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Apna time aa gaya
Updated On: 21 July, 2024 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Shreemayi Nainwal
Incendiary and explosive, hip-hop group Pataka Boys might just be what we need to turn tables for the Desi rap scene
PAV4N (left), Sonnyjim (middle) and Kartik. Pic/Meghan Katti
We were really digging deep with the cultural and cross-cultural references, spanning all the way back to the Partition and beyond,” says PAV4N from Pataka Boys. No wonder their debut album, Thugs From Amritsar, traverses from Black Sabbath to Bappi Lahiri and bridges the cross-cultural, cross-continental and cross-generational with easy finesse. Comprising cult-figures of the UK underground rap arena, PAV4N and Sonnyjim, and elevated by Ludhiana-based Kartik Sudhera’s production, Pataka Boys canvasses a fresh sound that marries bilingual lyricism, iconic references to Indian cinema, soul samples, Punjabi folk records and nods to hip-hop classics with the artists’ own diasporic experiences.
PAV4N, frontman and founding member of London rap group Foreign Beggars, has worked with producers like Steve Aoki and Skrillex, while Sonnyjim’s career has seen collaborations with artists like MF DOOM, Westside Gunn, and Lord Apex. Kartik is an up-and-coming name in the industry, with Pataka Boys’ debut being his first complete project. Reportedly, he produced the entire album on a broken laptop, shuttling between hospital waiting rooms and his parents’ home. In conversation with PAV4N, we get closer to the album’s marrow. “The creative process was very much spending time together and joking around, but also the journey of learning about the nuances of each other’s heritage and life stories as underground rappers for more than two decades in the UK,” he says.
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