Krishna Kaul, an alumnus of Delhi University, has been rapping since 2005 and can be easily counted among the first few rappers who were part of rap's resurgence that was gaining ground in India, around that time. Incidentally, he can also be counted amongst post-2000 India's first Hindi Rappers who emerged in the Underground scene, and at a time when positive sentiment for Rapping in English was too high, because no national figures who rapped in regional languages had emerged until 2011. Then, he, as 'Young Prozpekt', which his original moniker was, veered into socio-political rapping and associated himself with social change organizations, engaging with them through his rhyming skills. The new and latest avatar for Krishna Kaul is 'KRSNA' - who is basking in the afterglow of a recently released rap album, 'Sellout'. It's an unabashed ask for a life sustainable from rapping, and from someone who is striped with the underground's sensibility. It's a first for an Indian Rapper, to have executed a big label mainstream compilation based release, which hasn't happened ever since Baba Sehgal. You can purchase the album on Itunes or order a physical copy from here. Singles and non-album releases can be found on Krsna's soundcloud.
So, how did he manage to pull this off, without going with the punjabi number sensibility, without crass pedestrian lyricism and without any big backers? Let's find out!
You had three phases to your journey so far, 1) where you explored rap as an art in the beginning with your hindi-english lyrical experiments, 2) where you veered into socially relevant rhyming and 3) and now the latest phase being that has a commercial agenda. So, is this third phase as "Krsna-the Sellout", a completely and newly invented creature, or does it have resonances from the previous two phases as well?
I wouldn't say that this phase is ‘KRSNA – The Sellout’. Sellout is just one project and I plan to take my new moniker into a realer/grittier space in the future, in the realm of the harder and more lyrical rap that I consider myself better at. To be honest, writing clubby/romantic shit was more of a challenge for me since that doesn't come naturally to me. To answer your question, this album doesn't have any resonance from my socio-political phase, however some songs do go back in idea, to when I had started recording songs in 2005.
After going into music that is ‘commercial’ from all angles, do you really think it would be a good move (career wise) to go to a grittier/realer space – because it might confuse your new listeners who may have been pulled to your music because of the club themed music ONLY? How will you make sure you don’t alienate disparate fan-bases? Because a certain consistency in one’s music personality helps strengthen fan loyalty.
You have heard the album, you know that there aren't a lot of songs like LAST NIGHT on there, which is the only song most of my 'newer' fans have heard. So, should I have not made the lyrically heavier songs on my album? Besides, in my opinion once an artist has grabbed people’s attention and built a fan-base (especially in hip hop), it is their job to introduce their fans to better quality music. If I was Honey Singh, ‘ Issey Kehtey Hai Hip Hop’ would have been an all out lyrical flow/flex track & because it's Honey Singh - it would still have been a hit and so many listeners would have gotten introduced to 'REALER' hip hop.
Is the album an attempt at capturing a particular kind of audience that already exists or will the album create a new breed of listeners altogether? What were your motivations behind this album’s release, apart from of course ensuring its financial viability?
This question is now in the past since the album has released, so I'll answer it from today’s perspective. This album was meant to be commercially acceptable but there was a lot of flip-flopping between the stake holders in terms of what they wanted it to sound like. I had to change my path several times instead of sticking to a plan. I don't think there was a particular audience I was targeting but now that my album is out and I have some response mechanism, I can tell the audience is mostly young pop listeners and not hip hop heads.
Was the development of a completely new persona and perspective for rhyming, a smooth process; a detached exercise or you had to struggle with shrugging off earlier influences to emerge as an artist with newer themes that have a commercial agenda?
It was definitely a challenge, especially when it came to songs that didn't necessarily come from experience but needed to be written to give the album a commercial edge. I have never been heavily socio-political while writing my English songs but I was used to taking my time to write songs and usually felt some type of way about the subject matter. This album needed to be made in a month and a half, and with a commercial appeal, which meant there were times I found myself holding my head in frustration and dealing with severe writer’s block.
Why was there such a small time-gap to finish the project? Was this album not an exercise planned out over a long period of time? How did you convince Universal to release your album? Was a demo tape involved?
There was a small time period because I was put in a slot between two pre-decided releases on their roster. I could either release when I did, or release later in the year. I chose the former available option, because I wanted to strike while the iron was hot. As far as the project is concerned, I would say it was a learning experience, more than anything else. Planning a big ticket release is not easy at all, especially under time constraints. I am better for it though, and way more confident in the way I make music now though, so I don't crib about it too much.
How did I convince them? Simple, I knew what they had, which meant I also knew what they didn't and I was able to make a couple of tracks that sounded highly professional; so they bought in. My pitch to them were rough versions of 'Last Night' & 'Tripping', both of which are on my album.
Where was the album recorded? If the album was recorded at one place, how were international collabs done? Is it possible to record at different studios with different mics and ensure a consistent quality?
