Features

KR$NA Talks Collaborating with KSHMR, Seedhe Maut and Looks Back at 2023

Desi hip-hop’s top dog talks about his favorite gig, favorite rappers and how his favorite beat he heard this year isn’t out yet

Published by

Anurag Tagat

December 30, 2023

KR$NA performing on stage with mic in hand, wearing cap

With two EPs hitting the mark this year KR$NA also forged a collaborative streak with fellow New Delhi hip-hop artists Seedhe Maut (“Hola Amigo” and “Khatta Flow”) and hopped on the star-studded hip-hop album Karam from Indian-origin producer KSHMR (“Zero After Zero”).

With the latter, the rapper and producer connected online and KR$NA found out about the scale of Karam and calls it a “great process.” He adds, “It was a long process, because originally we worked on something completely different. And then we kind of ended up with a totally different song.”

The Karam album launch in Mumbai called on all the artists involved in its making, including Raftaar, Seedhe Maut, Hanumankind, Dabzee and more. “It was a fun experience and you also get to meet the other people on the project and all of that,” KR$NA recalls. Prior to “Zero After Zero,” KR$NA’s August-end EP release Far From Over took his streaming numbers to new heights, with over 9.6 million streams for “Prarthana” and 8.4 million streams for “Hola Amigo” with Seedhe Maut. The latter came with a Mariachi/Three Amigos style comical music video, coming out in October, however both songs “Hola Amigo” on Far From Over and “Khatta Flow” (on Seedhe Maut’s massive mixtape Lunch Break) arrived in the same month.

In the case of “Hola Amigo,” the hook was something that came spontaneously to KR$NA. “It sounded funny in the moment. And I just decided to keep it,” he says. “Hola Amigo” and “Khatta Flow” were part of a barter of sorts between KR$NA and Seedhe Maut. In an age where royalty splits and songwriting credits are important parts of the conversation, collaborations have changed from when KR$NA had started. He says discussing revenue splits and the like are “weird conversations” for sure, but it also depends on the vibe that artists share with each other. “Is it a barter or an exchange? Are you gaining more than I am gaining? All of those factors come into play. Whatever said and done, business is business at the end of the day. Even with Seedhe Maut, when we did ‘Khatta Flow,’ then I was like, ‘It’s better we do another song on my project.’ That way, it’s fair and equal,” he adds.

In the second part of your conversation, KR$NA took a retrospective of 2023 and shared his highlights.

Favorite gig of 2023

“I had a few good gigs this year. I had a lot, actually, so it’s kind of a blur when I think about it now. I think one of the IITs [Indian Institute of Technology] – the crowd was mad. It was IIT Ropar, next to Chandigarh. Then I had a gig in Delhi… Delhi’s always good.”

Favorite collaboration of 2023

“This is a tough one. I think I have a couple – both with Seedhe Maut were great. I think ‘NGL’ with [Pakistani rapper] Talhah Yunus was great and I would say even the one with Talha Anjum [‘Been a While’] was good. Then, ‘Woh Raat’ with Raftaar, which was super recent, that was fun. Raftaar and my thing is we have a chemistry on drill.”

Favorite beat of 2023

“Honestly, I have a song that I’ve done that’s not come out yet, it’s probably my favorite beat of 2023.” [Laughs].

Favorite rapper of 2023

“Indian, there are a few who were really good this year. Seedhe Maut had a great year… It’s gonna be unfair to choose just one or two, to be honest. Yungsta had a good year. Internationally, I think J. Cole had a good year, he had a couple of good features. Drake had a crazy year, just based off the music, not necessarily to say that’s the only music I listen to, just based off of how much he released.”

Favorite reaction of 2023

“I feel like ‘Hola Amigo’ reactions were amazing. It always is, even at shows. People have randomly come up to me and been like, ‘Hola amigo’ and I have to say, ‘Kaise ho, theek ho?’ [lines from the song’s hook] I was just sitting at the airport the other day and a guy comes up and says, ‘Hola amigo.’ I think that’s what we want from our music – something that sticks and that people can go back to.”

Favorite international album or song of 2023

“What came out this year? It didn’t come out this year, but Nas’ album King’s Disease III was great. There was a Black Thought album that came out this year, Glorious Game. Jack Harlow’s albums were good, I liked the second one [Jackman] more.”