Badshah: My non-film music has always spoken much more for me than film music

The Indian music scene is highly dominated by Hindi film music, and there are artistes who still seek validation from Bollywood. Rapper Badshah, however, does not fully agree with this.

“We are seeing independent musicians breaking barriers everyday across platforms, KR$NA being a prime example alongside others like Prateek Kuhad, Divine, Raftaar, Ritviz and so many more. My non-film music has always spoken much more for me than film music,” he shares.

The star known for hits like DJ Waley Babu, Kar Gayi Chull, Tareefan, Bolo Har Har Har, and Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe, adds that Bollywood, however, has its own charm.

“We belong to a country that has grown up worshipping cricket and Bollywood, the industry has been a source of storytelling and music and dance for years to an entire diaspora irrespective of caste, whether you are rich or poor, whether you live in a city or the remotest village. So Bollywood has its own reach and it’s undeniable,” he says.

The 35-year-old adds that it is a great time being both an Indie artiste and a Bollywood artiste.

“It’s just great times in all possible ways. The digital revolutions, having music at your fingertips, platforms pushing the music listening habit so much, rise of OTT space — everything just points to a very bright future for music I think. The good thing is that things are now truly opening up for artistes. It’s extremely convenient to function as an independent artist now and put your music out to the audience,” he explains.

Badshah recently released his first song of the year, Roll Up with KR$NA. And he is happy to see the incredible response the song has received from fans.

“We really couldn’t have had a better start to 2021. This year is definitely going to be memorable. I have some great music planned ahead, with some collaborations I am really looking forward to. I am collaborating with Amit Bhadana, Bali, Amit Uchana, Yuvan Shankar, Aastha Gill just to start with and you will hear all this music before March. , some very interesting music in Bollywood. The rest of the year must remain a pleasant surprise,” he concludes.