The album was recorded in Delhi. The collabs were all done through the internet, but most of the time it took a lot of back & forth. I did the writing & sung the rough versions of most of the tracks so it was a structured process but it’s always a challenge getting the little nuances right, especially when you are not physically in the same space as the other person. I don't think using different mics and studios is really a big problem though. Everything can be fixed and matched digitally.
Album’s sound was on par with international quality. How was the production for the album executed? Once the production for a track was done, what parameters decided that it was to be final? Because there can be no end to what sounds good in the ears of producers especially in the case of a debut release when first impressions matter a lot.
I actually didn't produce the beats. They sounded international because they were international, and sometimes very expensive. My process is, that I usually just put the beat on and see what vibe it gives me; some beats are just instant winners, while others - not so much. If I'm not getting a good vibe or melody off a beat in the first 5 minutes, I scrap it and move on to the next one. Sometimes, you come across a very hot beat but it doesn't suit your style or you can't write well to it, so you just got to let it go. It's always about what works for the artist.
You accepted the lane that you are switching onto by very unsubtly naming your album as "Sellout". So, should we expect soul-less commercial tracks or the introspective rage of a person divided between love for rap and making a career out of it?
I think the latter for the most part. ‘Sellout’ is also the title track on my album, and the song talks about my perspective on the whole 'Oh, you are selling out' thing. Every artist has to struggle with the dichotomy between staying true to the art and achieving commercial recognition for their work. Rarely do they intersect. My attempt was to break into the market with a more commercial project and slowly start feeding my audience a truer form of my art.
Will underground artists going big label mainstream with their club themed albums help introduce general pop listeners to core rap music? Do you think artists who have experienced the underground scene have a responsibility to introduce to their ‘new fans’ - core rap music ?
I have addressed this in an earlier answer. I think it is very important for artists to introduce their listeners to better/deeper/more lyrical music once they have established themselves. A lot of rappers forget their roots because of the money commercial music brings. There can always be a balance.
I see a lot of young guys coming in and saying oh his (my) song is shit and it’s not real rap, and so & so rapper deserves more credit because so and so rapper’s songs are real rap. My point is, they don't know of my background in rap and they don’t know who Young Prozpekt was and what lyrical skills I bring to the table, in terms of rhyming. There aren't a lot of currently active rappers out there in the Indian scene, who have been putting out rap songs since 2005. I am just less well marketed in the English rap space in India. The problem with Indian rap fans is that they take everything at face value and don't bother digging deeper. You can't talk until you have heard the entire album or my previous work. Right?
Rappers who had once dabbled into, what we all would agreeably say, ‘real rap – that underground shiznit,’ constantly feel the need to prove to a small coterie of Indian rappers/rap aficionados, their ‘rhyming prowess’ and ‘intellectuality’. Do you think this need to prove ‘rhyming prowess’ and ‘true underground soul’ is in any way necessary at all, in the Indian context? Do you think this bunch of ‘taste-makers’ are responsible for limiting rap’s expansion to a more general audience in India?
Honestly, Hip Hop without the competition and need to prove lyrical superiority will not be Hip Hop. However I feel a cliquish kind of mentality is not the answer to solving the crisis of a non-existent hip hop scene in India. If you look at it closely, it’s (the Indian rap scene) is like a mutual appreciation society. I have always existed on the fringes somehow, even though I have had probably the most media exposure because of my socio-political tracks, which means that there are several other rappers in the scene who are holding their weight down, but just because they are not in a particular circle (imagine a cypher), nobody talks about them. We need to really open up and embrace shit and at the same time call out bullshit rappers even if they are part of this Indian Hip Hop bum-chum circle.
You also concluded a 5 city tour for the promotion of your album. How was the touring experience for you like? Any special incident during the tour, that you became fond of? It is already very rare for rappers in India to promote albums by touring, yours being the first for a solo rapper. Also, after all this, what do you think is a better way of promoting albums in terms of RoI - An expensive tour through 5-6 major cities or Online Digital Advertising, such as Sponsored Posts and Google Ads?
The 5 city tour was great, some cities turn't up, some cities didn't know what was going on. I guess that's something that is with the genre’s awareness in India right now. People haven't completely understood it. People sometimes don't know what to do with it, bob heads/sing along/dance/just stand in one place? Also, I think the venue matters a lot; I would be careful about choosing the venues in the future & I'm in the process of booking shows for the next month or two.
As far as promotion goes, tours are always good to start ground up. Merchandising is a good way for artists to start promoting and make some money. Add to that, a little bit of online marketing, but that's still a grey area as Hip Hop listeners in India are a confused bunch, so demographic based targeted advertising usually goes awry. I haven't really put in money in any online activity as yet.
How was the album tour organized? Does it come along with being released on a major label or was the tour arranged for individually?
The tour was arranged by Universal Music & Hard Rock Cafe. It was a 5 city promo tour. I played with DJ Su.1 from Bangalore & drummer Hamza Kazi (who plays for rock band Coshish), from Mumbai. We made a great set together and will be performing again soon.
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