New York producer ECINJ teams up with BTS songwriter Krysta Youngs for a club-ready single that blends Eastern instrumentation, Afro house and melodic techno with a sharp take on love and money.
The first thing you hear on ECINJ’s “Rich Men” is an oud. Its distinctive string sound sets the mood before the drums arrive, giving the track an identity that is hard to mistake for anything else in the club. For the New York-based producer, who grew up in Northern California, that choice was personal. He wanted to bring his Eastern roots into the electronic music he loves, and the oud became the starting point for a record that pulls together Afro house, melodic techno and a fully realized pop song. Released November 11, 2026, “Rich Men” features singer-songwriter Krysta Youngs, whose credits include some of the biggest names in K-pop.
The track has the rolling percussion and hypnotic groove of Afro house, but ECINJ gives it a darker edge. Cinematic synths build around the drums, and the energy rises into the dramatic territory of melodic techno. ECINJ describes the sound as having “the atmosphere of a sunset desert party” with “the intensity of a festival main stage.” Both sides of that description come through, particularly in the way the arrangement moves between the oud melody, the vocal and the heavier electronic sections.
The voice belongs to Krysta Youngs, and her presence makes this a particularly exciting first major collaboration for ECINJ. Youngs has songwriting credits on four Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, including work with BTS and TXT. She co-wrote BTS’s “ON,” the lead single from Map of the Soul: 7, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as “Home” from Map of the Soul: Persona. Her credits also include TXT’s “Sugar Rush Ride,” the title track of the group’s first Billboard 200 No. 1 album, The Name Chapter: Temptation. That is an impressive writing pedigree to bring into a club record, especially one that gives its vocalist room to tell a story rather than simply deliver a hook.
Youngs has plenty of experience in dance music, too. Her vocal on Rain Man’s “Habit,” released through Dim Mak, has attracted millions of streams, and she has worked with electro-swing pioneer Parov Stelar on “Taking Over.” Originally from Flint, Michigan, the Berklee graduate is now based in Los Angeles, where she also runs The Haus of Creativity, a songwriting camp and networking company. On “Rich Men,” she both sings and co-writes, bringing a pop writer’s attention to melody, phrasing and personality. The chemistry matters because ECINJ has built a track that asks the vocal to do more than decorate the production.
Listen closely and “Rich Men” has the structure of a proper song. There are verses, pre-choruses and wordplay tucked between the bigger dance moments. The central “rich men, rich men” refrain is immediate enough for a crowd to sing back, while its repetition makes it equally useful as a hypnotic club hook. ECINJ says the production began with a single musical idea: “It all started with an oud riff that became the foundation of the track, and those elements really set the mood for everything that followed.” From there, the challenge was finding a balance between the energy of the instrumental and a vocal with enough character to stand on its own.
The lyrics give the record its sense of humor. “Rich Men” follows a woman who enjoys the expensive things in life and knows exactly what she is doing. References to Bentleys, black cards and “habibi” set the scene, but the writing keeps the narrator in control of the joke. The phrase “he pays, attention” plays with the different meanings of giving someone attention, while “love talks, but money lasts forever” puts the song’s central conflict in plain sight. ECINJ says, “Together we shaped the song around a woman who’s seduced by the luxury but in on the joke, so almost every line plays love against money.” The production gives those words a glamorous setting, and the humor makes the luxury feel deliberately over the top.
That idea carries into the artwork and lyric video. A gold sun coin bears a crying eye, while a ruby heart appears repaired with gold. Both images are beautiful and a little uncomfortable. The heart has been put back together, but the material holding it in place raises an obvious question about what actually makes a relationship last. ECINJ’s goal is for the record to reward both kinds of attention. “I hope it works on two levels, as something to lose yourself in on the dance floor and something that reveals new layers when you actually listen to the words.”
“Rich Men” also gives a clearer picture of the producer ECINJ wants to become. After his debut, he chose to pursue a sound that felt closer to his own musical instincts. His Eastern influences sit comfortably alongside his love of Latin house, Afro house and the intensity of melodic techno. Working with Youngs gave him an opportunity to bring substantial pop songwriting into that combination, with several rounds of mixing and refinement helping the vocal and production find their balance. There is a recognizable musical identity here, and a willingness to follow an unusual idea all the way through.
Fans of Anyma’s cinematic electronic productions, Keinemusik’s groove-driven approach and HUGEL’s dance-floor energy will find plenty to enjoy in ECINJ’s music. The oud melody gives him a distinctive starting point, while his interest in fully written songs leaves the door open to collaborations beyond the club world. It would be exciting to hear him work with Keinemusik or HUGEL, and equally interesting to see what his production could bring to a voice like Lana Del Rey’s, Harry Styles’ or John Mayer’s. For now, “Rich Men” offers a convincing introduction to what ECINJ can do with a strong musical idea and the right collaborator. The oud draws you in, Youngs gives the record its personality, and somewhere between the two, a dance track about luxury finds a surprising amount to say about love.
“Rich Men” by ECINJ featuring Krysta Youngs is now available for streaming on Spotify. ECINJ shares updates on Instagram and TikTok, while Krysta Youngs’ catalog is on her Spotify artist page.
