Delhi based Azadi Records and Mumbai’s Gully Gang Entertainment’s very first collaboration is a track titled ‘Dum Pishaach’ and is produced by Gully Gang’s eccentric trap producer Karan Kanchan, and performed by New Delhi based rap duo Seedhe Maut. Rappers Encore ABJ and Calm have continuously kept pushing the bar of conscious lyricism in the Indian rap scene of late, but what’s different with this drop is their delivery over a trap metal type beat which is unlike anything the duo has rapped over before. Karan Kanchan is a distinct type of trap producer – his sound being influenced by Japanese classical music and culture which he often translates into his music through a hard trap and dubstep like treatment.
The track lasting only a few seconds over 2 minutes includes a lot of hard-hitting rhymes by the duo over Kanchan’s nu-metal influenced trap beats and powerful guitar riffs by Bily. It is a groundbreaking release in the sense that not only is this a revival sound of the once-popular genre of rap-rock but is also a very fresh sound in the Indian hip hop context, which makes this for a timely release amidst the content and variety saturation that consumers of mainstream Indian hip hop are experiencing today. Diss tracks are being overplayed and many artists are engaging in this often manufactured exchange for the views and numbers which unfortunately are not always the best indicator of who are the most skilled and variant at their craft.
‘Dum Pishaach’ is the Hindi dubbed name for ‘Dementors’ from the fictional world of Harry Potter, reiterating SM’s recurring theme of 2000s pop culture nostalgia. Encore in his verse goes all out at the clout chasing internet rappers and very confidently conveys that these rappers will ultimately have to submit to the bitter realization that they have nothing to offer which can match the level of SM’s quality and lyrical finesse – “ Sada Chik Chil Waale Laundo Pe Ye Ek Hi Tareeka Siddh Ladke Bane Jae Net Pe Gangster Sm Aae, Kargae Hand Up” (Encore talks about internet critics and rappers who claim to be big shots on social media without having any project out that could match the variety of Seedhe Maut’s music catalog in the last couple of years). Calm rides into his verse with effortless ease and adds onto the continuing theme. “Yaha Maange Sab Diss Hum Baatein Bas Gyaan” ( The duo hints at the diss culture within the Indian rap community, however making sure their audience know that they will have no part in that, instead they will count on their intellect, skills and neatly designed lyrical content to knock off our socks time and again. ) Seedhe Maut comes up with brilliant cadences, infectious flows and metaphor packed quotables over a rap-rock production. This track might even be a great place for the non-rap audience to get into the new wave of Indian hip hop and trap music.
“Nirbal Ni Dil Ye Me Birbal Sa Chatur / Makkhan Flow Aur Ye Pen Game Atul”
(I’m not weak-hearted, I’m clever like Birbal / My flow’s like butter and my pen game impeccable )
Seedhe Maut 
The artwork made by Santanu Hazarika captures the trio’s aesthetics perfectly and interprets the artists as “Rakshas” (Monster) like characters who are out for blood. Much like the dementors from JK Rowling’s universe who were presented as these soul-sucking creatures of the wizarding world, the Dum Pishaaches here is Seedhe Maut and Karan Kanchan, who with all their creativity intact aim to keep pushing against the limits of what hip hop in India should sound like and challenges all hip hop artists in the industry to step up their game.
