Certain that the city has talented rappers, Emmy Award-winning engineer Aakash Ravikrishnan on what India needs to do for its artistes to thrive
Aakash Ravikrishnan
If all that Gully Boy has exposed you to is the works of Naezy and Divine, the recently released album, Over Seas, is set to give you an insight into the works of the other street rappers that comprise the underground hip hop scene in India. Emmy Award-winning engineer Aakash Ravikrishnan confesses that it was Zoya Akhtar's film that acquainted him with the scene in Mumbai, but, having seen the potential of the city rappers, he realised that the artistes were exploring only a specific kind of music.
"On the Mumbai rap scene, I noticed the absence of modern day beats and instrumentations that are popping in the USA. I wanted to bridge that gap. I reached out to the artistes who I thought were willing [to collaborate with me]. The album's sound is heavily inspired by my musical tastes. It has jazz, r&b, folk, and hip hop. I played the instruments, recorded the artistes, mixed the songs and mastered the album in a minimal bedroom-studio," says Ravikrishnan of his 16-track album, which employs city rappers like Maharya and Sahir.
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Having spent only a year in the city, the engineer, 25, can already vouch for the talent he has come across so far. "But, artistes are not adequately equipped and educated to independently navigate the music industry. If there was a stronger presence of music business education, combined with ethical practices, the country's music scene would see exponential success."
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