Siegen, better known as The Siege, is one of the most celebrated and prominent artists from the Underground Hip-Hop scene. The Mira-road-based rapper has released many narrative-driven and introspective projects that a huge part of society can agree with and relate to. Having the ability to write well on relatable topics and have a distinctive flow is what has helped Siege build an audience. Earlier this year, Siege started live streaming non-stop with the sole purpose of showcasing his day-to-day lifestyle and interacting with his fans. The campaign ended recently with the track ‘CBSC’, which was curated live, being released. NOTE: This interview was taken on the 24th of January.
1. Tell us about the live stream initiative. Why did you start this? What was the idea?
There are certain aspects involved in this, for one, I wanted to reach out to more people, and, while I don’t want to crib around, the reality is that art has become a circus of sorts now. People would prefer watching someone performing some erratic and absurd stuff rather than someone putting their heart and soul into their craft. So I decided I’d put up a circus in my own way. It’s not like I’m giving into it, I kind of love this approach of trying to connect with more people. To be honest, this is not needed, but we wanted to do something that helps build a story of what goes behind making art. My music has always been introspective and in-depth with my personal life, and that is also why it makes sense, that I can build my own story through this. It has also got a lot of buzz recently, so this is sort of a marketing campaign in itself too. People not associated with Hip-Hop and people who haven’t even heard of me have come through in the live streams.
2. What do you think the audience might be thinking? Do you think this would come off as a desperate move to some?
As far as I know of the audience’s reaction, It has mostly been positive, people are amazed about the whole concept of this. As far as attention goes, I love having it. In fact, I would like to garner as much attention as I can. Good music should always get the attention it deserves. I know I am not hurting someone, not causing any sort of a negative impact, this is just my approach towards standing out and making people understand what I am doing. As I said, it is creative marketing at the end of the day, and it is the best method of marketing for me. This is something that suits my artistic persona.
3. What is with labels in India? What does and does not click for them?
They want a guarantee, they seek a certain surety before they put their money. The whole thing with labels is that it’s their job to take risks, I mean it’s an investment that they are making at the end of the day, and like every other investor, they try to minimize their risks. This is why they tend to invest in something that is already working, something that gives them the surety. For an artist, it is always important to have some leverage over such conversations and deals, I mean it’s your own creative piece that is on the line. A lot of artists get played by some labels, they don’t get what they deserve. Now, the problem is that labels are the ones with the money, I’m not implying that Independent music doesn’t work, it depends from person to person, but in general, labels are the ones with the bag. I remember a label told me that ‘I am rapping a bit too much’ on Rent is Due and that ‘I need to have a hook’ on Chhupna. To conclude, most of these labels want what is already working, if you have a fart song trending on reels, they’ll be chasing you with a pen and paper.
4. What are your opinions on the current state of the Hip-Hop scene? How hard is it for underground rappers to make money?
They are already making money, but you have to be unique in some way to stand out and have people talking about you. It doesn’t matter if people like you or whether your music is palatable, you have to find a way to stand out and get people talking about you. Everyone is making tracks, most of these artists know how to make music, but one has to present it in a certain way. One has to have a strong marketing strategy. If you are rolling out an album, you need to add experiences like listening sessions and other forms of gigs to be able to monetize from the project and further amplify it. You don’t get gigs easily, it’s a seasonal thing and it does not pay that well too. The event industry is loss-incurring, the model can not allow you to get loads of money.
There are campaigns where artists sell their music directly to their fans. Of course, merch is a way to make some money but you need to have a strong following first. An artist can also set up independent gigs, listening sessions or other forms of events. There are ways to make money in the industry, it depends on what you can do.
5. What are your artistic inspirations?
I don’t think I have a lot of musical inspiration, it has mostly been personal experience-based for me. I can’t think of one artist when someone asks me about who I get inspired, however, I do find some influential stuff in the intentions of an artist. Like Kanye West, the approach while making albums. When he wanted to make Yeezus, he wanted to fuck with everything and everyone, that’s how he made Yeezus. In MBDTF, he had a point, he had something to talk about and the way he presented it was a perfect album.
6. How your way of working with producers?
Sounds inspire me a lot when I make music, I mean I could not write for the best beat ever made if it doesn’t pull anything out of me. I hit up good producers and musicians if I like their music. If something does inspire me, I decide to work with them.
7.. What is Siege’s creative process? How do you make music?
A major part of my creative process comes from whatever’s going around my life at that point. I try to put my life into rhymes, I write lines whenever I feel like it and then implement them in songs that revolve around that emotion. For example, there is this excellent bar in ‘Rent Is Due’ “In kaato ke bina beta banta koi gulzar nai” which was written back in 2021 because I was going through something around that time. So my music-making process goes hand in hand with whatever is going on in my life. I just musically translate my thoughts and try to make my stuff substance-heavy. I do think that I have done abstract or alternative stuff, especially with Bubblecars, not everyone would like the sound of it. But I never lost the principles of rap, traditional rap for that matter, I keep that in the highest regard. I can never write a line that no one needs to hear.
8. Tell us about “Siegen”, your upcoming album.
It’s in an ideation phase. It is a self-titled album because I feel I’ll be more of a human in that album. I want that album to act like a person, I am trying to put my roots and my stories in it. In real life, I am a very observant person, so I’ll be including everything I see and observe. I also feel like the album is for everybody, like everyone, will have something to take away from it, and I am trying to curate it with that direction in my mind.
