Love Odd Future or Brockhampton? Listen to Hip Hop Collective ENVY* From Indonesia

By Karissa Lund • 31 Oct 2019 in Music

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For these last five years, Indonesian hip hop has been undergoing a resurrection. Our much larger neighbour is home to stars like Rich Brian and NIKI who are making waves overseas while back in Indonesia, a new generation of MCs and beatmakers are sprouting out like wild mushrooms. Though most of ’em are solo-rappers, ENVY* stepped into the scene in 2018 as a hip hop collective and recently released their first album, No Wonder We Have No Friends.

ENVY*, which is an abbreviation for Expect Nothing, Valid Yesterday*, is a self-proclaimed hip hop group whose sound is like “heavy-808 futuristic punk” formed in South Jakarta. The group features five rappers–Isiah, Hazy Dael, Fat B, Anima, and Quest; backed by producer Maliboo, manager Shiayo and sound engineer/rapper Don O’deelio.

Their goal is to be the middle-spectrum of old school and new wave hip hop while redefining the genre as a lifestyle.

With 12 tracks on the album, it has a mixture of sounds and styles from ’90s hip hop to traditional Indonesian instruments that somehow work in keeping it fresh and modern for 2019. It’s self-expression of grind culture and resistance to life’s unfortunates events. In ENVY*’s own words, “Resist today, the rest will follow”.

The group’s lyrical content varies as much as their musical influences. ‘Sunday Service’, a standout track on the album, addressed the issue of mental illness and insecurities while the straight-up banger ‘Get Money’, the most popular track on the album, has many listeners comparing it with hip hop renegades Odd Future and the greatest boyband in the world Brockhampton. Watch the MV for ‘Get Money’ below and you’ll know what’s up: