A Kannadiga's Rap'sody

“Lancha neeve kodthira, naav iskondre problem-u (You give us the bribe, but have a problem if we take it),” goes one wacky line from a hilarious song that’s taken over the Internet. We’re talking about the Problem Song, from Humble Politician Nograj, which is a Kanglish track that’s been penned and crooned by Bengaluru boy Aditya Parashar. Ask the true blue Kannadiga how HPN happened and he recalls, “I met Saad Khan and Danish Sait at the auditions. I went in for an acting role, and the queue was long, so I wrote an impromptu rap while I stood. When I presented it, they loved it and decided to make me the lyricist for the movie. I’d also give musical inputs and sing it to fit the meter. They liked my voice and decided to have me sing the Problem Song. I’ve also written the theme song of HPN. I love how spontaneous Danish is when it comes to content and Saad is such a perfectionist.”

This 22-year-old talent, who did his schooling at Auden Institute, studied Instrumentation Engineering at RNSIT. Having interned at a radio station, Aditya’s tryst with the Kannada film industry happened when he was featured in a rap song for the making of U Turn. “I then rapped for Shuddhi along with Sparsha RK. The video gained close to 167k views on their page. After that, I’ve done feature raps for movies like Yeradu Kanasu, Vaaruni and C3,” he says.

Looking back at his childhood, Aditya reveals that he’s always been a poet. “I’d read a lot of books, write short stories and poems. As I grew, music became an integral part of my life. I started listening to all genres and was introduced to Eminem. Initially, I couldn’t understand anything, so I’d repeatedly listen to it. I fell in love with it and the calling came then. The poems became rap numbers, and I started to write songs. English rapping changed to Kannada after listening to MC Bijju and Karthik Gubbi, who are my influences. I figured I could express better in my native language, and it worked well for me. I’ve learnt a bit of Carnatic and Hindustani basics, so that helps too,” says the musician.

Apart from his film projects, Aditya is also gearing up for the release of his next single Nanna Kathe. “It’s based on my personal experience, but is still a generic conscious rap song, talking about how everyone has a story to tell,” he shares, adding, “I’m also going to feature in the next underground rap cypher from Bengaluru.”

As for the Indian rap scene, he believes it’s now picking up pace. “Brodha V, Divine, Enkore Prabdeep and Smokey are great. There was a point when rap was unknown, but now, it’s so much better. However, there’s still a misconception that a rap song means club lyrics talking about booze, drugs and sex. Rap needs to have a purpose — a message. I’d like to make conscious rap and sensible lyrics the new cool with people moving on from the stereotypical “peg, party and chocolate girl” lyrics,” he states.