After building buzz on SoundCloud with tracks like “Love Me” and “Barbie,” rising rapper Julian is ready to make a name for himself. The Michigan-born MC of Iraqi descent, who was raised between Detroit and Dubai, does just that with his Jeremih-assisted debut single “Got It On Your Own.”

Shot in Los Angeles, the video finds Julian trying to reach an insecure lover, a concept that was inspired by past relationships. In the visual, his leading lady dances her way out from a dark room into a more empowered state, while Julian performs his verses.

The transition from darkness to a more lively environment was particularly important to showcase. “The song is about a girl who’s lost and trying to find her way, so in the scene with the dirty mattress, the girl looks vulnerable. She’s lost, all alone, in a dodgy room with a dodgy-ass mattress,” explains Julian, who started pursuing his rap dreams in 2013. “From there, the video gets brighter with choreography, she’s dancing, she’s dressed differently. She realizes that I’m there for her and she feels better.”

Adding his smooth vocals to the track, Jeremih also pops up in a neon-colored party scene. According to Julian, the Chicago crooner was the perfect addition to the self-produced track.

“Jeremih likes to speak to the girls,” says Julian. “He has songs that are like that, where he talks about their issues. He’s always been that type of artist and, of course, a talented artist also. So, when we were coming up with the concept of the song and we created it, one of the people who came to mind was Jeremih. We said, ‘He would be perfect.’ He’s got a talented voice and his style fit the song perfectly. Besides that, we knew he could relate to it.”

Inspired by the likes of Eminem, Lil Wayne, Diddy, Drake, and Michael Jackson, Julian has big plans for the future, including an EP and his upcoming single, “Really Good,” which will showcase another side of him. “The song is going to be way different than ‘Got It On Your Own.’ It’s a really good single, more of a hardcore rap song, where I showcase my rap skills,” he explains. “I go hard on it. I go off on it.”