In the midst of the distressing pandemic – constant chaos and turbulence surround all of us every single day. Musicians reflect deeply on their lives and the conscious state of the world almost constantly as they course through their duties, responsibilities, and approach towards music.
These values place heavier mental tolls on the artist. In the Indian indie hip-hop soundscape, mental health has been addressed thoroughly by only a handful of emcees. In fact, hip-hop talents have started seriously addressing mental health issues only in the last couple of years compared to the decade long presence of the art form in the country.
Of Learning & Letting Go
In the latest video from one of India’s top-tier female emcees, Dee MC vents her fatigues, expresses her concerns, and confesses her truths to the world on a mellow, tuneful track produced, mixed, and mastered by Sahir (of Mumbai’s Finest). Both Dee and Sahir have been vocal about mental health, and this constant theme reflects in their recent music. The track is an idea that began as a mutual effort and took shape in the form of a song that connects with everyone instantaneously.
Says Dee MC, “Sahir and I wanted to portray the story of a young woman who, despite having her life mapped out, is still battling through her own insecurities. We all try to hide our vulnerabilities from a world that can be quite brutal. Confess stems from our own experience as independent artists; the idea is to learn to laugh at one’s circumstances, good or bad.”
The music video is also directed by Sahir and executed with aplomb, taking an individualistic approach throughout the entirety of the video. The song transits from projecting the different sides of the artist and then shifts to convey the ‘pure personality’ of an artists heart. Sahir adds ““The song and music video are collages of our self projection, external and internal. It also tries to say that the feeling of sadness is not “wrong”. We cannot stay happy always, but by reminding ourselves about our search for balance we can dive deeper into understanding ourselves.”
Life Lessons
Confess is a song of many emotions and life learnt lessons. Dee has strongly emanated her inner being to the world, confessing her bittersweet relationship with both her internal and external existences. Through this song, she has given us glimpses of the duality of an artist’s true nature. Both Sahir and Dee believe that through the medium of art, subjective and complex emotions can be explained and experienced with a better understanding. This constant theme manifests itself throughout the song.
