As Dilin Nair, better known as rapper and music composer Raftaar, lay on his bed thinking of how best to put his thoughts into music, his father walked into the room with Rs 12,000. He gently kept it under his son’s pillow, asking him to use it to learn music. In doing so, the man had not only put his entire month’s salary on the bed but also his complete faith in his son’s capabilities. Today as Nair drops his second album called Mr. Nair, he has nobody to thank more than his father.
The album has 16 tracks, all of which take a leaf out of the artiste’s life-book. For instance, ‘Damn’ speaks of not allowing criticism to get in the way of accomplishments. It points to how, back in the day, people didn’t understand what rapping was all about and mocked at Nair for pursuing it. In ‘Main Wahi Hoon’, he revisits his school days and takes stock of the quality life then and now. In ‘Proud’ he speaks about the pride with which he’s gone from rags to riches, while in ‘Superman’ he pays tribute to his mentor, composer Manj Musik.
The title of the new album, Mr. Nair, is an acronym he coined for ‘National Ambassador Of Indian Rap.’ He’s come a long way, he believes, and therefore, it’s his responsibility to give back to the industry by taking hip-pop music to as many people as he can. “In this journey, the biggest challenge has been to clear the misconception that rapping is pursued by those who are either economically weak or have suffered a bad childhood. That’s far from the truth.
All you need is a voice that can sing melodiously and a mind that can create stories,” he says. There is another thing that disconcerts Nair. It’s the lack of opportunities for young hip-hop artists in India. There could be more stand-alone schools to teach this kind of music, for starters, he says. Music festivals could give greater representation to the art form. Films can use more of hip-hop too. “A big problem is that the target audience for this genre is below 25, whereas for others, the age-bracket is wider, hence more listeners.
Also, youngsters seem to prefer electronic dance music and independent artistes more,” says Nair. No matter what your preference, it’s necessary to listen to homegrown rappers without prejudice, he believes. “There’s so much regional talent reflecting the cultural subtext of how |we function as Indians, but only if we trusted our musicians more, could we give them a chance,” he says. The good news is that the genre is making headway. From a time when it was mocked and misunderstood, to now, amassing a loyal audience, the future looks promising.
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