MILLI has always been a shapeshifter — fearless, flamboyant, and never afraid to play with fire. But earlier this month, the Thai rapper unleashed her boldest transformation yet with HEAVYWEIGHT, a 13-track knockout of an album that merges musical evolution, personal revelation, and physical power.
From the first beat, HEAVYWEIGHT hits differently. It’s more than a sequel to her debut BABB BUM BUM — it’s a full-body experience. “When you listen to this album, it's gonna be like a graph,” MILLI laughs. “You start with warm-up energy, burn through the middle, and cool down — then die alone with ‘HP’, the last track.” The range is visceral. High-energy dance cuts and fierce flows give way to vulnerable moments, grounded in heartache, growth, and identity.
“This album represents the weight in every fiber of my being,” she says. “I compare myself to a boxer who has slowly climbed from the atomweight division, fighting through and facing every hardship that came my way. Now, I'm ready to step into the HEAVYWEIGHT division as an artist.”
She means that literally too.
Earlier this year, MILLI entered the Muay Thai ring for the first time in her life — not as a gimmick, but as a long-time dream turned reality. Trained at the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, she went head-to-head with a Chinese fighter at the Fairtex Fight at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
“I didn’t do Muay Thai because of the album,” she clarifies. “I made this album because I wanted to fight. It was my marketing plan — use my career to do the things I love.” That real-life fight became the perfect metaphor for the album's core theme: strength, not just artistic but physical and emotional.
HEAVYWEIGHT goes beyond artistry — it’s a show of literal grit and strength. The training transformed her mindset. “I respect myself much more now,” she says. “If I want something, I will do it — and I’ll do it the best I can.”
That same mindset bleeds into the album’s production. HEAVYWEIGHT is MILLI’s most globally collaborative project to date, featuring a power roster that includes Knock2, BewhY, Awich, ATARASHII GAKKO!, HUGO, and Gong from H3F. Many of the tracks were born in an 88rising song camp in Los Angeles, where MILLI recorded nearly half the album in a whirlwind of creative energy.
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Sonically, the album marks a clear evolution. “This is puberty,” she laughs. “From my really high-pitched voice to this low, grown-up tone. I use a different voice now — you can hear it in ‘MENACE’.” A seductive R&B number layered with pain and sensuality, ‘MENACE’ marks a sharp shift from her previous single ‘ONE PUNCH’, a wild, aggressive track built on rap fury and Muay Thai flair. “The groove is lighter, but the lyrics are heavy,” she explains. “It’s about choosing to walk away from someone who hurt me.”
That emotional honesty is a defining feature of HEAVYWEIGHT. “I’ve always cared too much about showing too much of my personality. But now, I’m tired of hiding,” she says. “My love story is in there. My ex. My situationship. It’s all in the lyrics.”
One of the most challenging songs to write was ‘INVISIBLE TEARS’. “I couldn’t write that one alone,” she admits. “I was just crying and telling Stephanie Poetri everything I was going through. She’s like a psychologist. She took all my pain and turned it into a song.” Another standout, ‘STICK WITH IT’, sees her exploring a different vocal tone, thanks to a collaboration with songwriter Bae. “She brought out a more mature MILLI. She’s like my teacher.”
Visually, HEAVYWEIGHT is her most cinematic release yet. From the noir sensuality of ‘MENACE’ to the avant-garde choreography of ‘SICK WITH IT’ — which features Japanese dance collective Avantgardey — every video is rich with symbolism and story. “With BABB BUM BUM, I wanted to show every style I could do,” she says. “But with HEAVYWEIGHT, I stuck to one concept. I want everything to feel like part of the same universe.”
That intention extends to her creative process. “I wrote over 30 songs and selected the ones that truly fit the story. I had a great team, people who could help me see the big picture. When you let a third eye look for you, you can see the whole thing.”
It’s a big leap from the teenage rap prodigy fans first met on ‘พักก่อน’. Now in her early 20s, MILLI has grown up in public — and she’s well aware of that. “I started when I was 17 or 18, and my fans, they’ve mothered me,” she says fondly. “They’ve watched me grow up. So of course the music has grown too.”
And while she’s embraced maturity, MILLI hasn’t lost her unpredictability. “They say I’m unexpected,” she smirks. “And I like that. Don’t let them know your move.”
With HEAVYWEIGHT, MILLI steps into the ring not just as a rapper, but as a full-force artist — bruised, bold, and unapologetically herself. This isn’t just a new era. It’s her most powerful one yet.
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