Badshah, Armaan Malik, Neeti Mohan and More Set for New Collaborations

The upcoming season of Royal Stag BoomBox pairs Bollywood and hip-hop styles once again, featuring top artists like Badshah, Neeti Mohan and Armaan Malik, plus hip-hop artists like Dino James, Ikka and Dee MC as well as pop artist Nikhita Gandhi and DJ-producer Ali Merchant.

In addition to collaborative releases of new songs between the artists, Royal Stag BoomBox also kicks off with a series of festival-scale gigs in cities like Indore (March 2nd), Bhubaneswar (March 9th), Jaipur (March 16th) and Pune (March 23rd). While Gandhi, Mohan and James were all part of season one, they’re now pairing up with different collaborators like Malik, Badshah, Merchant, Dee MC and Ikka.

Speaking to Rolling Stone India, Armaan Malik, Badshah and Neeti Mohan discussed the idea of collaborations spurred on by the series. Malik says he considers a musical collaboration under a branded project as unique and not to be treated any different from projects he may initiate on his own. Releasing his second album Only Just Begun in October last year, Malik says, “I always make sure that when I go into a room and I get out of it, I’ve made a good song with that other artist, made sure that that artist is shining as much as I’m shining in the song as well. There’s no 80-20 or 60-40. There’s a 50-50 in the song, or there’s a 100 of both of us and it’s 200.”

Badshah concurs with the thought, saying that no collaboration should feel different from what he usually does. “It should be a very seamless process. If I feel like it’s going to be very different from what I do, I don’t do it. [I collaborate with] brands that have the same ethos that I have in some way or the other,” he adds. Neeti Mohan, for her part, says that they’ve been given a huge canvas as artists and terms it exciting. She adds, “Here the canvas is huge for us – we will write what we want to, because we know the youth want to hear something that is not structured.”

While Badshah promises his song will be “living it larger” in a nod to Royal Stag’s motto, Malik mentions that he’s making a song for the first time as part of Royal Stag BoomBox’s in-studio format. He adds, “I hope that I’m able to infuse the other artist’s sound successfully. And the onus of producing the song is on me. So, I want to make sure that I’m able to fuse our sounds.” Mohan, who had released “Imtihaan” with rapper-singer EPR as part of the first season of Royal Stag BoomBox says that song was about hitting roadblocks in life – including writer’s block – and how you overcome it. She adds, “This time again I am looking forward to writing a song which has some meaning. And that meaning should encourage somebody – it’s very important to me. I feel music has the power to do so, so we will use that power. And especially at a platform like Royal Stag BoomBox. It has to be entertaining, groovy, dance-worthy, but at the same time it adds value.”

Mohan holds dear the collaborative idea of the property and the fact that the artists can take their songs live. Badshah recounts having “a crazy time in Bhubaneswar” as part of Royal Stag BoomBox season one’s festival shows. He adds, “I got to enjoy the local food and sweets.”

Malik, like Badshah, was involved only in the music festival aspect last season. He cherishes the concert in Dehradun. “It was actually my first festival in the city. I had gone there as a kid, long back, but I never got to perform a public, ticketed festival in that region and I’m glad that it happened to be a part of this project,” he adds. From meeting and singing for fans, he says the important part about projects like these are how they build on provding an experience. “I think that’s the most important with these kinds of projects and these kinds of events. It shouldn’t feel like it’s just a show, it should feel like it’s a core memory in a way,” Malik says.

Royal Stag BoomBox Festival shows

March 2nd – Velvet Garden, Indore w/Armaan Malik, Dino James, Nikhita Gandhi, Ali Merchant (Get tickets here)

March 9th – Mancheswar Sports Complex, Bhubaneswar w/Badshah, Ikka, Neeti Mohan, Ali Merchant (Get tickets here)

March 16th – Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre, Jaipur w/Badshah, Neeti Mohan, Dino James, Ali Merchant

March 23rd – The Mills, Sangamwadi, Pune w/ Armaan Malik, Nikhita Gandhi, Dee MC, Ali Merchant