In our latest Interview series, we spoke to Bagi Munda about his new EP ‘Betaj Badshah’, working with Dox, the cover art, and his future plans. Here is the full interview with Bagi Munda.

How do you feel about being Chandigarh music scene’s Betaj Badshah – The Uncrowned King?

I do not limit my goals just to being the best in a particular scene, I want to go national and international as far as my music is concerned. I do not find interest in the competition DHH has, it’s just that my fans and supporters called me the king of it and I added the term ‘Betaj’ to it because I still find myself not that big to be referred to as the ‘Badshah’. I do feel like I’m the king of my life and an inspiration to the younger ones who look up to me. I feel very obliged and privileged to be doing what I am doing in the industry. I feel great!

You have been releasing music Back-to-back for some time now. How do you work on multiple projects and manage different sounds?

As I mentioned earlier, I find myself privileged to be doing my work as there are lesser things I have to worry about now, as compared to my situation earlier. I find myself to be an inspiration for others, especially to the ones who look up to me, hence resting isn’t an option. Also, I have not restricted myself to one project at a time. I always want to give my audience a movie-like experience, considering the story arcs, characters, and narration I do. Collaboratively, the process becomes easier. I worked with Jaskaran to create Sanju & Sallu, and we completed it in just 20 days. As an artist, I feel restless and sort of hungry for creating music because It’s pretty much all I do hence I stay highly motivated about it.

How was your experience working on this ‘Betaj Badshah’? How did you feel while creating this project?

It was great creating this project, I enjoy working with Dox. From an artistic point of view, I feel like I have completely opened myself for my audience this time. Music is a way of expression for me, I always try to derive instances from my own reality, my life. The personality of the character this tape revolves around, was created somewhat after a few real stories of the people around me, but mostly It’s extracted from my own self. This is the reason why it was also quite emotionally exhausting for me because I have projected my reality, and as bitter it may sound, It is a part of me. But then again, the way my audience has given love to this, I feel quite enthusiastic again! *laughs*

What would you say about the theme of this tape? How does it connect back to the storyline you have been narrating?

It is quite different from my other projects and the plot they had. If I had to add a term to the setting of the storyline, it would be ‘alternate reality’. Hence I have had the artistic freedom to create a character on my own. I have attempted to introduce a new sound, a somewhat 90s sound, it stems from my curiosity about how one would create rap music in a 90s sound. In Sanju & Sallu I had attempted to use the ‘Memphis’ sound, In my sophomore album ‘DUSVIPASS: THE PREQUEL’ I had used a ‘Grime’ sound, so I have implemented a different sound in this one.

Tell us about your work associations with Dox, you guys make a perfect team when it comes to music. How do you guys duo up and curate one of the best tracks in the scene?

I remember we used to do cyphers back in 2017-18, I had met Dox there. Both of us were quite new to this and we have learned a lot of things together. In real life, our friendship is quite strong as well, hence our coordination in studios is perfect to an extent where I do not even need to explain how I want tracks to sound like! Working with him on this tape was a very seamless and pleasant experience.

There are a few skits in the tape as well, could you tell us how they connect and weave into the storyline you are narrating?

I have attempted to hit a pop side on this tape, hence I have placed my skits in the tracks itself. In the track ‘Hoodfame’ I have glorified alcohol abuse for the sake of the storyline, but in the skit that is followed, I display the reality and its repercussions. These skits help me connect and weave in the skits into an overall project, for example in the first skit the main character’s male ego is revealed, which follows him into the next track ‘Betaj Badshah’. In the second skit that comes after the title track, I have featured a clip of MC Amrit’s voice where he refers to me as the ‘Betaj Badshah’. The third skit comes in the middle of ‘God is Dead’, it portrays how the guy dies and sets up the scenario for his meeting with God himself. The last track ‘Aamad / Children of the Ghetto’ shows the after-effects of the character’s death and how his influence impacts others.

The features sound perfect along the tracks, How do you choose who to feature with and collaborate within your tracks?

I know many artists that want to work with me and many artists that I want to work with, but I try to limit my features to very few artists who resonate with my hunger to create the best music. I also try to work with new artists so that my projects have variations in sounds and I get to learn a few things from them.

God is Dead, already being one of your best singles, works so well with this new remaster. What made you think about working on this story arc once again and adding it to this tape?

God is Dead was made before I started working on this tape. That song still helps me judge correctly between what’s right and wrong. This track fits in the storyline because I wanted to eliminate a particular side of my own personality, an egoistic one. When the character dies in the song, I feel like a part of me, a particular god complex dies as well. If this project were a movie, one could say that the end was written first, and the whole tape comes out of ‘God is Dead’.

The cover art of your project is inspired by the film ‘Betaj Badshah’. Does it signify the story-telling of the tape being rather film-like?

Shout out to Yungwuz my brother, he has done the artwork of a lot of my projects including this one. Mainly the artwork draws its inspiration from ‘Agneepath’ a film by Amitabh Bachchan. It is one of my favorite films, its aesthetics appeal to me a lot and I think the energy of the Main character in the film quite resembles the energy of our ‘Betaj Badshah’.

What are Bagi Munda’s plans for the future? Any projects or collaborations one should keep an eye out for?

I would not reveal my business plans, but other than that I want to become a better person. As an artist, I aspire to create as much music I can, as I can and keep providing for my close and loved ones. Also, you all will be seeing me everywhere very soon, even if a person does not understand Punjabi he will know me and resonate with my music. I plan to represent Punjab and my country worldwide.