Siliguri Rapper Xenon Phoenix Shows His ‘Battle Scars’

On his latest single “Battle Scars,” Siliguri hip-hop artist Xenon Phoenix aka Subham Ghosh throws down about hardships and emerging stronger from them, backed up by his posse of fellow fighters.

The rapper says in a statement, “‘Battle Scars’ talks about the ongoing struggle of every person who is judged based on who they are and what they have been through.” In a tight two-minute track, Phoenix calls out the people who came into his life to hurt him, peppering in references to DC characters like Poison Ivy and Bane. But there’s plenty of real-life storytelling for good measure. “There’s a part where I talk about my last job — doing constant night shifts and taking care of my family,” he says.

The hook of the song — delivered by singer-composer Jennifer Rabha — emphatically addresses haters and tells them: “You don’t know my battle scars.” The rapper adds about the lyrics, “Even though I’m playing the role of an only son, people will judge me but they don’t know my battle scars. It’s about everyone and how everything they do is a battle sometimes, yet people will come and judge you for the life you live.”

Phoenix worked with OG Twin for the booming, string orchestra-like dramatic production that’s heard on “Battle Scars.” The rapper says about the collaboration, “He’s a 16-year-old producer from Moscow. He reached out to me on Instagram and told me he would like to collaborate with me, and he sent me a pack of beats and I selected one and started writing ‘Battle Scars’ on it.”

The music video for “Battle Scars,” directed by Gundruk, sees Phoenix with his friends and crew from Siliguri gather atop hills and at their favorite haunts in Kurseong. The rapper says he wanted to shine a light on people from the region and their talents with the music video. It features MMA fighters including Brandon Bhutia, parkour trainer Biru Singh and battle rapper Sinical, among others. “The rest were friends from high school,” the rapper adds.

“Battle Scars” is the artist’s first release this year, following the late 2021 song “Yesterday,” which mourned the passing of his dog, Julia. His latest song is released via Nashville-based publishing group Cage Riot. “Cage Riot was recommended to me by a Canadian alt-rock band, Beyond the Sun, so I sent them my track, which they liked, and we’ll be working on more releases going forward,” Phoenix says.

Watch the video for “Battle Scars” below. Stream on more platforms here.