Q&A: BADSHAH OF HIS GAME
The star hip-hop on his new series, web album upcoming he likes and how to party
Q. What’s a party in Badshah’s house like?
It’s Netflix and chill. The last time I went to a club was seven-eight years ago. A lot of my lyrics are very vicarious. My friends go to clubs and tell me all these funny stories. All of this stuff makes me feel really old.
Q. What does hip-hop mean to you?
For me, hip-hop is a lifestyle, which empowers you to let out what you feel. There’s a huge revolution going on in India right now. Kids from Dharavi, from Yamunanagar, are telling stories. These artists, including myself, like you guys, the journalists, report what we see. We tell you what we experience.
Q. You’ve got a clothing line Badfit and launched production house Afterhours. How closely involved are you in them?
As closely as I am with my music. I actually took six months off from my music to work on my clothing line. I design everything personally. We just worked on a web series [Lockdown] and I was carrying lights, I was booking things. I am involved. That is why I’m doing it.
Q. You’re the king of collaborations. Is that why your new show is all about duets?
Collaboration is the best way to create a unique sound because two minds are at work. I get an artist from the mainstream Bollywood zone and someone who’s a star in the digital zone, and put them together. It’s amazing to see the sound they produce.
Q. What’s your new album like?
It’s got my life and my sound. If you listen to the album, you’ll know this is the sort of person he is. There are love ballads, there are party songs, there’s layered hip-hop and there’s pure, naked hip-hop.
—with Amit Gurbaxani