Before having the slightest interest towards hip-hop, Ramengvrl drowned herself with the world of poetry. Through rambling words coming out of her frustration and struggles during her final year of college – having to deal with writing her thesis – Ramengvrl tried to channel her feelings of stress through words and poetry. Without realizing it, she made something that sounded a little bit more like rapping. At the time it was totally unintentional because Ramengvrl wasn’t into the hip-hop scene.
“I don’t like Jay-Z, I don’t fancy a cup of B.I.G or Eminem, or any other similar artists of the time. Although I know they’re good, I cannot really relate to them,” she said about her early years with hip-hop. That all changed when she heard Kanye West for the first time.
It was like love at the first hearing when she found Kanye’s music. Not long after, she started listening to artists like Tyler the Creator, Charlie XCX, and M.I.A. She admits that she can more relate to the music and lyrics Kanye had written. It’s safe to say, Kanye inspired her to dig in into the hip-hop realm, and herself.
Prior to releasing her own music, Putri knew she had to choose her stage name, and that’s when Ramengvrl came into the picture. She didn’t want to use her own name, and she didn’t want to use a pseudonym that sounded “so hip-hop ish”. So why Ramengvrl?
“I really love Japanese culture, and have been exposed to it since I was a kid. So, I think that Ramengvrlwill be a perfect pseudonym,” – Ramengvrl
Wanting to pursue hip-hop full time, Ramengvrl joined forces with the Jakarta-based hip-hop collective label Underground Bizniz Club (UBC). Not long after, she released her first debut single called “I’m Da Man” in 2016. Her first single received praise and gained attention from the Indonesian hip-hop music community. Her follow up single, “Go! (I Can Be Your)” was released a year later, and was assisted by Amsterdam-based producer, Jarreau Vandal.
After releasing two tracks and seeing them gain cult and mainstream popularity, Ramengvrl was offered several collaboration projects. She joined Dipha Barus, Matter Mos and Ariel Nayaka on the track “Decide”, and was featured on Mardinal’s “Digital Love”. Ramengvrl was also invited as a featured artist to put a spin on one of Afgan’s tracks off his most recent album, Take Me Back.
Ramengvrl was nominated for NET TV’s Indonesian Choice Awards 2018 as one of the Breakthrough Artist of the Year. In the same year, Ramengvrl’s label, UBC, was acquired by Jakarta-based label JUNI Records and continues to extend Ramengvrl’s and other UBC artist’s upcoming releases.
Listen to the new single WHACHU MEAN below…
https://soundcloud.com/user-368148429/ramengvrl-whachu-mean/s-KfxKO
