‘Bubblecars’ By The Siege Is A Powerful, Anthemic Statement To The Masses

Earlier this month, Mumbai based emcee The Siege dropped his debut album ‘Bubblecars’ – the title a nod to a particular cheat code from GTA: San Andreas. This album has been his defining moment. The young emcee assembled a talented team of individuals to add more life to the project and has outdone himself in terms of quality instrumentals, lyrical ability and sound.

Earlier this year, The Siege founded an independent artist platform called “Montage” along with co-founder Vriddhi. He then announced his debut album – Bubblecars – a concept album as his first complete body of work. Anand, Rhymix and Varun Shangloo shared a major workload with The Siege with respect to the creation of the instrumentals and overall theme/sound of the album. The Seige’s medium-paced flow combined with hints of metaphorical poetry, punchlines and rhyme schemes stick to the standalone, recurring themes throughout the album.

The album starts with a dark, melancholy, spoken word piece. The “Intro To Bubblecars” sees The Siege spiritually detach himself from everyday loops and his own self/ego. Followed quickly by the vibrant “Haath Kaapte” – The Siege captures the listener and drives them further into the world of Bubblecars. A world filled with aspiration, despair, success and imminent failure. “Mere Shaitaan Azad” is an introspect into the environment that The Siege has been experiencing around himself. The interlude follows – “Grief Is The Final Act Of Love” is food for thought. Next up – “Shayad Maut” is an ode to the power of tomorrow. The two sides to the song give the message more impact. “Kaali Kahani” is a showcase of storytelling, poetry and pain. It speaks about the pain of suicide, and reflects suicidal thoughts as the song progresses.

Anand (Nasir) who has not only done an exceptional job at producing this album, but has also stuck to the core theme of it. He shows up in his own interlude next, dropping cryptic poetry and metaphors. The title track “Bubblecars” rolls up next and pulls the theme of the entire project together. This song has questions, answers and above all, pure emotion. “Free” featuring Swarada ends the album on a perfect note. It sees the listener finally exit the world, being “freed” from worldly materials, attachments and pain after death. The song loops back to stories from Siege’s personal life and conveys the feeling of reading out a suicide note. This is the essence of the concept album. It speaks of death, love, loss and freedom. This is a must-listen for any Hip-Hop head in India.