It was his love for writing poetry that helped Raftaar become one of the biggest rappers in Bollywood. The global entertainer has garnered a loyal following in a sport span of time who raps in Hindi, Punjabi, Haryanvi and Malayalam.
His latest solo album ‘Zero to Infinity’, which released end of May, made a buzz on social media. His new single called ‘Dab’ along with Sonu Kakkad and Muhfaad video is making the rounds among his fans.
He chats with Anila Kurian about what it’s like to be a well-known rapper in the industry.
Do you find it easier to connect with your fans because of social media?
There are positives and negatives to every interactive medium. There are always good criticisms and sometimes the dumb ones find a voice too. But social media has definitely made it easier for an artiste and his audience to interact. It’s become a lot more personal and it allows people to have a peek into an artistes personal life.
What are some of your upcoming projects?
I am mentoring five artistes under my joint venture with Ankit (my manager and business partner) under AKProjekts. We have started producing music and are planning to release them alongside mine. A world tour is cooking up too.
We’ve seen rappers who took over Bollywood overnight but aren’t in demand anymore. What are you doing differently to stand out?
By keeping up with the present times. Evolution is the key to progress. To be honest, staying in the present industry is not my priority; building an independent industry is.
There are a lot of old songs that are making a comeback. Do you think composers are lacking creativity and originality?
Being an industry insider, I can assure you that it’s not the artiste. It is the producers and directors of the movie that you hear the song in. If an artiste doesn’t do the song, it will go to someone else – the song will be made anyway. Thankfully, we have an independent music scene where we do whatever we are happy with.
Who do you feel is your competition?
The plates in my kitchen – I am in a constant battle to keep them full.
What’s something you would like to tell the upcoming artists?
Be inspired and chase your dreams. One day, you will be someone that many others will want to be like. Be like a mad scientist and keep experimenting until you find your sound.
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