TAKING HIS STAGE name from the legendary Japanese dragon, rapper Varun Kapadia aka Mizuchi, has always been fascinated by myths. “My new EP is called Myth, and the reason I named it that is because it talks about the myth about being an artiste, especially an artiste in India,” says the 20-year-old. The four-track EP, whichdraws from trap and R&B, questions and grapples with his identity as an Indian rapper and all the baggage that comes with it.
Varun, who is studying at the Tufts University in Boston, had to make his way back to India due to the lockdown. With two albums under his belt already (All My Spirits and The Kid In the House), the Mumbai-based rapper felt this was the right time to release this EP. “I think earlier, I found myself imitating Western hip-hop and trap artistes a lot. And I didn’t want to do that with this EP. I wanted to bring in some ethnic sounds into my music, especially from the production side.” This can be seen in the track Sunroof, whic incorporates some bansuri tunes, and in the song Bombay, which uses sitar and tablas. “I was very happy with the result, and I finally felt comfortable in my skin as a kid from Mumbai,” he adds.
At the same time, Varun sets himself apart from the current wave of gully rap that the Mumbai, and Indian hip-hop circuit, is known for. He admits that a lot of labels are only looking for regional rap artistes right now, and he has faced many barriers because of it. “I have nothing against gully rap. But I’m trying to showcase what I represent,” says Varun, adding, “My main goal is to put Indian hip-hop on the global map and I want India to be presented by our diversity.”
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