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For singer-songwriter and rapper King, his latest EP Shayad koi na sune is all about the thoughts that one quietly sits with. “There are things that you talk to yourself about, and sometimes you don’t express them this way, but they are on your mind,” he says, of the three songs, ‘Yeh Zindagi Hai’, ‘Sab Be Asar’ and ‘Speaking Softly’, that were released through the last week of July .
Born Arpan Kumar Chandel, King rose to prominence with the 2020 hindi song ‘Tu Aake Dekhle’, and the smash-hit ‘Maan Meri Jaan’ which was among the most streamed songs across platforms in 2022 and solidified his presence in the music scene in India.
“The response to Shayad koi na sune has been lovely. I am not talking about the numbers, but people listening to it and reacting…to be honest, I want to create and connect in such a way that people who are listening to it feel like it is their story,” he says. “That is the beauty of art. I am just working on it and I feel so happy,” he adds.
King, Karma, Gurleen Pannu and Ravi Gupta during the Yaari Jam In The Sky
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
In the run up to Friendship Day (August 3) this year, King will be joined by his friend, rapper Karma and comedians Ravi Gupta and Gurleen Pannu at the House of Mcdowell’s Soda — World’s First Yaari Jam In The Sky where they will jam aboard a chartered flight from Mumbai to Kolkata on August 1. As a part of a contest, people could enter and win the chance to be a part of this trip.
“I have been missing performing on the stage for a while now and the last time I spent time like this with my friends was when I was creating Monopoly Movesnearly a year ago. For me this is a day with my friends and I was thrilled to hear that Karma would also be joining me,” King says.
Karma and King
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
King’s evolution as an artiste has been about going back to his roots. “Every artiste has a 360 degree journey, from a dreamer to a doer and I feel like I am becoming a dreamer again, going back to my roots, writing down my thoughts and songs on a pen and paper and simply focussing on creating music,” he says. “I am not on the shoulder of any rules, and I’m still doing it in an old school way, the way of a dreamer. I am loving each and every word I am writing,” he says. Six albums and multiple EPs in his discography might be a large number, but for King, this still feels less, he says.
As a Hindi rapper, when asked about the burgeoning regional rap scene across the country, King says he is extremely excited. “I love the rap scene down south,” he says. “The songs have amazing narration, storytelling and visuals. It has all the aesthetics. Hip-hop has no laws, and is a street genre and these artistes are writing their own book. That’s the beauty of it, they are creating amazing music and I so want to do something down South as well,” he says, excited by the prospect of collaborations in the future.
Having worked with Nick Jonas, Alan Walker, Jason Derulo and KSHMR on a range of projects, King laughs and says that he has a very philosophical thing to say about this. “Every (song) drop, collaboration, and feature takes me somewhere. I am open for all these collaborations because music has no boundaries,” he says.
Starting off as a finalist on the reality show MTV Hustle. King’s rise has been from humble beginnings in Delhi to a music chart hitmaker. Hip-hop music in India is a powerful voice of youth from economically backward sections of the society and several stars have emerged across languages over the last few years.
“Young, aspiring hip-hop artistes should work on themselves as a person first, and then work on finding themselves in what they do. Hip-hop is about standing out and being unique,” King says. He also says that instead of doing things exactly like their music idols, aspiring artistes should only take notes from their idols but bring in their own stories and experiences.
“Everybody has a different story, and a different path and we all have different paths. Find out what makes you stand out. Thirdly, when you are in a room with people who are bigger than you. Learn and absorb all that you can,” he concludes.
Published – August 01, 2025 08:36 pm is
