Godspeed!

Jasmine Singh

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In school, he was often chosen to read the entire chapter as he could read 600 words a minute, which probably worked in the teacher’s and his classmates favour! Maintaining this speed (in fact, he has bettered it), this once school-going kid has now acquired a raftaar that has amazed the entire Punjabi and Bollywood music industry!

Here is putting speed and meaning to every word, taking pride in his originality, standing up for friends, remembering the good and bad times, taking lessons from it; lyricist, producer, singer, composer and dancer Dilin Nair, better known to us as Raftaar!

Name wise

What did you think? We bet you were expecting a Raminder Singh or something close! “Most people think of me as Punjabi (Raftaar is from Kerala). I guess it pays to be multi-lingual,” shares this rapper, in Chandigarh to be a part of MTV Bollyland, with which has he has had a long association. “I have a long relationship with MTV, I like the label and they respect me as an artiste. My first track Swag Mera Desi was with this channel .They take me to a great deal of young people, which is nice,” he says, yes in his motorspeed, slowing down to take a breath, which is an art, because you can’t notice how he does it!

Sing along

“If you have heard Swag Mera Desi, I actually did rehearsals to get the final take right. Now, over time, since I have performed the track many times, I can do it in a go,” adds Raftaar who has recently launched his own company wherein he would be working with artistes known to him. Does that read no entry for the new ones? Raftaar clears his throat, “here is how I work,” he wants the spoken word out. “I would love to work with people who stood by in my low phase. These people like Manj Musik kept their trust in me; they raised my spirits. Now, I feel it’s my payback time.”

Raftaar holds no bitterness, he holds no hard feelings. It was a phase and he is past it now. “After breaking from Maafia Mundeer (Yo Yo Honey Singh) I was down and out; only friends stood by me, they couldn’t do anything literally except for telling me that they trusted me.” The rapper-composer is much-wanted in the Punjabi and Bollywood music industry now, an observation he is not oblivious about “I always tell young rappers, either to do something different or do something better than us (Raftaar is kind enough to mention Badshah, Honey Singh’s name as good rappers), so that we copy you. In Punjabi music industry, I will be working with Maninder Buttar. He was struggling when I was going through the same patch.”

B-Town lanes

Raftaar has recently shaken Bollywood music with his Dhakkad track. “One has to work within certain guidelines. Sometimes it is okay and on other occasions not quite, which is why I like to work as an independent artiste.” Rhyming comes naturally to him and so does the fact that he has to be original. “This is only way I see myself, doing my original stuff; I don’t ape anyone.” While it is time to jump on the stage, this articulate rapper wants to share an advice he was given by his friend Manj Musik, “He told me, if I fall from the ground, I wouldn’t be hurt much, but if I fell from the sky, it would be painful,” he smiles.

jasmine@tribunemail.com