Saar Punch Rapper: Defining The New Wave of Indian Hip-Hop

On an idle Saturday noon, I fell into another YouTube rabbit hole of stand-up comedians. more specifically, Indian stand-up comedians. One such comedian Gaurav Kapoor had amazing intro songs such as Solitude by Burrah and Kaloli by Saransh Saar Punch Batra. In Kaloli there were these bass licks I could not get out of my head and no amount of Googling could help me understand the lyrics of this song.

So I decided it would be cool to reach out to the genius artist behind this amazing track and finally got to know what the song was about. Here is an interview with the rapper Saar Punch who is part of the new wave of Indian hip-hop.

1. How did Kaloli come about?

Kaloli was born during the lockdown in 2021. Burrah and I happened to be in a clubhouse room. We both had heard of each other; we got to talking. We found out that we live 10 mins away. We made a plan to meet. We met, chilled, and got to know each other a little better.

Then we decided to write a song about West Delhi but from a perspective that had never been heard of. We wrote the hook. Then over a period of 1-2 months we chilled around Rajouri Garden (where I live), Pashchim Vihar ( studio) , Jail road ( where Burrah lives) , we soaked in West Delhi and wrote our respective verses. That’s it, we recorded it. And we had kaloli.

2. You started off as a Writer. Do you ever plan to become a full-time hip-hop artist?

I am a full-time hip-hop artist now.

3. What is the hip-hop scene in India today? What is your take on Gully boy?

Indian hip-hop scene, I feel is undergoing a renaissance right now. The artists are trying to put forward different sounds while staying true to the craft, which is why we have so many flavours coming from different corners of the country. It is very empowering yet humbling to witness this. This is a golden time for hip-hop in India.

I liked the film. With Bollywood being the most influential force in the country, it did change the Mumbai scene and put Mumbai on the map for sure.

4. You are also a writer, which thrills me to no end. What does it take to be a good writer?

I do write, yes. Umm I think being as vulnerable and honest as possible with your writing is what makes the readers/consumers penetrate a lot of layers. That’s what intrigues me.

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5. Whom would you like to collab with most on a song in India?

Divine and I would make a bop, when that happens.

6. What are your long-term career plans?

I wanna keep making songs that excite me, and music videos that challenge me, while also exploring cinema and maybe one day merge the above two to create something big, that’s the ultimate goal.

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7. Did you see any monetary gains on Kaloli?

Kaloli did give me a lot of listeners (76k a month to be precise). It was an instant hit, and for the longest time I couldn’t understand what was happening cuz we made the track just relying on the energy around us, there was not a lot of planning.

Even the music video is just us shooting in a random scrap yard in West Delhi and I think that did well. I think us showing how we go about our lives daily and being free-flowing about the entire process worked well for kaloli. And it is literally the Delhi Anthem right now. I got a lot of eyeballs for that song, and I like that. Huge shout out to my brother Burrah

8. I never understood the song, even though I enjoyed it. Could you summarize its intent in one sentence?

Kaloli is a Punjabi slang used to describe the fun-loving ‘Kandi log’ of this beautiful, beautiful Earth. They’re free-spirited souls who play around with everything and everyone which leads to laughter and sometimes chaos as well.

With Burrah giving you a description of Kalolis he sees in Delhi, SaarPunch describes the kalolis he sees in the music scene around him. With Bharg blending West Coast rhythms with funkadelic riffs and bass, Kaloli is a song of its own.

There you go, folks! Now you know what Kaloli is about! Thanks to Saar Punch for explaining what it meant and making my commute more enjoyable.

You can listen to Saar Punch on Spotify, watch on YouTube, and connect on Instagram.