One of the few rappers in Bollywood, BlaaZe was brought up in Zambia and the UK before he moved to Mumbai. Starting off as a radio jockey with Mumbai's Radio City, he quit the day Rahman summoned him to Chennai for an urgent recording. And as he rightly says, that day changed the course of his life.
He has come a long way from the time he worked on ‘East or West, India is the Best' with Anu Malik on Judwaa (1994). In recent times, he’s contributed to big ticket projects like Sivaji: The Boss, Bunty Aur Babli, Slumdog Millionaire (‘Gangsta Blues’) and Delhi 6, sometimes as a rapper, but mostly as a lyricist. And he’s done a song called ‘Inquilab’ post the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes. In a fast track interview, the rapper spoke to us about his childhood, the relevance of rapping, why he prefers writing to singing and why Rahman is his only favourite. Tell us about your background and how you ended up in the music industry. I was born in Chennai but later moved to Zambia where I was raised. It was there that I picked up rap. I also learnt how to break dance in school with my friends. After that, I studied in the UK where I finished my BA in cinema. Before A R Rahman gave me a break, I worked as a radio jockey for Radio City, Mumbai, anchoring their evening drive-time show. A couple of months after the station launched, I got a call from Rahman. That’s how my musical career took off. What made Rahman select you? Many people want to meet Rahman so you need a lot of perseverance. I came to Mumbai in December 1999 and picked up one of his CDs that had his studio address printed on the cover. I mailed him a letter and a demo. A year passed but nothing happened. I then met Louis Banks, who is like my godfather because he introduced me to many musicians. He also introduced me to Sivamani, who introduced me to Rahman at his Mumbai studio. When I spoke to Rahman, he told me that we would do something together but another year passed and I joined Radio City. Then my wife came down to India and was working in Chennai when she met Rahman. She reminded him about me and the amazing thing is that he remembered. The same day he called me to Chennai to record urgently. Opportunities like these beckon once in a lifetime so I had to make a choice quickly. The same day I quit my job and flew down to Chennai. Today, I am what I am because of what I decided on that day. Growing up in Zambia and the UK, were you exposed to Bollywood there? In Zambia, the place where I stayed had a big Indian community. There was a place called the Hindu Hall where everyone participated during festivals and parties, irrespective of their faiths and cultural disparities. Being a part of that Indian community, we watched a lot of Hindi and Tamil films. Still, as a child, I never dreamt that I would ever be a part of this industry. Have you been formally trained in singing? No. Most of the work I do for Rahman is in the capacity of a lyricist. I am not a singer at all; I am a rapper and a lyricist and I am happy to be that because things get very competitive with singing. E.g., it’s very difficult for a singer to be friends with another singer because each one is afraid that the other may take up his job. With rappers, you rap your own lyrics so no else can compete with your style. That’s why you’ll find rappers in big groups because each of them has something different to say. In that sense, I am very happy to be a rapper. How different is rapping from singing? When you are a singer, you go to the studio and have everything offered on a platter to you. You have the lyrics, the music and melody; what you have to do is be efficient with your vocals and sing the song well. On the other hand, if you are a rapper, you are generally involved in the entire process of that song. In a song, you might need only eight sentences to complete it whereas with rap, lyrics have to keep flowing like dialogues. Also, because you write your own lyrics, it gives you more scope to express yourself. That’s the big difference. There are very few rappers in the industry. Is that due to lack of scope or work for rappers? Actually, there are a lot of rappers in Chennai and Shillong, as well as in the industry. Unfortunately, in contemporary Hindi and Tamil cinema, rap is secondary. When you use it for just eight lines on a party song, it’s not really going to do anything for the artist’s career or image. Real rap expresses a message; it gives a voice to social issues and problems. It’s always been like that around the world and hopefully it will soon evolve into that in India. Which was your first project in Bollywood? I worked with Anu Malik for the Salman Khan-starrer Judwaa (1994). The song was ‘East or West, India is the Best’. That was the first song in my filmy career. After that, I worked with Rahman for the song ‘Chori pe Chori’ for Saathiya. However, my first rap song was the one I did for the President of Zambia in 1991. You are a part of a band as well. Yes, I have a band call Zambezi Funk with my friend Sagar. Hopefully, our album will be out next month. Are you also releasing an album about the Mumbai terror attacks. Yes. I have done the songs with my friend Prince Ali, who stays in Chennai. The lyrics have been written by Raqueeb Alam in Hindi. The songs are about unity and revolution. It’s a message of strength. The album is called Inquilab (Stand Up & Unite). What kind of music do you listen to? Jazz, gospel, Hip-hop… lots of stuff. There isn’t anything specific. The new generation does not know much about Indian classical music. Do you think that modern music styles such as rap are to blame? I am really not into classical music myself. Like I told you, if a song like ‘Inquilab’ was made on a classical format, I don’t think young people would listen to it. Same goes for a song about Bilkis Bano, the Gujarat riots, Shankaracharya and religion. You have to put across your message to the youth in a way the generation understands it, appreciates it and accepts it. That’s the only way to spread awareness. It’s great to highlight issues through rap because it is specifically targeted towards the new generation. Instead of singing slow songs, we can take India forward with fast tracks. Which is the best compliment you have received in your career? I did a song for Mr Rahman for a South Indian film. The film was called Babaand starred Rajnikanth. The rap went like this: ‘B to the A to the B to the A, BABA’. The line was very aggressive and powerful yet it was very simple. Some hardcore Hip-hop fans asked me how I came up with the lyrics so easily. I regard that as the best compliment ever for my work. And Rahman gave me the perfect answer. I had started to write the song with big words and it was getting really complicated. But I wanted to impress Rajnikanth as much I could. Then Rahman told me that rap is new to India so it should be simple enough for a rickshawala to sing along to it easily. I kept that in mind and wrote the lyrics. Who are your favourite musicians? I like Rahman, he is my only favourite. Working with him is an amazing experience because of the respect and freedom he gives you. Others just want you to say ‘Yo, yo, yo’ in their songs and that’s rap for them. I don’t like that which is probably why I do not have many projects with other people in the industry. http://www.planetradiocity.com/musicreporter/interview.php?interviewid=260&pgno=3 -- regards, Vithur
