In today’s edition of Offthedome Featured, we have Shen B, a Jammu-based talent who has been a talk of the hour lately. As of now, Shayaan is an active contestant in the National TV show – MTV Hustle 3.0. His track ‘Rubina’ was loved a lot by the audience thanks to his heartfelt writing and delivery. Read more to find out about his artistry, creative process and future plans!
Hey Shayaan! Glad to have you here. Can you tell us about your time on the show?
It has been a rollercoaster ride, to be honest. A ride that brought about a massive change in me as an artist. I wanted to come and introduce myself as an old school-happy vibe artist to the audience but the level of competition and variety unlocked new parts in me. It made me a very versatile route towards finding my own space in the crowd. It also made me touch upon the topics that me uncomfortable to express as an artist.
This season has been about representing, How do you feel about representing your home, Jammu on National TV?
It was kind of my dream to do this. Repressing my city, my state and my family means everything to me. Especially coming from a city where the hip-hop scene is just growing, it feels like I have done something to contribute and serve the future generations of J&K hip-hop. In short, I am super happy and I hope I inspire kids to pursue hip-hop with all their hearts.
Your recent track ‘Rubina’ received acclaim across platforms and has been a recent fan-favourite. Tell us about your writing process for such a heartfelt piece.
At first, I was hesitant to touch on such a topic and style of rap. Since my mother passed away, I kind of buried this feeling deep down but being in the show, I realised, this might be the best time to share my story and the best thing I could do for my mother, wife and daughter. When I was writing this song, I shared the first draft with my wife and she didn’t like the idea that I was only writing about the pain I got from the mother’s passing. She suggested I write something that celebrated her life even in her absence and to end it on a note that gives hope even in the saddest of times. That’s how Rubina was born after that.
In the same track, you implemented Kashmiri lines, is there a larger significance to the hook of the track?
Not only do I want to document the legacy of three women in my life but also my family lineage. The Kashmiri chorus means, I had to crawl like an ant in this big world, I had to write your story today, I can’t do anything but write your story today. This was taken from my maternal great-grandfather Abdullah (Talib) Khan Bhalessi’s poetry. So this was also about keeping my family’s history alive and cementing that legacy on National TV.
The peak lyricism of the track boasts of your artistry, Rubina is undoubtedly your best performance on the show as of yet. How does it feel now that you’ve let this out for the audience? How have the reactions been?
I can not even explain the amount of love I have received from this. I became a people’s rapper after this and not just a Hip-hop community rapper. I received praise from my village Bhalessa in Distt. Doda in Jammu region and also from Kashmir Region which is very heartwarming. I have had messages incoming from people who have lost a parent saying this made them feel like it’s their story. The most interesting message I received was, thank you for making me cry, I haven’t cried in almost 5 years and this took a huge load off of my chest.
Even before performing on National TV, you’ve had releases and more importantly impactful contributions to the growth of the culture in your area. Can you tell us about that?
Yes, I have always tried to write so that important topics are served to people in a very palatable way. I mostly write about social problems in a very quirky way which makes it very easy to consume for normal people. Jammu is growing in terms of hip hop and with me being here I think it will inspire more and more people.
What are your plans? What should one expect from Shen B in the coming year?
I have plans of taking a break from the traditional hardcore hip-hop for a while and transcendent it to a very R&B/soul genre. Also, I have met great artists at Hustle whom I would like to work with on a mixtape very soon.
Listen to Shen B’s tracks on Spotify:
