One of India’s premier hip-hop artists, Enkore released Bombay Soul, a bilingual (English & Hindi) 6 song album that carries a lot more potency than the duration suggests. The album, independently recorded, produced and distributed, is majorly produced by renowned hitmaker Sez On The Beat (of Mere Gully Mein fame) and has been released as an exclusive with Apple Music/iTunes.
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The rapper takes listeners on a journey, looking for the Soul in the middle of Bombay’s nonstop hustle, making pit stops along the way, trying to make sense of his middle class upbringing, the rap industry, relationships and more. The album revolves around the concept of growing up, and the less spoken about side of finding and chasing your dreams, especially in a city like Bombay.
Bombay Soul also features some of India’s best independent artists/singers, as well as a sprinkling of some of India’s best rappers, with a memorable collaboration on track number 2, ‘Home (Pinjre)’. The project has been mixed and mastered by Varun Patil at Studio Providence and distributed independently in partnership with OK Listen and ODE.
Widely acknowledged as one of Indian hip-hop’s best and most well rounded artists, Enkore makes a clear decision to avoid following trends or gimmicks on the album and the music is a testament of the same. The artist’s high level of raw and honest lyricism in both languages combined with the soulful music soundscape gives the album a relatable emotional vulnerability, unlike most other rap releases from the country.
The release of Bombay Soul has been awaited by the Indian hip-hop community since announcement, and this ends another year on a high note for Enkore. Having released multiple music videos this year, he also performed at Gully Fest and completed a 6 city house-gig tour with singer-songwriter Tejas Menon in October.
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Having hosted a massive launch party for Bombay Soul and fully packing out one of the city’s top clubs –Raasta, in Khar – next up, the rapper is set to take Bombay Soul live with gig dates to be announced soon. Music videos from the album and merchandise can be expected soon, too.
When asked about the difference between his debut album and the recent release, here’s what Enkore said, “Since Libra Scale, firstly I think I’ve definitely grown as an artist, in terms of both what I can do and having a vision of what I want to do. I also made sure this time to consciously put more time and effort into the mixing, which was one of the biggest regrets from last time for Sez and me. Varun really got into it too and we made sure the mixes aided rather than hindered my vision this time.”
He further spoke of the process behind making the beats for the album. He added, “Also I went to Delhi and sat with Sez to create and work these beats out so I think that showed in terms of it being more true and original to me and also in its cohesiveness in the sound that we were able to achieve. Sez also had levelled up from Libra Scale and I think that’s clear to see too! Libra Scale gave me the lessons and the balls I needed to be able to create a Bombay Soul.”