Ward of the word

  • | Tuesday | 31st March, 2020

For those who have been influenced deeply by life and its ways, music is an escape. Initially, it was hard to find the confidence, but rap and hip-hop made me the person I am today,” he says. The six-track lineup talks extensively about mental health, society and almost everything that is wrong with the world today. It is an extremely powerful destructive weapon which can be discharged by the mind, the eyes, words or a bow. Mental health is not something anyone needs to be held accountable for,” he says, talking about the song ‘Psychiatric Ward’ from the album.

By Express News Service KOCHI: That is the thing about music. For those who have been influenced deeply by life and its ways, music is an escape. A voice that speaks for them, through them. Take Abhijith Gopinadh Pillai aka ABI, a 25-year-old rapper based in Kochi. “I have been making music since I was 13. Initially, it was hard to find the confidence, but rap and hip-hop made me the person I am today,” he says. ABI’s first and latest EP, called Pashupatastra released recently. The six-track lineup talks extensively about mental health, society and almost everything that is wrong with the world today. Why the peculiar name? “It is a weapon held by Pasupati, an avatar of Shiva. It is an extremely powerful destructive weapon which can be discharged by the mind, the eyes, words or a bow. The idea is to cleanse the society with words,” he says. Abhijith started making music professionally while he was away in Germany for higher studies. “I met a producer named Van Adrian who helped me with the beats and production. It was my first time doing a video, but it was a great experience,” says Abhijith, who also owns a record label under the name ‘rich poems’. If you dwell further into how the album developed, it reveals deep connections to Abhijith’s personal life. “Coming back from Germany, I found it hard to adjust. I was into drugs, which was a wrong way to deal with it and ended up in rehab. There, I saw how people would look at me. It changed me forever. Mental health is not something anyone needs to be held accountable for,” he says, talking about the song ‘Psychiatric Ward’ from the album. The EP also features singer Ranjini Jose delivering some empowering verses for the song ‘Bhagavati’. Giving me an exclusive preview of the video, featuring Ranjini in bright orange against the eerie greenery, he says, “It is about women who are behind the success of people but are never credited enough for it. She brought my lyrics to life.” The album was produced by Kochi’s own Parimal Shais aka bassdroppingalien. Abhijith is currently working on a movie production but is now staying home to help fight Covid-19. “This is a tough time. But we can all use it to introspect, learn and work on ourselves,” he concludes.

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