Music and Its Relation With The Indian Masses

Recently, I saw a snippet from a podcast that featured Bharg Kale. Bharg is an Indian singer, songwriter, and music producer based in Delhi. He is recognized as a versatile artist who blends genres like indie-pop, hip-hop, and punk rock.

He stated that “Music in general for a normal audience is not about intellectual consumption. An artist shouldn’t treat their Art as intellectual property but as their creative property, giving their heart and soul to it.” He also mentioned, “But if you are expecting your intellectual behaviour/music to be understood by the general audience who are not trained to be that, then you’re being snobbish, or maybe classist.”

Even though it’s just his take on music and its relation with the general audience, not a fact. But to some extent, I do believe that most of the people consume first-layer content for entertainment purposes(talking about the masses) i.e Music, Movies, Shows. He talked about music in general, not just the hip-hop scene, but still got backlash from the hip-hop audience, with whom he was once associated.

People in India only started taking an interest in “Hip-hop/DHH” when they were spoon-fed the whole agenda by Bollywood through the movie, Gully Boy, in the late 2010s. Later, with shows like hustle, Diss Culture (i.e Raftaar VS Emiway) etc. (Which really made the audience curious about what they were saying in their lyrics). It came in as a wave; only then did it reach the masses, and people started taking an interest in it. True, artists like Divine, Naezy, etc., were local pioneers, but they didn’t have a mass audience in support; it happened only after the movie was released.

People against the statement talked about how Rappers like Rawal (who previously worked with Bharg on Project) have been doing street cyphers since the very beginning of the scene. But I feel like it was just circulated in the underground scene, not the masses.

KR$NA has been making raps since the early/mid 2000s, but only came into the limelight in the last 10 years. why? It’s the same reason.

I feel that when an artist creates something too complex, which reflects their true potential and intellect, they make it for themselves.

An artist can not expect everyone to understand it, and I feel that’s what Bharg is trying to explain in his statement. An artist shouldn’t judge their audience and be a classist just because they can’t understand you or your art. For example, you can’t expect a generic villager from Haryana to like Miles Davis’ Bebop jazz. It might not match their intellect. They would rather enjoy their own local artists.

You’ll never expect bands like Tool/Dream Theatre/Lamb of God/Cannibal Corpse etc. to be understood by the Indian masses, but they do have a dedicated fanbase even here in India. Hip-hop listeners also mentioned that they have all been listening to Western music since the beginning. Mentioning a few big names from the rap industry along with some critically acclaimed artists. But here, we’re only just talking about Indian artists from different classes who have been listening to Western artists, not the general audience. It is agreed that Eminem, 50 Cent, Sean Paul, and Shakira became famous amongst the Indian masses, but there’s only a dedicated fanbase to other artists they mentioned, like Jada-kiss, Nas etc.

Kendrick once had a dedicated audience, but now, after that Drake diss and halftime show, he has reached the masses. But again, this newly gained audience might not understand the depth of his previous work like TPAB. (To Pimp A Butterfly). There are artists like Aesop Rock and Black Thought. Eyedea and MF Doom, who never compromised on their way of making music, became cult heroes in their fan bases but perhaps were left unnoticed by the general fans. But I do accept that there’s always a type of audience who does listen to and try to understand the intellect of such artists.

How Beatbox as an art form has suffered because of the same reason.

Current trends in the Indian music scene, beatboxing faces similar hurdles to “complex” or “intellectual” music when trying to reach the masses. Just as the previous case describes Hip-hop’s struggle before being “spoon-fed” by Bollywood, beatboxing often suffers because it is viewed as a technical skill rather than “first layer” entertainment for the general audience.

1. The “First Layer” vs. Technical Complexity

The blog argues that the Indian masses typically consume “first layer” content for entertainment.

• The Struggle: Beatboxing is often perceived as a technical feat (how sounds are made) rather than a melodic experience (what is being heard).

• The “Snob” Risk: Like the complex artists mentioned (Tool, Aesop Rock), beatboxers risk being seen as “snobbish” if they expect an untrained audience to appreciate the “intellectual” depth of their technical patterns or polyphonics.

2. Lack of a “Gully Boy” Moment

The previous sturdy highlights how DHH only reached the masses after a major cinematic push (Gully Boy).

• The Filling Act: Currently, Indian beatboxers are often treated as “fillers” for other acts rather than independent artists.

• Underground Isolation: Much like the early days of rappers like Krsna or Divine, the beatbox scene is currently thriving in an underground loop (college canteens, specialized jams) but hasn’t yet been “spoon-fed” to the mass audience through mainstream media.

3. Intellectual vs. Creative Property

Bharg Kale suggests artists should treat their work as “creative property” (giving heart and soul) rather than “intellectual property”.

• The Risk of Over-Engineering: Beatboxers may suffer if they focus too much on the intellect of the sound (complexity) over the soul of the music.

• The Local Connect: As noted with the “villager from Haryana” example, masses often prefer local artists they can relate to. If beatboxing remains purely focused on mimicking Western “technical” styles, it may struggle to gain the same mass resonance that vernacular rap achieved.

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