How is the Bollywood Music Project (BMP) shaping upIJ
It’s going great. There will be artistes like Amit Trivedi, Vishal and Shekhar, Rekha Bharadwaj, Badshah, Manj Musik, Jassie Gil, Mohammed Irfan and myself performing back to back in the Capital. I am happy that I will be performing in my hometown Gurugram. I spent my struggling days there and now am returning to perform on such a big platform. It is an honour. I always perform new remixes which have not been released. That’s specially for the people who make an effort to come and see me perform live. I have a few new songs for this project. I got my version of Humma humma... which was liked by a lot of people. People don’t know that I can sing retro songs as well which I am going to do at BMP.
What’s trending in Bollywood music these daysIJ
It’s the time of remixes. In fact, Rishi Rich (singer from UK) and I have just done a remix of Jaanu Meri Jaan for the movie Behen Hogi Teri, starring Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Hassan. We have shot the song video as well. Everybody is asking for a remix of some or the other old number. With remixes, there are no risks involved. You pick a popular song and give it a twist. It is easy to grab attention. But I feel people are getting bored of that too and yearning for something new.
What other projects are there in the pipelineIJ
I have just done a song with Vishal Dadlani for the Bengali movie titled One. This is the first time I went regional and even the Bengali people are accepting some English and Hindi words in Bengali songs which was not the case earlier.
Tell us about your new album Zero To Infinity.
It’s still getting ready. The first video I have shot with is with Remo D’Souza. It’s a club song talking about woman empowerment. It’s the first club song on women. It’s about a strong lady in the club. You can’t mess with her. If she is drunk, it doesn’t mean you can take her home or approach her.
Your songs have real-life instances.
That’s what rap is all about — taking real life instances and making music out of it. Poetry is about imagining a situation. Although rap is a part of poetry but, in rap, you talk about what you actually see around you.
Are you still a strugglerIJ
Getting a yes out of somebody is not easy. For instance, AR Rahman sir still struggles when he makes song for Hollywood movies. If they don’t like the composition, it is a struggle. Struggles will never end and I feel it is a good thing. When we struggle, we try to make something better in whatever work we do. When somebody is unhappy with our music, we try to understand why he is not liking it. If a few more people come in and say we are not liking this, that means you have to work on something new. That takes you on to a new direction.
An incident you would like to share where you had to struggle...
When you work in a group comprising music directors, composers, filmmakers and producers who have different ideas and requirements for the song, there are bound to be clashes. Once, Rahman sir called and asked me to write a song. Normally, I can write a song in five to 10 minutes. I knew I had to give it my best. One can’t give mediocre work to a person like him. The struggle was with myself to prove to him that I am worthy enough and that I can deliver what he asks of me.
How is the music industry changingIJ
The music scene is definitely changing. Some like classical, some like soulful music and others like dance tracks. Somebody thinks house music and rap is a waste of time. Some people want more of singing. Some want more of instruments. This is something which can never be sorted out. That is the beauty of music. Everybody in the industry has a different genre. People have an option today to choose from a lot of music out there.
What is the best thing that has happening with the singersIJ
Independent singers are getting attention which is fantastic. I started off as an independent artiste and got on to collaborating with many artistes. Till date, I have not done a solo song but this time, I’m coming up with first single song which I have composed, sung, rapped for and co-produced. I’m also being accepted in Bollywood which is good for me. Because of the social media, so many people know who is the real person and the voice behind the pretty/handsome face singing on the screen. If people like your song, they want more from you and I love being that ‘you’.