Claiming the title of BOY OF THE YEAR is not something to take lightly but if there's anything that you should know about Warren Hue is that he always delivers. 

Since emerging from Jakarta's music scene in 2018, the Indonesian rapper has made a name for himself all the way across the world with his eccentric takes on hip-hop and R&B and sonically colourful collection of tracks. In the span of four years, Warren has joined 88rising, made it onto Forbes' famed 30 under 30 list, got featured on a Marvel soundtrack, and performed on grand stages like Coachella, all of which are just the mere beginnings of the 20-year-old's career. 

So, while BOY OF THE YEAR is a bold title to assume, it's one that Warren's certainly entitled to. 

In the latest chapter of his journey, Warren released his highly anticipated album, BOY OF THE YEAR, a record that's the product of two years' worth of hard work and experimentation. Created alongside longtime collaborator and producer Chasu, the album showcases his desires and declarations to be one of hip-hop's greatest stars all while pushing the boundaries of the genre. 

"We wanted to be honest with everything and just try to push the boundaries for what hip-hop or R&B music should sound like now and have an electronic twist to it, have almost like a futuristic vision for it. That's what I really wanted to do for this project," Warren tells Bandwagon. 

BOY OF THE YEAR comes ahead of his return to Head In The Clouds LA, which happened earlier this August, and his first-ever North American tour that's slated to kick off this October. 

While he was preparing for his Head In The Clouds LA set—which turned out to be a giant party, Bandwagon caught up with Warren Hue to talk about how BOY OF THE YEAR came to be, his upcoming tour, and returning to Asia. 

Hey Warren! Congratulations on the release of BOY OF THE YEAR, what's it like finally having it out for the world to hear?

It's amazing! It's like one of the best feelings ever to finally release it because it took like two years to work on the project. Chasu and I were going back and forth in the studio, just constantly waiting for new mixes and masters. It's finally out and I'm excited, it's great. 

You mentioned that the process behind BOY OF THE YEAR really kicked off when you moved to LA. What about moving to the city inspired you?

I think it's definitely just being not comfortable with the environment I'm in. Obviously, having a completely different lifestyle definitely affected the way I write and just like the way I perceive things. So I wanted this project to be honest as possible and the whole project just showcases the experiences I had here for sure.

The album puts together a lot of different genres. What inspired you to put together so many different sounds for this project?

It was Chasu just trying to go extra punchy with everything, from like vocals to lyrics. We wanted to be honest with everything and just try to push the boundaries for what hip-hop or R&B music should sound like now and have an electronic twist to it, have almost like a futuristic vision for it. That's what I really wanted to do for this project.

It's also just us being curious, like about what [Chasu] can even produce and what I can sing or like what I can write about—we're just experimenting with that. It was very fun going back and forth about those ideas. 

Was there a track off the album that you were particularly excited for everyone to hear?

I was really excited about 'BOY OF THE YEAR', the Outro Song. That was actually already worked on before even signing to [88rising] and that was like one of the first songs on the project that we worked on.

It was supposed to be for a different album but I continued to work on it and it made so much sense when I moved to LA. It's a song that I really liked that I made in Jakarta, when I haven't even experienced LA but I was kind of like imagining what if I had this music career that took me to LA and I would be missing Jakarta, missing my home. And when I moved and started with 88rising, it turned out to be really f**king true.

So we reworked the song a little bit and it put it there at the end and it just fit perfectly. That's probably my most favourite song and it really closed the album nicely. 

Is there a track that you're excited to perform on stage? 

Onstage definitely, 'DEMOSTAR BEENLIT' or 'HANDSOME'. Those are songs for the shows and they were even inspired by like doing shows. The idea for these songs were to have a song that would get me in the mindset of performing and that would like go crazy on stage and have everyone excited. So, definitely those two. 

You're about to hit the stage for Head In The Clouds LA. The last time we talked to you, you mentioned that performing the festival was a huge life-changing milestone for you. What can we expect from your performance this year?

This time around, I feel like more people are getting used to my music. Like last year was definitely a perfect introduction to me, it was almost like a debut thing, my first time ever performing.

Now, I've gotten more used to performing, through small smaller stages like my Party In West shows which were really fun and even like Coachella—that was crazy. So, I know this Head In The Clouds will be amazing and people will understand BOY OF THE YEAR and just like dance to it and just have fun. That's all I want people to do

I'm definitely more prepared this year. Especially like performing songs from BOY OF THE YEAR, it's gonna be like a fun time.

You're also going to be heading out soon for your tour across North America. What are you most excited about for your upcoming concerts?

I think the intimacy of just seeing my fans. I personally just really enjoy intimate concerts—I've already done a couple with Party In The West which was a really cool experience and I think that's my favourite thing ever.

Also, just going on the road with Chasu is going to be really cool and like just experiencing cities I've never been to. And, of course, just bringing my music to new places like my music is weird but it's tight at the same time so I'm really excited. 

With the world opening up again, can we expect to see you in Asia anytime soon?

Yes, I really want to! Hopefully next year, I really want to do like my own shows in Asia. But of course, we have Head In The Clouds Jakarta and Manila, so it's going to be a very fun experience for both of those. It's gonna happen at like Christmas time too so that's amazing. I'm very excited for both of those.

What message do you have for your fans in Asia?

Thank you for all the support that you've given so far. Shoutout to all my OG Jakarta fans out there that's been supporting since warrenisyellow—that's amazing. You guys got to see where I've been and I appreciate that support. I hope you guys are safe and enjoying your time, man. Don't overthink shit.

Listen to Warren Hue's BOY OF THE YEAR.