Yes, it’s true that when I started off, hip-hop was an alien culture - not just in Kolkata, but the whole country. How do Rabindrasangeet-loving Bengalis react to rap in general? So, coming from a family like that, it was not much of a surprise when I took up music as a career. My mother’s father was a recordist at All India Radio and he played the esraj in Mahisasuramardini, the piece that all Bengalis are proud of even now. My grandmothers and grandfathers used to work with some legendary musicians from the country like Salil Chowdhury, Hemanga Biswas, Timir Baran etc., to name a few. All of my aunts and my cousins are either music enthusiasts or musicians themselves, so they were really supportive as well. My mashi was the reason I got into literature. My father used to be my biggest fan until he passed away last year. She is always the first one to review my songs. My mother is my biggest critic, she did her a Masters course in music and she is a great vocalist and instrumentalist. My whole family is into music and when they learnt that I’m tapping into this form of music, they appreciated me and have been my biggest supporters till now. What were the reactions of your parents and close friends when they heard it? I still rap in English at times, but Bengali is my primary language when it comes to making songs for my city. I have tried rapping in Hindi too, but I hardly know the language, so that didn’t work out. Unless they relate to it and realise the problem, they’ll never work towards the solution. The ones whom I’m trying to approach may not feel comfortable if they feel that the narrator is an outsider. Also, social awareness has always been one of my primary goals while writing and being vernacular means I could actually reach out to my target audience. It had to be the language that I grew up reading. I was writing a verse for my city and I couldn’t find better words in any other languages.
KALKATA BANGLA SONG FULL
I was probably 20 when I wrote my first full Bengali verse. When did you write your first proper song? What made you continue in Bengali? I have always been a great fan of Bangla literature, so Bangla rap came to me naturally. Later, I shifted to writing in Bangla because it's my mother tongue and also, I could write a lot better in this language. I started rapping in English and I was basically creating my own versions of popular Linkin Park songs in my diary. His productions and song-writing amazed me. Later in my life, when I discovered Linkin Park, I instantly became a follower of Mike Shinoda.
How did you get introduced to rap music, especially since Kolkata hardly had a hip-hop scene? I was already in a band when I joined college, so I performed in other colleges before performing in my own college! Just a handful of my school friends knew that I’m into rapping. But when I entered college, I was already known as ‘the rapper guy’.
I started leading a community when I entered college, so naturally I developed abilities to lead from the front. It became my medium and at the same time, a source of inspiration. There was a turning point in my childhood when I had to change my school and I learnt to be more open. But I was always very open to performances. I used to be very shy and introverted when I was growing up. While growing up, were you the kid always called to perform whenever there were guests at home? Later on, along with Hindustani classical, I also learnt Rabindrasangeet, Brahmasangeet, folk etc, and picked up a few instruments along the way as well. Also, around the same time, I started reciting Bengali poetry at All India Radio Akashvani. I started learning Hindustani classical music at the age of five. From Rabindrasangeet to Kabir Suman, from Bangla rock to folk, and from contemporary music to protest music (ganasangeet), I was always listening to a variety of sounds while growing up.
Most of my family members are either musicians or avid listeners of different kinds of music. My Kolkata: What was the soundscape around you while growing up?Ĭizzy: I grew up in a very musical atmosphere. We spoke to the Kolkata boy, who explains his sound as “Inclusive experimental music for niche intellectual music listeners”.
He has also collaborated with Anupam Roy on his single, Manush Bhalo Nei - a song that has garnered more than 167,000 views since its release on May 21. Change Hobe Puro Scene, released last year, explored the emotions of quarantined life.
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