Rap brigade: Chandigarh’s Gen Next Honey Singhs

Rap brigade: Chandigarh’s Gen Next Honey Singhs

MUNISH DHIMAN  22nd Dec 2012

Members of the band Driving on Tracks PHOTO: T S Bedi appers, like Honey Singh and Bohemia, have contributed majorly towards Indianising and popularising this genre of music. Chandigarh does not lag behind in the present throbbing rap culture, which commands a significant sway over the youth. The magnetism exuded by the genre has roped in more and more enthusiasts to create their own music groups. They are writing their own lyrics, performing live, recording and shooting videos, no less than professionals. We catch up with a few of these amateurs who mean business. Driving On Tracks (Rap-Rock/Nu Metal) is one such band which, besides making their own music, are also involved in providing music production and recording assistance to budding rappers and singers at their studio. For the band, music is like a harmonious language that only provides peace of mind and soothes our soul. For them, rap is an expression of an emotion, besides freedom to express a subtle thought through the language of music. The band consists of Amarpreet Singh, Surya Bhatt, Shashank Dogra, Sumit¸ Karan, Stephen Martin, and Swati Singh. Shashank Dogra is the sound engineer who renders the breathtaking music. Stephen Martin aka Lil Martin, is a prodigy who writes, raps, and excels in Punjabi hip hop. The band rose to instant fame after being featured on an international album Cricket For Peace, made for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The Song "No Hate No Boundaries" carried the message of international peace. The composition possessed a perfect blend of catchy beats, hosting drums and tabla, military riff with the guitars, a mix of English, along with Punjabi rap and gang vocals.  The group has performed at various cities including Chandigarh, Delhi, and Shimla. They have recently completed scoring for a feature filmRunveer, slated to hit the screens in 2013. { The magnetism exuded by the genre has roped in more and more enthusiasts to create their own music groups. They are writing their own lyrics, performing live, recording and shooting videos, no less than professionals. The Next Level Production is another group consisting Devinder Singh Bedi aka DSB, Lakshya Sood aka Laxya Freezy, and Rishabh Sharma, that provides musical assistance to other rappers. DSB established his own recording studio and has many projects in the pipeline. Lakshya, being a rapper, is tour de force of the project. Music for them is an emotion, which is easily understandable and is free from violence. The trio has recently launched their debut mixtape titled The Symphony that includes 15 tracks. Outsourcing of music or the production of a song may cost anything between Rs 8,000 and Rs 25,000, depending upon the quality of music provided. Some songs can be produced by ordinary softwares or by mixing pre-loaded tunes. Sometime, they have to hire dhol, tabla, tumbi, and other instrument players to lend the perfect touch to the song sequence. D Rhymerz is another band which is gradually picking up and carving space for itself within the other rappers in the town. The band includes Rappin dc, Prince Vir, Nitesh Sharma aka Nick, Durgesh, Abhinandan, and Dhiren Gill.  They hold out that what you cannot express through a song, you do through rap. All of these music aficionados are in their early 20s and all set to make it big. They write, they sing, they create music. Sky is the limit for these young rappers, and their passion the ladder to success. http://www.sunday-guardian.com/young-restless/rap-brigade-chandigarhs-gen-next-honey-singhs