Bellicose, welcome to OTD. Your music has been interesting. Can you tell us about you, how you got into a music band and what you want your fans to know about you?
What inspires you to write your lyrics?
Hope, Most days I wake up thinking today can be the day when I open my notepad and pen down something so beautiful and deep that someone one day listens to it and says that damn, this is something I relate to, Something no one else understands, I do make a lot of different types in music but writing something that I, myself feel to the core has always been the priority.
Can you describe your songwriting process?
I mostly find a beat to write on first. If I connect to the tune, half of the job is already done, though I also use my pre-written verses sometimes if I feel like. There’s no particular pattern.
Which of your songs are you most proud of and why?
Good question actually, got me thinking too, I think “Tasweer” can be one of the songs I really love, It was always the zone I wanted to dive in, I received a lot of messages for the same saying “Thank you for writing Tasweer”, People related to it, I believe this is the type of music I used to listen to mostly, still do, heavily Inspired by Powfu.
I’m proud of every song from my latest mixtape “Heartbreak Hotel”, be it Bepannah, be it Cursed Blessings, be it Apni raah, every song in this tape made me feel a lot of things, the process was brilliant, the tape was supposed to be released on 20th and I was figuring out what to do with the artwork on the 18th, the struggles, The tape has a banger song in it with Parv Music named “Launde Bolen Psycho”, I loved the end product overall.
And the last, Raahein Teri, I remember writing that piece and feeling what I wrote while recording, totally a blessing.
Are there any particular themes or messages you try to convey in your music?
I always try to write what I’ve seen in my life or felt, Something what I’d listen to as a listener in my day to day life, songs like ‘Cole Taught me’ or a song ‘Inner voices’ from my debut album ‘Confused Kiddo’ tells alot about how I have lived my life. The goal with the upcoming releases will be to inspire and heal.
Your discography is very interesting because of the topics you write about. Confused Kiddo in particular really stands out. There is a lot of sadness and pain in the tracks. Can you tell us the story of the album?
The title was decided when I was nearly done with the project, A catchy name but deep. I took a lot of suggestions to decide the name for the album but kept it ‘Confused Kiddo” because all I felt while making the project was confused emotionally, still am. Tells alot about me as a person. The artwork was beautifully done by Mowaim. The album had a lot of back context as I decided to work on it when I lost one of my closest friends in a car accident, which you can tell by hearing the Intro of the project, The storyline proceeds with the 1st track, named “ I’m Sorry”.
In the outro there was a voice note cum message I wanted everyone to listen to and it ended the project beautifully for me. The project was released on his birthday, 15th November.
In I’m sorry you mentioned your past was fucked up. How fucked up is your past? And how have you overcome the demons of your past?
Life took a lot of turns, lost a lot of people in the previous years, lost a bit of myself with each passing day, lost all hope at some nights still gained a lot of motivation to not stop because of my friends and peers, I have seen people get back to their destined places from the worst possible days, But what I fear the most is what if I actually die before making it to my last breath?
And I actually have not overcome the demons from my past, they still haunt me every passing day but me having the courage to fight them and a hope that I can make this world better for any other person suffering from the same makes me the person I am and the artist who desires to live till the end of time.
Can you explain the theme of your latest project ‘Heartbreak Hotel’
It was a very personal project as I mentioned before, The name was inspired from the album I listened to the most in 2023 “Hotel Diablo” by Machine Gun Kelly, He has inspired me and shaped my music a lot to be honest, The project was not actually planned, after making a few songs I decided to call it a project and released it on the day which I absolutely want to remember whole my life, 20th May, one of friend cum sister’s birthday, It would be fair to say if she wouldn’t have been there, I would’ve been incomplete as an artist and as an person today, Apni raah was written for her too, That is what I love about life that you never know who inspires you to be you in your day to day life, I’m grateful to have met such people in my life. Bepannah is a very personal track, which makes it the intro to this beauty, I actually recorded it after having a breakdown and I love how raw it sounds.
