BEING ‘THE BEST’

In March last year, Bhojpuri rapper Vishwakaar, 24, put out his first song, MAE NO.1 (sic), on Youtube. It talks about how he is the best rapper in this language and that Bhojpuri rappers will change the rules of rap and how men from the region are no less than any other men.

In 2015, Suraj Vishwakarma (his real name) was working as a dance teacher in Mumbai when he came across the hip-hop scene in the neighbourhood of Kurla .

“I was surprised to see that so many boys were telling their own stories through the internet. And the production cost was in the ~15,000-30,000 range,” says Suraj.

After two years, he returned to his village in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district because of financial constraints and trained as a carpenter under his father. But the artiste in him was restless. He took a loan from his father to produce his first song, MAE NO. 1.

A Lucknow-based businessman watched the song and offered to help with some funds. And that is how his second song Rap Kar Mi happened. His third rap song titled Khel was released last October. Sooraj says that the song is inspired by his own life. “It is about the game of life. Every time we think we know the rules of this game, life throws a surprise at us,” he says.

Suraj shoots his songs in residential colonies and public spaces around his village. His friends feature in his songs. They also help him in editing and mixing tracks. “I use local studios,” he says.

Suraj doesn’t have a well-oiled machine or a big banner to popularise his work.

“I write, record, produce and publish. Once the song is out on Youtube, it has its own journey which is beyond my control,” he says.