Raftaar album out during lockdown

The Delhi-based Malayali says it is not necessary to have a bad childhood to be a rapper

Rapper Raftaar aka Dilin Nair released his album ‘Mr Nair’ in April, in the midst of the lockdown.

“The title is an acronym I coined… it is not only my surname but also means ‘National Ambassador of Indian Rap’. It’s about how far I’ve travelled,” he says.

The 16-track album sees him collaborating with KARMA, Rashmeet Kaur, Harjas, Deep Kalsi, Yunan and other rappers.

Bengaluru-based rapper Brodha V is part of ‘Mr Nair’. “It was fun collaborating with him. He’s one of the finest from the current crop and has a knack for experimentation,” Raftaar says.

The artistes are family, he says, because he sees a piece of himself in them.

“And to have them tell my story is good because they understand my emotions. I wanted to keep this in the family,” 31-year-old Raftaar says.

The Delhi-based Malayali began his rapping career in 2008. He says he wants to break some myths with ‘Mr Nair’.

“It’s not necessary to have a bad childhood to be a rapper. You need to have a voice and the mind to weave a story,” he explains.

People getting into rap pretend they have seen a lot of struggle, says Raftaar. “I wanted to create Mr Nair to break a psychological barrier that hampers artistes’ success stories,” he says.

The lockdown has brought him good feedback as “people are not just listening to the tracks but also attempting to understand the meaning behind each song”.

He is using the rest of the lockdown to work on singles and international collaborations.

“The live event and entertainment business is going to take a hit for six months, so I reckon artistes will be spending more time in the studio and by 2021, there will be a plethora of releases,” Raftaar says.