Watch: Naezy Takes Over the Streets in ‘Asal Hustle’

naezy
Breakout hip-hopper and #RSIndianHipHop cover star Naezy brings a hint of his Kendrick Lamar-loving (“Kendrick Lamar kuch alag mazaa hai, pagal kar deta hai,” he said earlier this year) to his latest single “Asal Hustle.” The monochrome clip captures the spirit of “Bombay sheher” as the 22-year-old traverses some of the city’s most iconic locations (akin to Lamar’s 2015 #blacklivesmatter anthem “Alright”), while busting out a sax-tinged chorus about the everyday “struggle” and “hustle.”

But that’s as far as the Lamar influence goes–the rest is all Naved Shaikh’s signature conflux of Urdu, slang Hindi and Bombay sattar swag. The earworm, which was originally penned as an autobiographical song for the MAMI 2014-winning short film Bombay 70, follows Naezy’s socio-politically driven single “Haq Hai,” that released in May.

Apart from a steady touring schedule, Naezy is also working on his full-length debut album. The tentatively eight-track release will see Naezy ditch the DIY approach of looping beats on his iPad and recording his rhymes in a home setup. Instead he will hit the studio and work on stuff more professionally. Says Naezy, “We want to record everything nicely. Things are going a little slow, but there’s no rush; we want to do it well.”