Jamojaya
Jamojaya
A rapper with a rising career hires a U.S manager and label, taking over from his father who has steered it to date.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 4, 2025
Rising star, James, and Indonesian rapper signs on with a label and begins work on recording an album. To this point managed by his father, James is faced with cutting his dad out of his career while they simultaneously work through their other familial trauma. There’s a gaping hole in their lives created by the tragic death of James brother Jaya, and subsequent exodus of his mother. There’s a semi-interesting story even if some of the themes presented are very cliche. (Artist faced with sacrificing their artistic vision to appease the labels, the music Industry’s commodification of artists cultural identities, complexities of father-son working relationships and coping with grief.) But, wow this went really off the rails in the last 10 to 15 minutes. A goofy music video shoot sequence with Anthony Kiedis jumpscare and a baffling Strange Fruit needle drop pretty much torpedoed any chance of ending this on a positive note. Can’t really recommend this one.