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Indonesia’s BAP. is bending the sound of Hip Hop with Jazz and Punk

‘Painting with Suwage’ is a 3-minute sonic adventure

LiFTED | Roger Yiu | 9 Aug 2021


BAP. might be an unfamiliar name to most Asian Hip Hop fans, but he won’t be for long. The Jakarta-based musician, who is also the frontman of the experimental punk unit BAPAK, has recently released his first solo track in two years titled ‘Painting with Suwage’.

‘Painting with Suwage’ is a grungy, yet jazzy experimental track that stands out sonically in the current Boom Trap-centric landscape. The track’s bassline and tempo owe a lot to Jazz, but the crunchy Lo-Fi guitar and funky drum loop place it somewhere between the Beastie Boys Ill Communication and Punk Funk. His eclectic bars in Bahasa and English over the uptempo, driving beat showcase his talent for catchy fusion, as he cohesively merges Punk, Jazz, Funk, and Rap in a tight three-minute track that has the ability to surprise - two-thirds of the way through, suddenly the guitars and Lo-Fi elements drop out, leaving us with a jazzy instrumental outerlude that lasts over a minute.

This is BAP.’s first solo release since his debut EP Miasma Tahun Asu, which was received positively for its genre-bending style and musically adventurous spirit. ‘Painting with Suwage’ marks the first track released from his upcoming album, which will be released later this year. With the quality evident on this track, we are more than excited to hear more from BAP.

Check out BAP.’s ‘Painting with Sawage’ below.