Seedhe Maut’s ‘Dikkat’ Bound to Predict the Duo’s Future

Seedhe Maut’s superpower is their ability to adapt. In their 6-year-long career, Calm (Siddhant Sharma) and Encore ABJ (Abhijay Negi) have evolved from Delhi’s underground battle rap circuits to nationwide attention via Coke Studio Bharat’s inaugural cohort of releases.

It is a harrowing understatement to say that Seedhe Maut have had an impact on the culture of hip-hop in India. Their adaptations have seen them move from mixtape maestros, chained-out pop stars, stadium mainstays, and even chameleonic character rappers, morphing into their uniquely Desi anime personas.

Their latest 30-track album, “Lunch Break,” has arguably nestled into magnum opus infamy within mere weeks of its release. In a previous interview with Rolling Stone India, Encore stated, “We don’t know how to do anything (else), and we don’t want to do anything else. Making music is what we live and breathe, so even while taking this break, music was our catharsis.” What has been interesting in this journey towards musical catharsis has been the way their visual identity has been driven in the immediately parallel lane to their lyrical architecture.

Yesterday (December 12), the duo released the music video for ‘Dikkat’, one of the few selected tracks off Lunch Break that has been graced with the privilege of a video. This song, produced by the inimitable Hurricane—who has previously worked with the duo on tracks such as ‘Tofa’, ‘W’, and ‘Hausla’—beckons larger recognition among listeners. The overarching narrative theme seems to instill a surface-level aura of lackadaisy and nonchalance with its introductory lines:

// Mujhe nahi hai koi dikkat, mai ghoomu scootiyo me, dilli mera ghar, it’s lit up //

When you really begin to dig further, the entire track is an acceptance of their current success and the journey it took to reach it. ‘Dikkat’ invokes emotional fortitude, a cultural pride for their hometown of Delhi, the duo’s unscratchable armour, and, at the same time, their intimate reflections on life. These reflections are seen rather nakedly, with lyrics such as:

// Jab tak pen me hai jung, Mann bole kare next line spit kabb, Anxiety kare jae peak jaise thulla pakadke maangra hai rishwat //

When it comes to their visual depictions of these personal invocations, the duo seems to grant all omnipotence to their creative director, Canfuse (Karan Shelar). The driving force behind several Seedhe Maut music videos, Canfuse, has also led to KR$NA’s 2022 hits “Blowing Up” and “No Cap”. The video itself is a dream sequence that shuffles back and forth from dimly-lit scooty lanes of West Delhi to a hallucination of a Samurai-clad, neon-core, vaporwave Japan. In a clear homage to Ye (formerly known as Kanye West)’s 2013 surrealist masterpiece “Bound 2”, the ‘Dikkat’ video firmly positions Seedhe Maut in a similar junction as the Chicago rapper-producer was in and forces the industry, their audience, and the DHH (desi-hip hop) scene to ask a very imperative question. Where will it go from here?

With an announcement of their long-speculated departure from Mumbai-based record label and management agency Azadi Records being confirmed by the duo on their Instagram earlier this year, the future of Seedhe Maut has been left on a perilous cliff. The duo, which has strategically found themselves firmly on top of the daunting mountain that is Indian hip-hop, is poised for a renaissance that Dikkat, and as a larger extension, Lunch Break is teasing. The industry patiently awaits their next steps, for it will undeniably set an unmatched precedent among fans and critics alike.

Watch the video for ‘Dikkat’ and stream Seedhe Maut’s latest album ‘Lunch Break’ below.