Ish Kaur is an Indian Female Rapper, a girl with loads of dreams and a strong desire to follow her passion. As a matter of fact, she started rapping at the mere age of 13. Her first song was a love poetry that she turned into a rap. Since then she has been songwriting and releasing her songs on YouTube. It’s been eight years into the industry and since then her journey has seen her grow exponentially. Now at the age of 21, Ish already has an admirable amount of experience.

Ish Kaur has received many awards for her work and she achieved a milestone of being awarded “India’s Youngest Female Rapper” from Shri Udit Narayan Ji himself. Since her inception, she’s known for being one of the only Indian female rappers apart from Hard Kaur to venture into the commercial side of rap.

When she began her rapping journey, nobody took her seriously. It took a lot of songs, shows and big opportunities like being a part of BBC London gig to even convince her own parents that she’s serious about what she is doing. On the other hand, her journey till now has been a roller coaster ride. Even though its been overwhelming, it has taught her many things. She believes that every artist has his/her struggling period which is very important to grow as an artist.

DesiHipHop.com got in touch with Ish Kaur to know more about her comeback. This is how it went –

What difficulties did you have to face in the initial stage of your career?

Every artist faces a lot of difficulties during their initial stage but mine was a little different. Being a girl it was very difficult for me to make my space in this industry. In fact, I would say, the stage which comes after you have made your place.

After you have fans and after people start knowing you and your music more, that stage is rather more difficult than the initial stage as you have a certain kind of pressure of making music according to your fans’ expectations. Facing the critiques is kind of a pressure as well. I have a little family of 25 thousand people as of now on my page who have supported me throughout my journey and I hope I’ll be able to entertain them all further as well. Also, I hope the family will keep on growing further with time.

You are coming up with a brand new track “Pehla Vaar”. Tell us more about it?

So basically I vanished for a year after my commercial song “Perfect Munda”. I did not get the kind of response I thought I would from my fans which made me think deeply about what and how I wanna go further. I also realized that being connected to my roots is very important. So I took a break of one year in which I worked really hard
on my songwriting skills, I tried working on different music, I focused on coming out of my comfort zone and made four brand new tracks.

(Official Poster Of “Pehla Vaar”)

Everyone kept asking where I was and where my new music is but I kind of went into my zone and made the most of the time I was not there. The very first song is ‘Pehla Vaar’ which also means the first attack. This song basically includes lyrics which is telling my story, my struggle and how hard it was to stand in an industry where you are an opposite gender. The song tells a true story about how my journey has been and I think it’s very important that my fans should know the true side now. The song is aggressive and it’s gonna be first of its kind from my side.

What’s the one good thing your fans can expect from “Phela Vaar”?

The good thing about this track is that no female rapper has done a track like this before and it’s a song which many artists can relate to as all of us go through similar kinds of struggles. The track is very aggressive and Ashar who is a well-known director in the underground industry has shot the visuals for the track. The video is very punk gothic and you’ll be seeing me in a very different avatar this time, a side of me which has never come out before.

You also got featured in a reality show which was aired on Sony T.V. How was your experience?

Yeah, I did that show in 2014. It was a great experience back then. The judges of the show appreciated my efforts a lot. Although, when you work at such a platform which airs on T.V. every week, the production team expects you to work really hard and really hard in this context means working for 19 hours a day straight. So, I used to practice in 5 inches heels for 19 hours a day, we used to get Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner breaks for 25 minutes each.

I mean I really like working hard towards my dream but yes with reality shows – expect the unexpected. Moreover, I was an immature artist back then, wanting to learn more and more. It was an amazing experience and I got to learn a lot there. I landed a lot of gigs after that and started meeting a lot of new people of the industry as well. I would say it was a perfect decision at the perfect time of my life.

There are few female rappers in the scene? What’s your take on that?

Music as a profession is something which our Indian society doesn’t accept easily. On the top of it, being a rapper is like extra difficult. As a matter of fact, Rappers in Indian society have a weird image, an image that all rappers smoke weed, all rappers use harsh words in their songs and basically, they also think it’s not long lasting. In fact, it’s an industry where a person has to struggle and work hard on their own skills for a longer period of time before getting discovered and even get paid.

There needs to be a better understanding of our industry as there are many misconceptions which stops our families from allowing us to work. Loopholes need to be fixed. In my opinion, it’s all about finding the right balance, like I’m also a fashion designer along with being a musician. It’s very important to find the right balance and earn your bread before getting the right break into the industry.

Any special tips or suggestions you would like to give to the upcoming female rappers or the ones who are thinking of becoming a rapper?

One thing which any industry or any kind of work (you are in) has is a rivalry. When people know that you’re good and of course gender discrimination is there, they start getting jealous and become your so-called rivals instead of supporting you.

My advice would be that no matter you are a female or a male, no matter how many people dislike you, no matter how fewer people support you, if you have talent and a desire to fulfil your dreams and run after your passion, you have all the rights to be in this industry and make the world listen to your voice. Take a stand, let’s make this moment happening!

“Take a stand for yourself, work hard, and tell people that nobody can drag you down if you are serious about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it! You’ll eventually get to know if you are good or not from the response people give you, don’t be afraid of falling down. Girls, get up and win this battle!!” – Ish Kaur