Shivam Sharma, commonly known as rbbt, is a part of the rapper-producer duo ‘Bad Trip Symphony’. The Jaipur-based rapper takes a lot of pride in his city and its culture. Even though the rap scene in Jaipur might not be as defined and strong as compared to other cities, rbbt has been representing his city and his background throughout his artistic career. With 3 albums and multiple singles and collaborations, Bad Trip Symphony has built a very strong discography portraying their musicality and distinctive style.
The debut piece of work by Bad Trip Symphony was an album named ‘A Bad Album’ which was released over 5 years ago. The full-length record turned out to benefit the duo and build their presence in the community. Soon after, they came up with ‘B12’, another full-length record with 12 tracks that ran for 36 minutes. In 2022, the duo came up with yet another full-length record ‘Show After The Show’ which consisted of 20 tracks and had a runtime of more than an hour. This album wasn’t only the longest but also the biggest one for the duo as they had various features and explored multiple styles while presenting their narratives.
A couple of weeks ago, rbbt came up with his solo debut album ‘Soul Searching’. Although his projects with BadLuck have been some of the finest from his city, rbbt’s vision of creating a very introspective and personal project could only be possible with a solo release. Everything in the 30-minute record ranging from rapping to producing and engineering has been done by rbbt himself. Released on the 15th of May, Soul Searching consists of 11 tracks and dives into rbbt’s personal thoughts and introspective perspectives. All of the 11 tracks relate to rbbt’s own experiences and views of whatever goes around him, be it family or friends, his relationships or his isolated feelings, ‘Soul Searching’ offers a very well-presented glimpse of everything in rbbt’s mind.
Right from the first track, ‘Chen’, rbbt differentiates between, materialistic wants to gain what we perceive as a rather pseudo form of peace to the real satisfaction that one gets while spending time with their family and loved ones. In the constant hustle to achieve more and climb the ladders of success, both in music and his real-life endeavours, rbbt finds himself chasing things that he might not really want. This essence is beautifully captured in ‘Filth’, where he explores concepts of greed. He also opens up about his insecurities and trust issues in tracks like ‘Bekarar’ and ‘Der Raat’, and talks about the actual value one has within their close ones on ‘Umeed’. Further, on ‘Zeher’, rbbt metaphorically emphasizes his problematic habits and sides that he has been carrying due to his past experiences. The track also has MC Kode and Vasudev as the only features on the album, they both do their part well and add their own perspectives to the deeply introspective and relatable setting. Despite the melancholic and bleak setting of the album, it does end on a good note with the last three tracks. ‘Rooh’ implies why it is important for someone to accept their own mistakes to become a better version of themselves. ‘Yakeen’ indicates that life is indeed a roller-coaster and better things are yet to come, while ‘Untitled’ presents a beautiful retrospection into rbbt’s past where he reflects on his late Grandfather’s significance and the values he left in Shivam.
The production of the album is very distinctive from what we have heard in Bad Trip Symphony’s discography. The reason is rbbt’s choice to sonically design the project. It features everything from poetic laid-back backgrounds to melodic raps. He is seen experimenting with RnB/Soul trap production on tracks like ‘Filth’ and ‘Love U’ where he is seen integrating synths with drill beats. Another track worth mentioning is ‘Rooh’ where rbbt combines Latin guitar melodies with dancehall-inspired drums in a uniquely beautiful blend.
