Rapper Dino James hopes hip-hop comes at par with Bollywood soon

Rapper-composer Dino James is happy to see the growing popularity of hip hop in the music scene in India, but feels it still has a long way to go.

“It’s beautiful and now, I hope it grows enough one day to stand neck to neck with Bollywood & become a household genre. New artists are coming in with newer sounds, in fact, artists are coming in with more love towards the art. It’s an explosion of talent that needs to be taken care of and nurtured now,” James tells us.

In fact, he is working on pushing the genre into mainstream with the release of his debut album, D. He hopes it will serve as his introduction to the global music industry. He has looked into his life and journey for the songs. “I want my music to speak for me. I’m sure even Shah Rukh Khan never knew what he could be when he started out in this city. Progression can be slow but not stopping is the motto to all that you deserve,” he says.

Talking about his album that released in May, he shares, “My album is a collection of different sounds I wanted to put out there. A whole experience of melodies, stories & the generic expectation of bars. Songs like, D N Me, speak about my lonesome journey in hip hop while songs like On the Rocks talk about how I found my calling. Music is liberating in itself and rap just became an outlet of my expression. The idea of the album was inspired by the amount of songs I had rusting in my laptop to be honest. I just had to give them the day of light and hence I decided to go for an album rather than singles”.

On weaving his life into his song narratives, he says, “This is where my art comes into the play. I’ve not been through all that I rap about but it’s definitely a perspective which helps people relate. My stories speak for themselves and people can take whatever they want from a story, a lesson or a feeling”.

“From an assistant director to an actor to call centres and to a lot more, everything was just an attempt to make ends meet in Mumbai. The city of dreams tests you a lot before it gives. It does help build character when you go through such phases of uncertainty. The city had me grinding, grounded & finally accepted,” he adds.