The project ends with a song named “Andhera”, Which represents darkness but it is a song which beautifies the whole depth of darkness, having lines like:
“But to anyone jo baat meri sun raha hai,
Mere bhai tu kahani apni bunra hai,
Har kadam pe naya raasta tu chunra hai
Aur tujhe agar lage ki tu haar raha hai toh tu gumrah hai”.
It tells you to never stop and to form a bond with your scars and move with time.
Cursed.Blessings is one track that really stands out for me. A few things you said in the first part of the track is quite riveting. Can you break down the track for us?
Hands down, It is the most personal track that I’ve written, It tells a lot about how I mismanaged my relations, How am thankful that I never gave up even though there was no one with me to listen to the fears I’ve had, It tells about how I stopped being close to people mainly because the fear of loneliness, how I didn’t pick my friend’s calls before he left this world. It mentions how grateful I am for that one friend who never gave up on me. In the track I tell about how I sometimes question and ask myself that am I cursed? Or is it that life is giving me lessons as we hear everyday “Everything happens for a reason”, which I disagree with, also referring to my ep released in 2023 ‘The Cursed One’.
It has a few quotables:
: “Apno ke saath lagun pardesi, Khud ke hi dil ke sang kaidi”
: “Chahta tha jaun main far away, sunta mere aansu sirf takiya”
: “Afraid of the clock, Mera time hone wala lage khatam,
Tick Tick back of the mind baje galat”
: “Apnon ki umeeden tune tod di, Dil ki awaaz mujhe kosti”
: “Raat mein jaagke cuts maarun haath pe, this pain doesn’t end
Anxiety karegi kitni zindagiyon ke khatme?”
In the second part of the track you gave a bunch of people including OTD a shoutout. Firstly, thanks for that but there is a deep meaning behind that. What is the message you intend to deliver?
I gave credit to the people I wanted to because we as artists complain a lot about how we don’t get any support from the scene but then completely forget to pay respect to the peers who deserve it. Having that in mind, that song also makes me remember my journey.
The message was simple yet deep, The name of the piece itself is a paradox – “Cursed Blessings”, The message is that we might feel or face the worst times but time always changes, to bring a change we have to move with time or else we’ll be turned to dust in the blink of an eye, Time does not stop for anyone, not for me, not for you, not for anyone!
Making your demons your friends is the most cursed blessing we’ve been blessed with!
How do you balance personal storytelling with making your music relatable to a wide audience?
I write what I feel and try to form a rhythm with it so it reaches the masses, I often get told to turn my sound into something commercial or to make bumpy songs more often but I do what I feel, I make music for the people who can relate to what I’ve been through, for the people who need to know that they are not alone and It’s okay to be a misfit in this cold world.
How has your music evolved since you first started?
I started making music by the end of 2019. It has been over 5 years and I still get shocked sometimes by the music I create. I started rapping to be a rapper, I make music today to be an artist. I feel there’s a huge difference. The sound was a lot trappy before and now I create a lot of r&b/sad music, though I still create fun music too and get in that zone with songs like –
“Launde Bolen Psycho” and ofcourse not to forget my latest release “Makkhan Flow” which I got a lot of appreciation for!
Who are the artists who have inspired you the most?
I have had the privilege of having a good music taste since I was a kid, I started listening to desi hip hop before I could listen to the international scene. I started listening to good hip-hop because of Talha Anjum, an artist I’m heavily inspired by.
I then shifted to listening to J Cole, XXX Tentacion, Powfu and Machine Gun Kelly. All these artists have helped me a lot to shape my vision and sound. Not to forget, their music helped me to grow as a person too!
What are your goals for your music career moving forward?
To be frank, There is nothing major planned. A few projects, there’s this desire to be found by more listeners who would relate to me. I want to do more shows in 2025. I’ve recently had a great release “Makkhan Flow” with the help of my manager, Hiya Singh Panwar, who I plan to grow and work more with in the near future.
Listen to Bellicose’s latest album on Spotify:
