On a bicycle lane in east Jakarta, Jayawijaya Parulian Nababan, who goes by Jaya, was standing in a black shirt, torn jeans, and flip-flops. He didn't look anything like the guy in his music videos. That night we were supposed to meet at his favorite coffee shop. "So, where's this coffee shop?" I asked Jaya.
"We're here!"
I looked around and all there is were blue tarps on the ground. Sitting on the one closest one to us was a middle-aged woman with sachets of instant coffee. Interesting. I ordered a cup of Nutrisari and then sat on the tarp. Across the river I could see a tall hospital building. Young couples sat on the other tarps along the river, Jaya sipped the coffee he ordered, and told me that this is his favorite hangout spot in Jakarta—a city that never felt like home for him.
You probably know Jaya by his moniker, Joe Million. He's one of the more popular names in the new generation of Indonesian hip-hop. Jaya grew up in Indonesia's far flung provence of Papua, but he only became Joe Million when he moved to Bandung for university.
In the last six years as a rapper, Jaya has released one EP, one LP, and a number of mixtapes. His first LP, Vulgar, was praised as the best local rap album of 2016 by the Morgue Vanguard of Homicide and Bars of Death. The album was well received by local media including us.
Advertisement
For all of his achievements so far, Joe believes his career in hip-hop was coincidental. In elementary school he listened to his first hip-hop song, "Mockingbird" by Eminem, on a friend's pirated CD. It wasn't the song that got him into hip-hop, but rather his first exposure to hip-hop. "It didn't necessarily make me think of how cool hip-hop is," he said.Years later as a mining engineering student at Bandung Institute of Technology, he began to learn more about music and hip-hop lyricism. At school he collaborated with Randy Ismail, or Rand Slam—a rapper, hip-hop enthusiast, and his good friend—and recorded his first track titled "Hidup Cuma Sekali," or "You Only Live Once".
Jaya admitted that he wants to be famous. The "million" in his moniker represents his dream to be a millionaire. He quit his job at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in April to become a full-time rapper. "I believe if I want to rap for a living, I've got to be famous," he said. "That's all I think about everyday. How can I make a living out of this?"
His working-class parents who grew up in Medan, Sumatra, aren't as optimistic as him. "Two weeks before my resignation, I told them my plan. They were so shocked. When I told them I want to be a rapper, they just didn't get it," he recalled. Jaya spent two full weeks arguing with his parents. But in the end they gave in.
As people started calling him the "Papuan MC," Jaya feels that his assigned identity is rather problematic. "I started rapping in Bandung. So I think I don't really represent Papua," he said. His parents moved from Medan to Wamena in Papua, and then to Papua's capital Jayapura when he was 2 years old. Even though he now resides in Jakarta, Jaya still refers to Papua as home.
At first, he would write lyrics using Jakarta slang, but it felt strange, he said. "But then I thought why didn't I use my Papuan dialect? I wanted to show that being Papuan is an essential part of me."
Advertisement
Besides embracing his Papuan dialect, he's not one to shy away from talking about the political issues related to his birthplace. Whenever he has the chance, he likes to talk about mining issues in Papua. "I talk about how the people in Papua don't like that the Indonesian government came and took over."
Jaya described his life in Papua as the time he got in touch with nature, a contrast to his current life in Jakarta. "Trips to the beach and rivers were so common. I took it for granted," he said. "Every month, I always had the time to go to Jayapura beaches like Base-G, Hamai, and Holtekam. It's probably the equivalent of Jakartans' weekly trip to the malls."
Jaya said that he had never performed in the Papuan hip-hop scene, but it's definitely on his bucket list. But he has collaborated with other Papuan rappers, which resulted in the Million Cypher mixtape. The mixtape was done when he visited home in Jayapura last year. After releasing the mixtape, Jaya received praises from his Papuan friends via Instagram.
As it turned out, the spot we were hanging at was the same one I saw in a Joe Million's music video. The east Jakarta is the setting for his "Ia Nanti" video. Jaya wanted to show that a person's location or background isn't a barrier to create art.
With the help from his friends like Juta, Rand Slam, Laze, and the Maraton Mikrofon collective, Joe managed to perform at unusual gigs for a rapper. From the rooftop of Legal Aid Institutes building in Central Jakarta, Kampung Gallery and Pasar Santa. Besides solidifying his reputation, Jaya also wants to add color to the current hip-hop scene. "I try to be as independent as I can, and not to beg," he said. "I want people to know that making your own way isn't as hard as you think. It doesn't have to be big. We only need sound system, performers, and an audience to call it a stage."Jaya's journey as a rapper has just started. He's performed at the legendary Jakarta indie show, Superbad. He can manage on his own, but sometimes collaborates with other rappers and producers. When I asked him what makes a good rapper, Jaya said, "A good rapper has substance and never forgets where they came from."