D'Evil Collaborates With Shizty On Aao Balam

The latest offering from Gully Gang camp is a retro-inspired Hindi pop track written and performed by leading Mumbai-based rapper D'Evil (Dhaval Parab) and upcoming Uttarakhand-bred singer-songwriter Shizty (Srishti Rawat) titled ‘Aao Balam’

Characterised by Shizty’s jazzy vocals and D’Evil’s mellow, laid-back flow, Aao Balam is deeply rooted in narratives surrounding love, heartbreak and nostalgia. D’Evil paints a vivid picture through his words while Shizty engages the listener with her vocal range, supported by a glitzy hip hop beat co-produced by Karan Kanchan and Vastavik.

The music video directed by Nachiket Parchure imbibes an old-school retro vibe that portrays a storyline of how a spy is trying to steal a diamond in the possession of a gangster and how a club singer tries to save him in an interesting turn of events!

 D'Evil says, “The track came to fruition out of a candid discussion I was having with Shizty about life in general where she mentioned - “nobody will understand your pain better than you.” I relate with Shitzy and her story as I too have worked odd jobs, hustled my way through to make ends meet and found a place in the music industry minus a mentor and it was extremely challenging to cope between earning a livelihood and pursuing my passion. We found artistic resonance in that mutual sentiment and created this track. The music landscape in India is primarily male dominated and as an artist who has seen struggle and success in equal proportions, I will take every opportunity to collaborate with promising talent who don’t enjoy a platform to showcase their craft. This track is my humble way of paying back to an industry that gave me everything. Even though the project had been ready for a while, we couldn’t release it due to the lockdown, and I am so happy that it’s finally out now.”

Shizty further adds, “‘Aao Balam’ had been in the works for the longest time and finally, it sees the light of the day! D’Evil and I have been in touch since 2017 - I had come across this demo quite a while back when Vastavik sent it to me; I picked it up because I liked the jazz influence on it and wrote the heartfelt lyrics instantly. I was going through a couple of personal issues at that point in time and I wrote something based on the proverb “??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ????, ??? ? ???? ??? ????” that translates to the fact that nobody except the one suffering from pain can understand it. I sent a rough draft of the vocals to D’Evil and that’s how it all started! Recording the final version was such a brilliant experience because I learned a lot of things from D’Evil; he taught me how to shape the mindset while recording as well as how the personality changes in front of the mic. Even the video shoot was such a pleasant experience since everyone was extremely professional and insanely fun. Grateful to D’Evil, Karan, Vastavik, and Gully Gang for everything!

Karan Kanchan expands, “It was an amazing time doing the additional production on ‘Aao Balam’ because D’Evil and I have worked on a couple of songs in the past including ‘Mumbai Darshan’, ‘Kaancheck’, and ‘Rani’, however, this is something completely different for both of us! Right from the interesting storyline that D’Evil and Shizty articulate with their vocals to retro vibe of the music video, the whole package feels fresh. Working out a beat that combines elements hip hop with a jazz influence was quite a challenge but equally fun and after all the delays it’s finally released!”

Sonically, ‘Aao Balam’ stands out as it fuses hip-hop and retro pop in a way that has never been done in Indian hip-hop before. It makes for a unique listening experience, and the track slowly grows on you to become an earworm.