Rapper King on 'Maan Meri Jaan,' His Bond With Badshah, Working With DSP in Drishyam 2 | Exclusive

Indian rapper King became one of the prominent contestants in the first season of the rap/hip-hop reality show MTV Hustle. The 24-year-old rapper, who rose to fame after his superhit song Tu Aake Dekhle, is on cloud nine with the success of his recent album Champagne Talk. With over 50 million views and streams, the album has become every hip-hop enthusiast’s favourite. The rapper recently sang Sahi Galat from Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2. In a conversation with News18 Showsha, King spoke at length about getting the opportunity to sing for the blockbuster film.

“I’d met him (Ajay Devgn). We jammed together, and he is a gentleman. He is very very humble, and he has a lovely aura. I also met Amitabh Bhattacharya who did the background score for the song. I also met Devi Sri Prasad DSP Sir, who is a rockstar. I’ve always heard music and I’ve never been keen to know who is the singer behind the song, and how he looks. When I first met them at the studio, they didn’t make me feel that he is the DSP and the Ajay Devgn Sir. They made such a friendly environment for me. Even Shriya as well, we all were talking freely and it didn’t feel like I was meeting them for the first time. So, they were making a comfortable environment for a new boy (King) so that he can get the best of his art out. I didn’t have any pressure at the time, and had a lot of fun. If such big personalities are so humble, this is surely one thing to be learned from them,” says King.

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Rapper King is also known by names such as King Rocco and Badnaam Raja, however, his real name is Arpan Kumar Chandel. King has performed with many renowned rappers such as Raftaar, Nucleya, Raja Kumari, Badshah and others. When asked about his bond with Badshah, King says, “He is like a big brother to me, and he’s a mentor. The way in which he understands my art, and the way he has supported me in every possible way. People came to know about bond from the TV show, we never really talked to each other like that in person. In this industry, he is the only one with whom I have such a close bond. All of this is because we relate to each other a lot.”

“Another amazing fact between us is the age gap, but still, we have great bond. He tells people things on their face, and he we connect more on artistic grounds. He tells me more often that I wanted to explain something (about music) to others, but nobody understood, but you got it. He trusts me, as he recently said that he sees me after him in the industry. So, I have a responsibility to create my legacy and maintain the legacy of my elder brother Badshah,” he adds.

Rapper King’s track Maan Meri Jaan has been dominating Indian music charts for a while now. Ask him about the story behind the making of the song and the rapper says, “There isn’t a story behind the song as such. I wrote this song at the end of 2017. In this song, Pablo and Me & Me, I wrote all of these 3 in a go. It’s really nice to know that people are still listening to my song, which was written 5 years ago. It gives me good motivation. For me, no song is old or new, and the song that I released 5 years ago from now, would work in the same way, even if I release them today. So, for my self study it’s really good. And I’m happy to know that people are loving good music these days.”

On being asked about the inspiration behind the song, Rapper King shares, “Maan Meri Jaan and Tu Aake Dekhle, for these two songs there wasn’t any inspiration – I was just writing tracks that night and it was rather experimental that I wanted to see if I can write three different songs in a night. I’d put myself under the condition if someone would ask me to write a big song, while I could be working on my own creation, would I be able to work on their song. I feel fortunate that people are loving the songs that I wrote 5 years ago.”

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