian
  • Bekon [a]
  • The Donuts [a]
2:43
9."100 Degrees"
  • Imanuel
  • Daniel Hackett
  • McCulloch Sutphin
  • Montana Best
  • Grant
  • Rich Brian
  • 1Mind
  • Kid Culture
  • Bekon [a]
  • The Donuts [a]
2:46
10."Slow Down Turbo"
4:00
11."Curious"
  • Imanuel
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
  • Bekon
  • Balmoris
  • The Donuts
  • Chakra [a]
3:45
12."Where Does the Time Go" (featuring Joji)
  • Imanuel
  • Balmoris
  • Krieger
  • Tannenbaum
  • George Miller
  • Gherman
  • Mehlenbacher
  • Bekon
  • The Donuts
  • Rich Brian
4:11
Total length:44:00

Note

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. [16]

Charts

Chart performance for The Sailor
Chart (2019)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [17] 77
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [18] 74
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19] 89
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [20] 27
US Billboard 200 [21] 62
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [22] 12
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [23] 31

References

  1. Young, Neil Z. "The Sailor Review". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  2. Tomlinson, Clayton. "Rich Brian - 'The Sailor' Review". Exclaim . Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  3. Reese, Nathan. "Rich Brian: The Sailor Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  4. Juon, Steve 'Flash' (17 September 2019). "Rich Brian :: The Sailor". RapReviews. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  5. "The Sailor by Rich Brian". Apple Music. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  6. Price, Joe (26 July 2019). "Rich Brian's New Album 'The Sailor' Is Here". Complex. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  7. 1 2 Caraan, Sophie (25 July 2019). "Rich Brian Flawlessly Tackles His Sonic Growth & Asian Identity on New Album 'The Sailor'". Hypebeast. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  8. "Rich Brian Drops "Yellow" & Announces His New Album 'The Sailor'". Genius. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  9. 1 2 Diep, Eric (26 June 2019). "Rich Brian Returns With "Yellow" and Talks New Album 'The Sailor'". Complex. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  10. "Yellow (feat. Bekon) - Single by Rich Brian". Apple Music. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  11. Minsker, Evan (26 June 2019). "Rich Brian Announces New Album The Sailor, Drops Video for New Song "Yellow": Watch". Pitchfork . Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  12. Gendron, Will (26 June 2019). "Rich Brian is back with a visual for "Yellow" and an album release date". The Fader . Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  13. Brandt, Dean (19 July 2019). "WATCH: Rich Brian Is Doing Well in "Kids" Video". Flood Magazine. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  14. Maduakolam, Emmanuel (19 July 2019). "Best New Tracks: Rich Brian, Moonchild, Marlo, King Princess and More". Hypebeast. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  15. "Rich Brian gets personal in 'The Sailor Experience' exhibition".
  16. "The Sailor / Rich Brian / Credits". Tidal . Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  17. "ARIA Chart Watch #537". auspOp. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  18. "Billboard Canadian Albums: August 10, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Rich Brian – The Sailor" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  20. "Charts.nz – Rich Brian – The Sailor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  21. "Billboard 200: August 10, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  22. "Billboard Independent Album: August 10, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  23. "Rich Brian Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2019.