Today’s collectives can comprise as few as two creative soulmates and as many as a dozen or more artists, musicians, and multi-hyphenates who create together, eat together, and party together—an act of identity formation, an era of artistic community, collaboration, and growth. The music collective makes its own rules. The music collective marches to the beat of its own drums. Now, more than ever, the music collective is paving new paths to create art that’s more than the sum of its parts. This is 0108 SLATAN’s story.

0108 SLATAN has strength in numbers. The first thing you notice, as the members spill into the studio, is the sheer size of the collective: more than a dozen boys—men, really—in their early- to late-20s, rappers, singers and songwriters, DJs, producers and audio engineers, designers, directors, and photographers. Altogether, the crew—or “kroni”, self-proclaimed in Malay—is 14-strong, spearheaded by Gard, Wuzgut, and Offgrid at its core, sprawling to include Quai, Shilky, Nobi, maatjet, ameeusement, JAYSTATION, JOHNASA, Akkimwaru, aimampu$, Fizibusy, and Adep Nadzir in their ranks. 

“What they’re doing hasn’t really been done before,” the collective’s manager, Afiq Ali, tells GRAZIA Malaysia. He might be right. 0108 SLATAN is a completely self-sufficient creative powerhouse. In the six years since its conception, Gard, Wuzgut, and 0108 SLATAN have been speeding from the margins of the Internet toward the centre of mainstream music circles thanks to a slew of self-released albums by the collective and its members; co-signs from the likes of Joe Flizzow and Yuna alongside chart-topping guest features; and mayhem-inducing performances—all the while managing the ins and outs of their creative output independently, from distribution to merchandise to webstore. 

For all their flair, Gard speaks of the collective’s beginnings as “budak taman”, i.e. boys from the ’hood who, musically, are influenced by Atlanta trap rap with a shared love for Malaysian rock kapak bands such as Exists and XPDC. These “budak taman” have grown up since their days on Discord, bonding over Call of Duty. “We’re not as young as we used to be,” Gard says. The collective has mellowed out on their most cohesive project yet, ‘Kalau Begitu, Baiklah…’, marking their transition from twenty-something rappers to thirty-something artists; together, they ruminate on ambition and adulthood, as fluent in vulnerability as boast and braggadocio. “We were fired up in the early years: aggressive, ready to go hard to get our message across,” he continues, “but it’s a journey, and we’re learning to be patient along the way, to trust the process.” 

0108 SLATAN makes you feel like you’re part of an in, especially if you’re extremely online. Much of the collective’s online media functions in this way: myth-making, self-referential meme posts on Instagram and TikTok; a Telegram group chat moderated by amat, the collective’s bot trained in “Malay slang and expressions”; and a website that adopts the (anti) aesthetics of Web 1.0. It’s very IYKYK; a collective sidestepping high shine in favour of high-low humour. A few years ago, when non-fungible tokens set the industry abuzz, 0108 SLATAN briefly explored its potential to “revolutionise” the way music is owned, consumed, and monetised but grappled with the complexities of onboarding—especially to a market that lacked awareness and interest in blockchain. “Now, we’re focused on the music and on building a real, physical community—getting the art out to everyone, not just to the tech-savvy,” Wuzgut says. “In today’s digital age, identity is key,” Gard adds. “Be real, stay true, and your audience will find you even if you’re not on social media 24/7. Swag never lies.”

Future and Lil Baby are blaring on the speakers, and a few nod their heads. The rest of the group, who’ve swung by the studio for a shoot, are posing for videos on their phones, swapping caps, jackets and jewellery, lifting dumbbells. “0108 SLATAN came to be so me and the crew could link up to create and collaborate, get our art out in a more organised way,” Gard says. “This year, we’re going to be a bit more laid back and enjoy the music-making process. We’re grateful to be working on another album with our friends outside the collective. Shout-out 53stu, BLANCO MUSIC, Midlyfe, and so many more.” This is 0108 SLATAN exactly as you’d hope to find them: authentic, unrestrained, grinning slyly so you never quite know if they’re playing or pulling your leg. But one thing’s for certain: There is nothing more important than brotherhood.

This story first appeared in the GRAZIA Malaysia March 2025 issue.

Photography: Amani Azlin

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