TWO HOT TO HANDLE

MY INNATE OBSESSION AND PASSION FOR THINGS—I THINK THAT’S THE MAIN DRIVING FORCE BEHIND MY SUCCESS.
—FARIZ JABBA

lyph has been part of the music industry since 2005, first as one half of hip-hop duo SleeQ and later, after the pair disbanded in 2015, as an in-demand producer and collaborator for some of the region’s biggest names, such as Malaysia’s Joe Flizzow and SonaOne. This year, the 32-year-old rapper and singer made a solo return to the spotlight with the release of his EP III/III in September—its lead single “Adakah Kau Mendengar” has since surpassed 1 million streams on Spotify. Fariz Jabba, meanwhile, came onto the scene relatively recently, breaking out in 2017 after his freestyle raps and witty Malay remixes of rap hits such as “Gucci Gang” went viral on social media. Since then, the momentum has only built—the 24-year-old’s singles “Masa” and “Ape Sia” have been streamed more than 3 million and 1 million times respectively. Both artistes are now signed to Def Jam Southeast Asia. Here, they grill each other on their journey thus far—the highs, the lows, the ways they’ve grown—and how the culture can move forward.