People across the country groove to his Morni, Laila Laila, Dhaakad, and Naina Da Kya Kasoor. Does rapper, lyricist, and music producer Dilin Nair aka Raftaar really need any introduction? Indeed, the Thiruvananthapuram-born artiste has made a musical mark in not just the north but across the country, becoming a household name. After performing at Seagram’s Royal Stag BoomBox Season 3 in Boulder Hills, he speaks exclusively to CE.
About the concert and collaborations with artistes, he says, “It was great performing with a new set of artistes; I am a huge Amit Trivedi fan, so being on the same roster as him was enough for me. I’d always call him ‘sir’ and get worked up around him but was surprised to hear him calling me ‘brother’.” Raftaar’s voice conveys not just a deep love for music but a childlike excitement. He adds, “I am still that kid who once wished to be a great musician someday. Now, accomplished artistes are recognising me, and that makes me so happy.” This, to Raftaar, is his definition of Royal Stag’s tagline ‘Live it Large’.
The singer expresses his love for Hyderabad and its fantastic food. “I have friends here, some of whom own biryani places. For me, Hyderabad is music, food, and love. Irani Chai with chicha,” he says laughing.
Raftaar has had his fair share of challenges but says he chose to be a “glass half full-guy”. He expresses, “When I started around 15 years ago, people had no idea what hip hop was. In the West, there was Eminem and other greats. I just started shooting arrows in the dark and over time, it started connecting with the right people.” But being a rapper is a unique journey, one with great fame but also uncertainty. “Jay-Z is a billionaire, Kanye West keeps gaining and losing money, and so on and so forth. You know where Honey Singh, Badshah, Divine, Emiway Bantai and Raftaar currently are. But we have no idea how a rapper’s journey will pan out in India,” he notes.
But truly, none of that matters to Raftaar, who has been in love with music ever since he first watched Saathiya, a movie with AR Rahman’s music. “I heard a song in that movie and went to my parents and asked them to buy a keyboard for me so I could play the same song. But it was too expensive,” he says. However, this did not deter him. “There was this friend of mine; though he did not own a keyboard, he had a computer on which I could listen to many songs. So, you have to find your ways and it has to be fun. If you don’t go through some hard times, what story will you have to tell? It is not about the end goal, it is about the journey. That journey is your story,” he shares.
But for someone whose whole life is about making music, you may wonder which song is his favourite. “The songs that artistes make are like babies for them. All my songs are my babies, so I cannot pick just one. My best work is yet to come. I always believe that I need to put something out there that I am recognised for,” he expresses.
Defining music in his own words, he says, “It is my sanity, giving me mental peace because I can pay for everything and ensure my parents are fine. I get to do something I love at any point of the day. That is why I love music.”
Raftaar has a special message for all his fans — “Keep making mistakes and make a lot of them. Because mistakes are the only things that make you learn. Don’t overthink too much.”