MUMBAI: Rishaad Chaudhry is back with his second single of the year, a catchy melodic rap number titled - Sad Reel that comments on the duplicity of modern relations in the age of social media. While it may not be a conventional norm to be truly genre-agnostic, for this 20-year-old Singer-Songwriter & Rapper Rishaad, music has always existed in the experiential, exploratory realm. The artist's whose inspirations for music stem from his real life experiences came close to his desire of making music because of the overdose of digital way of life in the pandemic. With 4 singles already under his belt, he’s just getting started.

“F*** around w(ith) me, then they prolly save that sad reel ya,” the words sharply cut across as the rapper calls out ‘the fake’, who are not likely to practice what they preach in their virtual avtaars in his latest single Sad Reel. Self-doubt, ingenuity of modern day late teen/early 20s relationships complicated by the duplicity of social media are a few key themes that this no-holds-barred, uptempo melodic rap single by Rishaad Chaudhry examines.

The second release from this teen turned 20 rapper, is an honest and heartfelt account of his ‘coming-of-age’ realisations. “This is a sad hip-hop song about wanting peace in life from the hardships of attachment, friendship and love. It reflects on the value of trust and how easily it is broken in this generation and the harsh effect this has on an individual,” says the young artist, who believes it's important for his music to be meaningful.

It is safe to say that the pandemic was in a way a hotbed of realisations and ‘don’t wait any longer to go chase your dream’ resolves. While it may be difficult to imagine a teenager getting sick of the online life, this 20-year-old artist is today 4 singles old thanks to his distaste of the tech overload in the first lockdown of 2020. This is Rishaad's second release of the year. His previous single For You, which marked his formal debut, was also a melodic rap number. For You was largely encapsulated by Hip-Hop style club sounds and made it to a fair share of important playlists on leading streaming platforms.

Rishaad, since his early years, possessed a deep love for music, singing & strumming the guitar. But, the casual pursuit turned into ‘go to’ activity while he was locked in like the rest of the world during the pandemic. And, it was also his saviour from the anxiousness and monotony of the situation along with the digital overdose. Music became his medium to reach out to friends and loved ones who were socially distant, to cheer them up and remind them that they were in his thoughts.

While all of this Art & Humanities student's releases so far have been in the space of Hip-Hop/Pop-Rap, a popular favourite of his generation, the artist views them without the glasses of genre-based descriptions. The aspect of spontaneity in these genres and connected pop cultures as also in life is another reason that drives him to create music, indicating the base motivation of the artist to be beyond labels. He wants to find the space for his own unique expression in every genre possible.

Rishaad looks forward to not only reaching a diverse audience but also working with a diverse set of people and from all walks of life & mindsets, while creating music inspired by true experiences across a variety of genres. He enjoys listening to Indian folk music, R&B and pop and draws inspiration from global artists such as Juice Wrld, The Kid LAROI, Drake, Powfu among others. Closer home he keenly follows the work of Prateek Kuhad and Anuv Jain.