On the 5th of May, 2020, veteran rapper Vik Feyago Sen released his new pop-rap single Work Song, produced by 21-year-old YoBoi, also from Kolkata. Within a day, this independent release managed to get over a thousand views on Youtube and a few hundred more on IGTV. The feedback has been rewarding so far, with both rap and non-rap listeners from various age groups and backgrounds appreciating the song. Due to the quarantine, it was virtually impossible to stick the original music video plan, and this is why Feyago decided to involve and choreograph independent, creative artists from East India, all hailing from various fields and backgrounds.
Quoting Feyago: “The idea is to do what artists primarily set out to do, distract and entertain viewers, taking their minds off the troubles that come with the day. “Work Song” depicts a bunch of artists at home enjoying doing pretty much nothing. The subtext is work and what it does to us and how not having to work is slowly changing us as people. Also how we are expected to perform in society VS the dreams we dare to dream.”. This is evident in the output, Feyago bends all the rules in the video and gives us a song that helps us let out a sigh of relief during these tough times.
Being Free!
Work Song is a pop-rap track about the little pleasures of procrastination. Everybody is jumping on the bandwagon and making Corona songs. Even the big names in the game! Feyago decided to go with humor instead, something light-hearted so that for three minutes, you see smiles on the faces of other people at home.
Feyago has written this song in the hills during his on-going sabbatical, the year of his self-imposed isolation. Says Feyago, “I spent the year with monks, farmers, and laborers, learning a whole range of life skills ranging from meditation, spirituality, and folk instruments to more manual skills like chopping wood, building fires, making compost, organic farming, and self-sustainability.”
The idea for this song was to take a break from who hew was turning into, to become who he wanted to be. Little did he know that this song would be so relevant during this pandemic, where almost the entire world is in isolation, away from duties, embracing procrastination. Work Song is the first single Feyago plans to release more singles in the coming few months.
The rapper also added “It was a choice. On one hand, you wait for the vaccine so you can get good deals with leading labels and follow up the album release with a mega tour and make a killing out of what you personally believe to be the best pieces work you’ve done so far. Or, you release the album online without any grand deals, because a global pandemic is probably the most appropriate time to comfort and entertain your listeners and distract them for a moment. This is the time to shine, beyond gigs, beyond album deals, beyond merchandise sales, just for the sake of pure art and the impact it can create on an individual or society on the whole, even if it just means taking everybody’s mind off the pandemic for a few minutes.”
We wish the emcee the very best during this pandemic, watch his latest offering down below and don’t forget to spread the joy!