Rapper Naved Shaikh or Naezy, 26, shot to fame when Zoya Akhtar made the film Gully Boy based on the lives of him and fellow rapper Divine. Six years after his debut rap song Aafat (2014), Naezy is now out with his first album, Maghreb. Here, he talks about the album, what Gully Boy did for hip-hop, and the commercialisation of the genre.
Q/ Tell us about Maghreb.
A/ The songs in the album focus on the streets and their reality. The way the [poor] neighbourhood has been glorified through Gully Boy and hip-hopping, similar attention has not been paid to the issues faced by the residents there. A gully boy does not have enough money to go to school. All these things were bothering me, and through the lyrics I have tried to put things into perspective.
Q/ Why has it taken you six years to come out with an album?
A/ I took time because I was getting ready for this mentally, and there is a certain time in life for certain things. Our audience has expanded after Gully Boy. Also, a lot of people have started paying attention to hip-hop now. All that seems to have worked in my favour. We have got the mixing and mastering done internationally, and I was waiting [to get] the resources for it.
Q/ Does hip-hop’s commercialisation bother you?
A/ It affects me hugely. But it is not within our control to stop it. I think that for every genre, the commercialisation plays a role in expanding it. To an extent, that is okay. But my concern is that, while we celebrate the genre, we should not dilute it to a point where there is no way to look [back] to the original. Sometimes it is really scary that the idea of hip-hop will descend into meaninglessness. We are trying our best to not let that happen.
Q/ It has been a year since Gully Boy released. Were you happy with how the genre was depicted in the movie?
A/ There was a bit of fictionalisation. I guess it has been done to cater to a mass market. But, for a Bollywood movie, the truthfulness is more than enough. Bollywood is never that real; there is always a lot of dramatisation, dance and romance. Gully Boy had a controlled narrative, more rooted in reality. One of the major changes that I think has come post the film is that the people who thought that rapping and hip-hopping were bad have come around and started understanding it, especially the older generation.
Q/ You have often spoken about your father not being happy with what you do. Has your rising popularity changed things?
A/ There is some misunderstanding still. But with time, a lot has improved and is improving. A day before Maghreb released, my father called me to wish me. It is an achievement for me. I think no matter how much you grow, if your family is not standing by you, it is heartbreaking. My family has started understanding me now and that makes me happy.