Raghav Bhatia, commonly known as Boyblanck, is a Noida-based trap artist and has been releasing music for close to five years now. He is also the co-founder of a trap crew named ‘G16’ which operates from Noida. Boyblanck recently released an EP named ‘In Surveillance of Angels’ featuring Jaskaran, J1SIX, hype, schoolboypax and $ohunnid. Read more to find out about Boyblanck’s EP, his creative process, his aspirations and future projects!
1. Tell us about your recent album. What theme does it follow?
My latest work is called ‘In Surveillance of Angels’. It’s a portrayal of my duality and everyone else’s, I guess. I feel the people who are really close to me and see me do my thing keep a check on me in the sense they are responsible for my well-being in a world full of both good and bad surprises.
2. What is your creative process? Is there a different approach for projects like Multani Mitti?
My creative process was very different this time as compared to a record like Multani Mitti. With this one, I really just stated an idea to my associates and the execution was almost instantaneous. This compilation was as fresh to me as it was to people who heard it the night it came out because I feel even I was listening to it for the first time in one go, the whole thing. The process was so quick that I never really got a chance to process a lot of things. This was truly a magical creative experience.
3. One thing that stands out in your music is the vocal modulation and unique vocal texture that it possesses. How do you achieve that? Has it always been the same way?
I was once in a very interesting conversation with Bagi Munda where we discussed how rappers are failed singers. Honestly, who knows? It might be true. I have always had a knack for melodies. I have actually grown up around a lot of melodic elements, from my mother humming a tune while housemaking or my dad playing Michael Jackson on blast while preparing breakfast for us. So when I started doing music I just had to try out melodies of all sorts right so I did an autotune and that shit just hit differently. It lowkey changed my life when I heard my own voice tonally and melodically manipulated through some software. As I like to say ‘When I found my sound they lost their shit‘ haha.
4. What are your artistic influences? Who do you listen to these days?
More than musicians I would say my artistic inspiration comes from conversation these days. Some that I might have with somebody and some that I quietly hear when it’s taking place. Just like we used to have ‘thought of the day’ during school, these days I look for one such thought of the day which later becomes the source of inspiration. If not for a whole project then at least a song.
But yeah music-wise wise I’m listening to all kinds of tunes. A lot of soft rock, country and interestingly jazz is in rotation these days.
Rap-wise I’m listening to Jay Z, that In My Lifetime Vol. 1 record is dope. I’m also listening to a lot of Kendrick and then again on the lighter side I got my Carti, Future, Thug, Lone, Ken, Gunna all of them.
5. What is your approach while looking for or collaborating with other artists in the scene? How do you choose feature artists for your projects?
I like making collaborations from the perspective of a listener. I separate myself from the intellectual entity of ‘Boyblanck’ and think “Hmm who do I wanna hear this mofo with today” and BAM! whoever I feel fits the puzzle best gets an open demo sent to them and then we carry out the song.
6. Your music has been featured in Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy, how does it feel being an underground Noida-based rapper having his pieces featured in thriller films?
Kennedy was an unbelievable experience now that I think about it. A 21-year-old impressionable ass rapper gets called to Bombay by this legendary critically acclaimed Indian filmmaker to make the soundtrack of his next film and the rapper ends up staying on the couch for the next 6 months locked in making music getting to experiencing all kinds of interactions with all kinds of people, despite being a wonderful real-life story for a tv show or a film this journey too was filled with way too many up and downs but it has proved to be one of the most important experiences of my life in terms of personal growth and my artistic ambitions.
7. This July will mark the 5th year ever since you’ve started releasing music. Looking back at your career, how do you feel you have grown as an artist? How has the journey been?
Having spent 5 years in the game it’s safe to say that I’m ready for the next 25 too. I love this shit, I love this sport. It’s the root cause of a lot of good things and bad things in my life, in fact, in today’s time it has become my whole identity but honestly I don’t mind being known for what I create because I realised recently that I could be known for a lot of different reasons in this world which could be problematic for me and the people I chose to love. So this thing that I got going for myself is for a common cause I feel and it’s just a cool thing you know making music and putting it out haha.
8. As an artist, what is that one thing you are aspiring or chasing that can possibly make you feel successful and eminent? What is Boyblanck’s goal for the near future?
As a regular brown dude and a motherfucking rapper, I want all the material possession that a brown boy aspires to have. But I know for a fact that isn’t the answer. My first record deal was literally 1000 times more than what I received for the first feature I sold and trust me the concept of money became saturated. I didn’t come to value money that much because I made it through something I absolutely love doing which is making music so that money was for free it felt and when I saw the pace at which it could all be spent I knew I’d need a lot of money just to not speak about money ever, I hate money that’s why I absolutely need it haha that’s my future plan + exploring undiscovered ideas in the music realm.
9. Tell us about your future plans. What more can we see from your side this year?
In the future, you can surely expect my Debut album called ‘Diversity’ 😀
