I am anxious by nature. It's my biggest weakness, one that I have been trying to overcome," says Bengaluru resident Sidhanth Ashok, better known as Inner Rhymes in the rapper world. His interest in the music genre piqued when his chef mother would listen to Eminem at home, but the real thrust for writing came in eight Class VIII when he was bullied for having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). "The bullying escalated when the kids found out I was on medication. It was then that I started asking myself, am I really different. It was a hard time," Ashok, 22, remembers. But like any artiste, he decided to turn his heartbreak into work, and at first, started writing poetry, which eventually evolved into rap.

Today, as he pursues a masters degree in psychology, he is given to writing and rapping about mental health in an attempt to reach out to others like him, who might have the same experiences. "My father used to move cities for work, and so, there was always this pressure to interact with [new] people. It pushed me to being a loner. But it was music that had me realise that this is me, so I sort of came into my own."