MILLI, the Fast-Rising Thai Rapper, is a Badass Who Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve 

On September 25, MILLI released her latest music video for “DANCE or DEAD,” a collaboration track with Laotian-American producer Knock2 from her most recent album HEAVYWEIGHT. In the video, MILLI, one of Thailand’s most fearless rappers, commands the entire Lollapalooza Chicago crowd with a mic on one hand and folding fan on the other. This bold attitude runs through every stage she steps on, whether abroad or at home. 

MILLI launched HEAVYWEIGHT at Future Asian Music (FAM), a conference and music platform co-organized by the record label 88rising, last July. Staged at Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong train station, MILLI’s confidence on-stage was magnetic, beginning her show wearing a gown pieced together with denim as neck jewelry cascaded to her waist. She made a statement before the music even began as she strode past photographers and fans. Yet, the vulnerability that punctuated each track in HEAVYWEIGHT is what transcended her performance beyond any trope in rap music. 

“This album shows my personal space a lot that, I think, is a big change for me,” she tells Rolling Stone Philippines. “I want to show the other mode of MILLI. Not just energetic, happy, and strong, but she also cries, she’s sad and unconfident. So, if you’re asking for a balance, I don’t have it.”

MILLI’s ability to present her multiple sides is rooted in the artists she studied as a teenager. Among them, Nicki Minaj loomed largest. MILLI admitted she once mimicked Minaj’s voice so closely that she sometimes blurred the line between imitation and identity. What stuck with her, however, was not just her delivery, but Minaj’s autonomy. “I just have more emotion when I listen to female artists,” she said. “I think we feel the same thing, that we need to speak for ourselves. Somehow, you feel that energy and you learn that message.” 

MILLI has described HEAVYWEIGHT as a diary. Packed with high-intensity songs, the record blends fierceness with a willingness to confront moments of doubt. It is unapologetic, but also deeply personal, reflecting her refusal to flatten her personality into a single archetype. The track list is loaded with collaborations that underline her regional ambitions: Japanese group ATARASHII GAKKO!, rapper Awich, South Korea’s BewhY, Gong H3F, and Thai veteran Hugo all appear. The album is built on MILLI’s story, but the guest list reflects her vision for a networked Asian music movement. 

The album is a reminder that Asian rap doesn’t need to conform to Western templates to find an audience. MILLI’s choice to deliver most of her tracks in English opens doors globally, but the core remains deeply rooted in her Thai identity — from her opening concert visuals of her training in a Muay Thai gym to riding a tuk-tuk at the dead of night. She is not erasing her origin to appeal abroad. Instead, she is expanding the possibilities of what Thai rap can sound like, and every track in HEAVYWEIGHT grapples with the pressure, expectation, and release that comes with that. It is a statement of survival and expression.

MILLI v.s. the World

Even as MILLI shaped her own sound in Thai and English, she takes up space by mixing vulnerability with aggression, which can be traced back to those early days of learning through her favorite artists. In her earlier material. It was Minaj that gave her the blueprint, but MILLI built the house herself. Her rise also came during a period of isolation; breaking into the scene during the pandemic forced her to grow quickly, and often without the grounding force of live audiences. 

“When I started with my debut song ‘Popcorn,’ I felt like a little kid trying to speak up for herself,’” she said. “But right now, in this album, I’m more calm. I speak up for myself [as if to say,] ‘I’m not talking to you’ or ‘I’m looking into your eyes. I’m not scared.’”

The pandemic taught her to look inward, sharpening her ability to convey emotion through detail. This carried over into the visuals of HEAVYWEIGHT, where every music video is loaded with references, fashion cues, and staging decisions that reflect her evolution. Growth, for MILLI, has been as much about shaping her look as refining her flow. HEAVYWEIGHT is also where she allows herself to be unguarded, especially in a Thai society that is not always kind to women who speak directly or question authority. MILLI has leaned into this tension. 

“I call this the power of speech,” she said, referring to herself as “a little kid” who still has a responsibility to foster her public platform whilst being careful with her choice of words. “People listening should [consider] the things I say, It’s really important whenever I speak up in [this] country. I’m just saying it as a human [being].”

For MILLI, being vulnerable is not the same as being weak: It is an acknowledgment of reality. Songs that reveal sadness and insecurity exist alongside declarations of self-assurance because both are true. This honesty fuels her power on stage, and she carries that duality with intent. MILLI’s next steps remain closely watched, but what HEAVYWEIGHT made clear is that she has already shifted the conversation. By insisting on honesty, by refusing to smooth out her edges, she has created work that cuts through borders, offering a vision of artistry that is both tough and fragile.