As referenced by Karma in track 36, Raftaar is quite an equivalent of Tony Stark in Desi Hip-Hop. He carries himself like a superstar and attracts all the spotlight and controversy, love and hate, equally. There is respect, there is scepticism, but beyond everything, there is an incredible journey of a boy from Delhi with Kerala roots who was born to bridge the gap and take the nation by storm. While the headlines would love to underline his disputes and beef with other rappers, the bold verses will continue to highlight his contribution to the Hip-Hop scene in India. I think the best way I can sum up his journey is by quoting one of his lines, ‘Main haara tabhi jeetke bhi aetha na, Haara jahan wahan judge ban baitha Raa!’ referring to the show Dance India Dance, where he first participated as a contestant in 2011 and later appeared as a judge in 2019.
In DHH, there are hardly a few artists as multifaceted as
Raftaar, especially in the mainstream. He holds a strong command over technical
nuances and emotional resonance and knows how to package and present in front
of the audience in the best way possible. His understanding of music
production, beatboxing and dance, backed by knowledge of Global Hip-Hop, has
helped him strike a great balance between mainstream success and underground
accolades. Whether we talk about club chartbusters like All Black and Ghana
Kasoota, film bangers like Dhaakad and Bandook Meri Laila,
motivational storytelling in Proud and Aage Chal, bars fests like
Microphone Check and Saath Ya Khilaaf and experiments with
different genres in Trap Praa and Jashan-e-Hip-Hop, he knows how
to diversify, evolve and cook everything with precision.
Raftaar’s versatility is one of the primary reasons that fuels
the higher expectations of his fan base. There is always anticipation behind
every project that sometimes takes a while to release or does not release at
all. It often leaves his fans a bit sullen and disappointed who eagerly keep
waiting for Raftaar to drop a project that meets his standard. Recently, even
Rohan Cariappa, an avid and regarded reporter of DHH, discussed and agreed with
this unpopular opinion by his audience that Raftaar does not have a classic
album in his discography, which affects his legacy and makes it difficult to
call him an all-time number one artist.
Although Raftaar has dropped two good albums, Zero to
Infinity (2018) and Mr. Nair (2020), when he was signed with
Zee Music Company, they tilted more towards the mainstream commercial zone.
Alongside these two albums, he has worked independently on two major EPs in the
form of Hard Drive Vol. 1 (2022) and PRAA (2023) with Prabh Deep.
As 16th November was coming closer, reports were circulating on the internet of
Hard Drive Vol. 2, releasing on his birthday with a supposed 19-song
tracklist. As tempting as it was, I had kept my expectations low and guarded
because there is still a 16-year-old kid in me who was desperately waiting for
the drop of BAR’ISH EP in 2020 and had to eventually make peace with
drought.
However, when Raftaar dropped the official poster of Hard Drive
Vol. 2 on 14th November, my expectations grew a little. It featured carved
illustrations of Bohemia, The Game, DMX, Eminem and Lupe Fiasco looking at the
similar sculpture of Raftaar sitting on a throne in the centre. He shared his
gratitude and respect towards them and his fans for inspiring and making him
who he is in the caption. I was thrilled and hopeful that this might turn out
to be a classic DHH album like Kohinoor and Punya Paap for DIVINE
and Bayaan and Nayaab for Seedhe Maut. Soon, the clock struck
midnight, and the date changed to 16th November; I opened my Spotify and
clicked Hard Drive Vol. 2 in Raftaar’s discography. I saw 9 tracks with
no features mentioned, just like the first one, and dived straight into the
madness.
While the first track, Mera Parichay, set the tone of
the album with Raftaar and Sikander Kahlon flexing their audience and the
respect they have garnered in the scene, the second track, Dehshat Ho,
left me with mixed feelings. Despite the cheeky, clever writing of Raftaar and
Yashraj, I could not find myself vibing with the loopy base and feared this EP
might happen to be a bit too old-school for today’s taste. As this thought was
slightly rising in my head, I got a tight slap with Rap-Ta, where
Raftaar aced the laid-back chill soundscape with Phenom and ASHOCK, nailing it
in production and mix-master. There was a renewed curiosity, and I played the
4th track, Real Shit, where Raftaar is debating with Maxxx (his first
rapper name and alter-ego) regarding all the conversations around old-school
and new-school music. It blew my mind how seamlessly he was switching between
the two voices and made me admire the placement of the first four tracks in the
EP, where he demonstrates his skills and versatility in adopting both. It
cleared all the room for doubt in my head and made Raftaar truly invincible.
Further, tracks like Munde Hood De, Baawe, Advice
and Banjo Bounce brought some interesting and wholesome features, such
as Karma, Deep Kalsi, Badshah and EPR, where they brought their A-game to the
table. Whether I talk about Karma’s rhyme scheme, Deep Kalsi’s melodious voice,
Badshah’s flex references and EPR’s lyricism, which will require my lifetime of
dissection, what stood out the most in all of them was the camaraderie between
them and Raftaar. It is amazing how none of them feels like they were made in
isolation. Instead, there was a genuine attempt to make one track with a
unified thought and play around each other’s strengths. The final track, Me
and My Broski, provided the perfect closure with the Raftaar and IKKA
reflecting on their early struggles and how far they have travelled. The vivid
lyrics are highlights of this song, which perfectly paint the imagery of
several anecdotes like:
‘Stater caps atka ke rakhte the
Jootey nakli the par shampoo se
Chamka ke rakhte the
Teacher bhi pooche
T-shirt baap ki hai kya
Baggy 40 kamar 30 pe
Belt atka ke rakhte the’
Throughout the album, I could not stop admiring how well Raftaar has trained his voice; it can act as the lead vocal, bass, instrument, melody, drums and whatnot! Also, his ability to churn out crazy quotables like ‘Ek hi kami sattebaazi, Par gaano mein na bika’ and ‘Do kaudi se audi se mehengi ab jooto ki jodi mein’ is one of the best in the scene. However, when I finished listening to the entire EP, I sat and started thinking about why I felt a bit empty. So, I started listening to it again, and the missing dots became much clearer. The overarching theme of this EP focused on how Raftaar has achieved what he wanted to and has cemented his space in this scene forever, and that’s how he will continue this journey forward. There is still fire in him to do better work, which he didn’t vocalise as such but subtly put forward with the tracks in this EP. Whereas, I was looking for Raftaar to make a point and proclaim his position in the scene. I realised Raftaar is no longer fighting for the crown because it already rests on his head!
Comments
Post a Comment