Hailing from the culturally rich city of Kolkata, Prithviraj Pandey is an up-and-coming rapper who is constantly striving to build an audience that resonates with his perspectives. Prithvi is also a songwriter, he started his music journey with classical music at the age of 5 at The Calcutta School of Music. During his schooling, Prithvi discovered Hip-Hop and had already started developing an inclination towards the genre.
It was Prithvi’s love for the art of rap, his curiosity for learning and also his yearning to express his thoughts through words which made him delve deep into the genre of rap/hip hop, making him realize his potential and ability to write rap verses/songs. During his first year of college in 2019 Prithvi performed his first-ever stage show as a rapper in front of a crowd of almost 200 people in his college garnering quite some appreciation and support and motivating him to perform more such acts in the years to come across several clubs/cafes/colleges in his hometown although during this phase he didn’t officially start putting out music.
He mostly performed with beatboxer Shovik Chakraborty who also is his close friend and who was one of those people who motivated him to pursue rap. Prithvi also gives credit to former rapper of the Kolkata Rap Scene Aditya Saraogi aka Exposure, Prithvi’s batchmate in college, who guided Prithvi during his initial days as a rapper giving him a strong grasp on the fundamentals of the artform.
Prithviraj draws inspiration from lyrical rappers such as KR$NA apart from the Western rap legends including Eminem, Tupac and J Cole. In the late summer of 2022, Prithviraj would eventually release his first single, “Hustle”, which sees him rapping over a trap beat. Subsequently, he released a drill track titled “Believe” in collaboration with Switch Hit alongside a music video. Soon after, Prithviraj put out a remix version of ‘Billie Eilish’ joining the trend while also improving his camera presence. During the early stages of his career, Prithviraj already realized that he wanted to experiment and try new sounds and sub-genres.
This artistic decision was seen in ‘Paintbrush’, which is a Lofi hip-hop track and features Prithvi’s lyrical prowess. The track talks about the different emotions and feelings one experiences in the different stages of love. This decision turned out to be one of the most impactful ones in Prithvi’s career as the track received a lot of love and gained him an audience that truly appreciated his style of making laid-back Lofi tracks. However, Prithvi would go ahead and experiment with an old-school chill kinda soundscape for his next single “Alvidaa”. In collaboration with Switch-Hit, the track features a lot of introspective lyrics and a newer form of perspective rap for Prithvi.
What followed next was a well-thought-out and designed debut EP ‘Heartbreaks and Hennessy’ that showcased the approach of Prithviraj curating cohesive soundscapes that were complimented with the perspectives and narratives that he weaved in. The sound of the EP was reminiscent of lofi/chill Hip-Hop, which his audience again loved thanks to his distinctive style.
The EP was quite therapeutic for Prithviraj as it talked about his personal feelings and emotions that he attained after a break-up. His latest release “Calcutta to New York” features a Bengali verse from the Kolkata-based rapper for the very first time. Like all of the other tracks in Prithviraj’s discography, “Calcutta to New York” features introspective lyrics and instances of his past. The track also sees him calling out the artists who focus on controversies and have a ‘crab mentality’ of pulling each other down. Having a Bengali verse on the track was a well-thought-creative decision considering he is the first Bengali rapper to shoot a music video in the birthplace of Hip-Hop.
While Prithviraj is yet to break out as an artist, his pieces often display a promising career and a strong fanbase that resonates with his art. He plans to collaborate with the rappers from his scene, and his city as well as create music with artists pan-India. He is also working towards putting out self-produced music and intends to experiment more with his music. While most rappers resort to chasing trends and short-lived fame, Prithviraj Pandey aims to have a long-lasting impression and leave behind an artistic legacy that helps his peers and the next generation’s aspiring rappers believe in themselves.
Listen to Prithviraj’s track on Spotify:
