“Pretentious”, “Overcomplicated”, “ARSLAN ne artist banaya hai”, “Substance nahi hai”, “Literature degree rap”. Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard extremely different opinions about shauharty and his craft. Personally, I didn’t know his practice of rap was this divisive. I always thought of it as experimental, free and perhaps, necessary. His brand of hip hop in one word for me was always, “abstract”.

With only one formal release yet, his mixtape “MADHEERA” made waves in the underground when it dropped. It was non-linear linearity, the quest to find his own distinct sound. A few weeks back, I was sent 2 songs off his upcoming EP, “Paint It, Dull”: Pritis and another unreleased track. It served as a taste of the record and the basis for this article. I’ll break down my expectations into two parts: lyrically and sonically.

Lyrical Expectations 

Off the two tracks, I was sent, it’s clear Farookh is very confident in his writing capabilities. His lyricism is still abstract and filled to the brim with references. On Pritis, a song about toxic relationships, along with Waydant, Nanku, Shy Wry, and Yousha, both sides of the coin are depicted. shauharty becomes a manipulator, taking advantage of the insecurities of a vulnerable woman in his life. I won’t delve much into the song, but it’s a great departure from his usual style. The other track, is him spitting relentlessly. He’s concise and focused on the subject at hand. shauharty’s newfound versatility shines through as he navigates different themes and styles through the 2 pack.

My prediction is that the writing on “Paint It, Dull” will be a departure from his usual non-linear style. Songs like Pritis make me believe that there would be more storytelling and more details about his hardships over life would be unravelled. This potential exploration of personal narratives can add the “authenticity” some people are currently looking for in his music. Along with these new songs, I think a few songs will still be MADHEERA him to satisfy the ones who enjoy the “old” lyricism.

Sonical Expectations

Since the release of MADHEERA, one advantage shauharty has had is an impeccable ear for his beats. Pairing this with an excellent group of producers, his producer simply never misses. Earlier, I expected that he’ll stick to his usual sample-heavy production and I wanted to see him switch his style but, after I listened to the preview sent to me, I was left speechless.

On the unreleased track, shauharty raps over live instruments and samples fusing together. It’s unique and brings something new to the table. Call me a philistine but a major flaw of MADHEERA was that the production was mixed over his vocals. I feel like this wouldn’t be a problem this time and a lot of first-time listeners would be tuning in.

Conclusion

Perhaps, the reason why shauharty emphasises that his project is an extended play is to make the audience understand the level of cohesiveness of the project. I feel like “Paint It, Dull” will be more cohesive than a mixtape but still experimenting and polishing sounds. All in all, I hope it’ll provide us with enough lyrical material to convert what some people say, his “pretentiousness” to authenticity.

Listen to the track Here