Gravity Goes on Rampage Mode on Latest Album ‘SUPERVILLAIN’

In the run-up to releasing his fourth album SUPERVILLAIN at the end of May, Mumbai-based hip-hop artist Gravity aka Akshay Poojary says he was preparing for “some volatile responses.”

Coming off the success on music reality show MTV Hustle earlier this year – where Gravity placed fourth on the show – the artist had opened himself up to a whole new audience with rumbling songs like “Jalaluddin” and “Pop Smoke.” He keeps things on-brand more or less on SUPERVILLAIN, which has 10 tracks produced by Outfly aka Maharshi Jani and clocks in at just about half an hour. Gravity adds, “The reception has been immense, whoever gets the vibe and the experimentation we’ve pulled off is going crazy over the project.”

The rapper recounts how he’s seen a few reactions to the album. “There was this dude who really understood the project and had a very endearing reaction so that I liked a lot,” he says.

SUPERVILLAIN, with its overarching theme of being an ultimate bad guy, is a perfect way that Gravity is now balancing his hardcore hip-hop roots with more mainstream projects, including working with the likes of pop artists Neeraj Shridhar (from Bombay Vikings) and Arjun Kanungo, among others. Even in the collaboration and featured spot realm, Gravity keeps things as diverse as one can imagine, working with Jaipur hip-hop duo Bad Trip Symphony, Ranchi’s Tre Ess and Mumbai crews Bombay Lokal and Lokal Gang.

While those are all times that Gravity has been invited on the mic, SUPERVILLAIN is pretty much his time in the spotlight, with just a few choice featured rappers like New Delhi’s Raga (“Zabardast”), Harjas Harjaayi (“Brown Bastards”) and Muhfaad (“Robbery”). Where the album also changes things up for the hardcore desi hip-hop listener is in Gravity and Outfly’s production treatment. There are different kinds of beats driving Gravity’s snarling tone, like on “Koi Nahi” with its shimmering synth-bass lines and electronic elements. There’s trap-metal on “PS2,” a successor to “Pop Smoke,” roving beats on “Brown Bastards” and icy trap that lets Gravity keep the flow switches coming “Concert Monster.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone India, Gravity talks about the journey from making mixtapes like Walls of Jericho in 2021 to now, being influenced by pro-wrestling, life after being part of a mainstream T.V. show and what’s next. Excerpts:

Rolling Stone India: Between Walls of Jericho and Supervillain, we’ve seen so much happen for you. How do you look back on this kind of growth as a rapper and also as a sort of public personality?

Gravity: The growth has been crazy and after Hustle, things have only elevated for me on a professional and also on a personal level. It hasn’t been all rosy but I am grateful for all the good and I keep working with a heavy focus on the positives.

After MTV Hustle, a lot of people expected only certain kinds of rap from you, would you say? It always happens that the songs that get famous start defining an artist’s sound but there’s so much more you do as Gravity right?

Yes, it’s very easy to get boxed in by the audience as common perception can be set very easily. But I’ve always had a very versatile outlook towards artistry and I’ve been a very versatile consumer of art so that’ll continue to reflect in whatever comes out as I don’t want to stick to one certain style and really like to fuse genres and experiment.

The thematic elements of this album have got this angry, menacing vibe. It helps that you’ve got this flow and voice switches which add to the dramatic vibe. What defines this for you?

It’s always been very synchronized for me when it comes to audio and visuals, I want my music to look and feel like a certain scenario or place and it comes a lot from watching movies, music videos, pro-wrestling, live performances etc. and studying them to the best of my ability. I want whatever I create to be concise, cohesive and full of conviction. Same applies to this album as well because everything feels like it’s part of a larger picture being painted and we made sure it comes across as such.

There’s always been recurring pop culture you draw from, like WWE. Is it always an endless source of inspiration and you know something all Indians will relate to and enjoy?

WWE and pro-wrestling in general have been a huge source of awe and inspiration since my childhood. Whether it was learning how to present something as larger than life or how to talk and be a presence on the microphone, it has shaped me as a human being the more I studied it’s nuances. Thus I keep showing it love and drop references and have even named projects after wrestling moves and slogans.

On “PS2” it almost sounds like you’re growling and I think it’s not the first time you’ve tried this, right? What was the goal with this song?

This is just an absolute rager, I wanted the SUPERVILLAIN soundscape to have one ruthlessly aggressive track which fits in the trap-metal subgenre. It’s also the spiritual sequel of my MTV Hustle track ‘Pop Smoke,’ so that’s also one of the reasons why it’s ‘PS2’ but in the song, it references the PlayStation 2 and being from that generation and having grown up with that angst and rage inside.

What was it like working with Outfly, this time for a full album. What was the process like?

We have a very simple and straightforward process, Outfly starts cooking up an instrumental based off of whatever vibe or genre we have been thinking of going with and I sit with him right from when he starts production. I get into the vibe of the beat as it starts taking shape and I write the song down, I perform it and he suggests changes if he feels like certain details can be better and then we record it and that’s it. Then post-production takes place but the songs have all been made like this and it’s been smooth and awesome working with someone who’s skilled and is overlooking the entire process, properly producing the song. And that’s why the music sounds the way it does.

As your reach has grown, you also seem to get a few haters trying to pull you down. It’s something you address through your music, but on a real-world level, how do you deal with that?

The most ardent haters exist just on the internet, I’m yet to meet someone who has been disrespectful on my face and that’s how it is. People find it easy to hate or criticize or pass comments through a medium or online portal but in person, they’ll be normal or even get starstruck, which I find hilarious.

What else is coming up through 2023 for you?

I’ve moved ahead to the next project which is a complete shift in genre as it moves far away from what’s popularly been defined for a large chunk of people as the quintessential Gravity sound and it’s gonna be monumental. I plan to drop many more singles as well. 2023 will be loaded with music and artistry of the highest quality and I’m super excited for it.

Listen to ‘SUPERVILLAIN’ below. Stream on more platforms here.