Debut albums have a long history of relating directly to an artist’s real life story or an impactful incident in their lives. Exceptions involve concept debut albums, which are well known in the history of Hip-Hop music. “Madari”, curated by Munawar, stands out as the project that expresses emotions and vehemence in equal measure.
Released under the Warner Music label on the 6th of June, “Madari” contains 8 tracks that last around 25 minutes. The album has features from Rashmeet Kaur, Hitzone, Farhan Khan and Charan and production by Sez on the beat, Karan Kanchan, Riz Shain and DRJ Sohail. The album is additionally mixed by Abhijay Sharma, who’s recent BOP “Obsessed” is one of the most played songs this summer.
The album was surrounded by much anticipation as this was the comedian’s act of reinventing himself off stage & on camera. The excitement for the album that Munawar’s core supporters had, stems from the music videos that he had released way before that had garnered millions of views and were hits.
“Madari” the title track was the first to be released on YouTube. The music video garnered mixed reviews from the audience. Although Munawar’s audience accepted it as a hit track, it received some backlash and criticism from the core DHH audience. However, this perception continued to change as subsequent releases from the album only went on to prove the artist’s novice yet sincere foray into the art of music making.
“Madari” is a reflection of the multitude of emotions and experiences that has made Munawar who he is. The features are very well selected as they seem fit in every context and the feeling a song delivers, the best example being Farhan Khan’s hard hitting verse on the title track. The album also sees Munawar stepping up his lyricism, featuring poetic lines and bars with unique rhyming schemes. His flows vary with song and theme and this adds to the versatility of the album’s soundscape.
When asked about his choice of keeping the title “Madari”, the artist conveyed his respect towards the late actor Irfan Khan, and how the actor’s performance in his film “Madaari” impacted him in many different ways. The cover art checks out, as it expresses his feeling of celebration of his success that he has achieved in his career. Munawar’s debut work in the field of music was in August 2020 when he released “Jawab” in collaboration with Spectra and Shawie. His artistry has improved evidently since then and “Madari” speaks volumes about his musicianship.
