Badshah is a brother, I don’t compete with Yo Yo: Raftaar
An entertainer who alternates between posting his own aphorisms and Plato or Dalai Lama’s quotes on social media, Raftaar calmly clarifies his equation with rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. “Honey Singh is not competition because you don’t compete with established people,” he says, adding as an afterthought, “It is the new breed that you have to worry about.”
Does he mean his competition is with rapper Badshah then, we ask, to which he immediately quips, “Badshah is my brother. We are not competing with each other. We are into several collaborations.” Raftaar reveals he will work with Badshah and sing together in each other’s album.
Raftaar and Badshah have worked together on a multiartist song, Desi Hip Hop, however, Raftaar insists that fans should wait for a track featuring just the two, exclusively.
Born Dilin Nair, Raftaar identifies himself as “a poet with swag” and wants to be addressed as “an artist”. He also says that because he delves into many forms of art (art, music, dance, production, poetry and songwriting), but focusses on few (singing and painting), he finds himself “a Jack of all trades and master of some”.
He has recorded his latest song Dhaakad, for Aamir Khan’s next film in two other languages, Tamil and Telugu. “Yes, the version that’s already out is a mix of Hindi and Haryanvi. Actually, 90% Hindi and 10% Haryanvi, because otherwise people wouldn’t understand. I have been told it would take some time for the other versions to be out,” he says.
Honey Singh is not competition because you don’t compete with established people. It’s the new breed that you should worry about RAFTAAR, SINGER