Rahul Jaluthria aka Smoke Tha Rapper is an upcoming Delhi emcee who’s, ‘Delhiness’ can be seen in his ruthless battles and mettlesome remixes of currently trending Desi Hip-Hop and US anthems. This youngster is rapidly getting his name around and is claiming the title of ‘The Punchline King’. A foray into his battles and music shows that he has heart and is fearless in putting his craft out there.
I was sincerely impressed with his remix of Divine’s ‘Kohinoor’ (which also featured Vyshakh) and Seedhe Maut’s ‘Kranti’ but what got him into desi rap fans discussion was a victory over EMF in the recent SPIT DOPE : BLOCK PARTY. EMF is a fierce emcee, one of the most sought after battle rappers of the country and is one of the pioneers of the battle rap culture in India, he had not had a recorded defeat so far and this defeat against Smoke was a first for him. Not that Smoke needs validation but he is getting acknowledged as a gifted lyricist and performer by some prominent names like IKKA and Fotty Seven from Delhi.
Have a look at the remix of, ‘Kranti’ by Smoke and originally by Seedhe Maut.
I caught up with him to talk about his music, battles, plans for the future and what’s more in store for him. Have a read on how it went down.
SLYCK: For those folks who don’t know you, could you introduce yourself ?
SMOKE: My name is Smoke, I’m a recording artist from New Delhi. I’m 21 years old, started of as just a fan of Hip Hop and eventually decided to record my own music and work on my content. If you would check my music, you’ll notice I like focusing on writing punches more than simple lyricism, which has become the highlight of state of rap in India. Also, last year I started with battle rapping too. Go search me on YouTube to know more.
SLYCK: You have been making your name around the New Delhi underground circuit. Do you have a plan or are you playing it by the ear ?
SMOKE: Yes, I definitely have a plan. If you know I’ve dropped several remixes out there and 80% of my discography is remixes, I’m about to change it now. Been working on a body of work or a project you can say, and if everything works out well, you’ll get to hear my debut album real soon. And talking about spontaneity, if I drop a remix on the right time I get a lot of traffic on my YouTube which definitely helps my other stuff to reach out to the masses.
SLYCK: Do you prefer battling or recording music ?
SMOKE: Well, I started off as making music and I enjoy it to the fullest but lately battle rap has taken over the place of music for me. Battle rap is a thing which pushed me to write more intelligently. I started watching battles and was amazed I was missing out on a lot of crazy stuff these rappers were punching back to back. To be honest, I watch more battles than listening to songs and albums right now but my ultimate goal will always be making music. S/o to every Indian battler though.
SLYCK: You recently battled EMF, who is one of India’s best battle rappers. How was that experience ?
SMOKE: I can’t tell you how I felt before battling him. I was confident until the day of the battle, that pressure and anxiety kicked in before walking out of my house. I had my knees weak, arms are heavy…… the ‘8 Mile’ moment before going to the venue. Battling EMF is scary, I prepared a lot for going against him. Fortunately, I survived and won too, you’re going to see how the battle was when Spit Dope drops it on their YouTube. Actually, we never saw EMF lose on camera but somehow I pulled it off. EMF is a legend though, it was an honor battling him.
SLYCK: What made you remix, ‘KOHINOOR’ ?
SMOKE: I was on a call with Vyshakh and we were talking about doing a song together and then Vyshakh asked about doing a Kohinoor remix since the beat is too tight we decided to do it and what you have now is 2 rappers from the capital destroying that instrumental. Shoutout to Vyshakh, bade bhai for giving me a hard time coping up with his bars. He killed it.
Check out the video, right here :
SLYCK: How does it feel when spearheads of North Indian Hip-Hop such as Ikka and Fotty Seven fuck with your music ?
SMOKE: It feels really good to know that Ikka bhai and Fotty bhai both fuck with my music. I mean it’s an honor to get recognized by these heavyweights. Ikka bhai also follows me on IG, when he did I flipped out. So you know how much I fuck with them too.
SLYCK: Any message for your supporters or upcoming artists ?
SMOKE: To my supporters, keep showing love, I’ll try not disappoint you anytime soon haha. And umm what should I say to upcoming artists when I am an upcoming artist lol. Just keep on making art, stay dedicated, that’s all I can say.