Are you a Schizoid or a Phuski Bomb?

Schizophrenics, a rap crew from Mumbai, has exploded on the Desi Rap Scene all of a sudden and came out of nowhere. No one was aware of Schizophrenics until Naved Sheikh AKA Naezy the BAA decided to drop “Aafat” which has already crossed the 15K mark, quite an achievement on a debut for someone who until now was completely unknown in the circle, and now we happen to know that Naezy is not alone in this and has a full crew along with him that are waiting with bated breath to make their mark on the Indian Rap Scene and change it from within. So here is a little tete-a-tete to bring out how Schizophrenics jumped onto the Desi Underground Rap Scene.

Despite you being very new on the scene, unlike other newbies, your content sounds mature which means that you had been working on your art for quite a while. How much time did Schizophrenics put together in perfecting its skills?

First of all, we are still working hard on perfecting our skills. We have been rapping almost everyday since the birth of our crew. We practice on our flows daily and we freestyle for hours. We also carry out activities like street Cyphers, Rap battles, etc. Since the very first day we have kept an eye on the scene. We decided to sit back and work hard and to then deliver in quick succession in order to blow heads all around. We have been rapping on the streets of south central Mumbai since three years now.

How many members in total are there in Schizophrenics? How did Schizophrenics come together? What was the common link that brought together all the members of Schizophrenics?

In 2011, I joined G.N Khalsa college where I met my current partner Neykhil Naik and we discovered other members in an audition which had been organized for that year’s college festival. Presently, there are six members in total. The crew includes four rappers, one singer and a music producer. We all come from different castes, religions, and have different mother tongues. And hence we carry sufficient diversity to create a variety of content to entertain audiences. We all are ill and we all are sick about rapping. Each member has oodles of love and passion for the art. We bunked lectures and learned rapping together. As for the common link between us all, it has to be pure craziness.

You guys have made songs in English, Hindi & Punjabi in a short span of time. What are your views on the level of Hindi Rap, English Rap and Punjabi Rap that has come out from the Indian Rap Scene so far? Do you plan to give a wholly new direction to Indigenous Rapping as an Independent Crew or you guys plan to gather enough popularity in order to hit Bollywood one day?

Well, I feel that the Indian rap scene lacks versatility, originality and indigenousness. In my view, there are only few artists who are doing it right. Rest of the rappers out there currently are a bunch of 'phuski bombs'. We have plans of both changing the scene as well as bringing some good Indian Hip-Hop onto the mainstream. The Indian audience presently is blind to what I would consider real Indian Hip Hop since songs by the mainstream artists have created a huge misconception about the actual rap culture. We feel strongly about our movement in order to change such views and misconceptions. Our aim is to portray Real Hip-Hop in India.

Schizophrenics is now coming out with a new mixtape - right? Whats the name of the mixtape and how many songs are gonna be there?

Yes. We have planned for a mixtape which includes 7 tracks. Each track has one unique theme and I am sure after the release of the mixtape, the audiences would recognise what 'The Schizophrenics' really is about. Listeners will clearly come to know about what we actually do and who we exactly are. The name of the mixtape is "Next is here" and it is expected to drop in July. (Insertion: Schizophrenics has released their mixtape's first track  "Kudiye Tenu Vekh Vekh", by the crew's Punjabi rapper, "Schizoid".)

Do you think you wanna grow up as a crew all by yourselves or you feel growth is possible only after working together with other hip hop acts from Mumbai?

I don't think growth is possible only by working with them. Though, I would love to make a few suitable joints with them.

You mean to say growth is a lone journey ?

No. It depends on the reach of the people you are collaborating with. We all know that the reach of the majority of rappers out there is not more than few couple of thousands with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 or at best 5 rappers.

Do you have a roadmap for growth and reach or presently you are just concentrating on releasing as many tracks as possible ?

We have plans in place that will be rolled out after the release of the crew's debut mixtape. Yes, we do have a roadmap for our growth and we are ensuring that it unfolds the way we want.