Spitting the truth

Prabh Deep is also readying a new album

Narcotic substances are a reality, whether you like it or not. They come in different shapes and sizes, with multifarious forms including liquids and powders. The concept of selling them is an illicit activity, but hip-hop mainstay Prabh Deep is not making any judgments with a new single called Chitta. In it, he chronicles a character modelled on a peddler. This person is doing just a job that helps put food on the table. That's what the singer is saying in the lyrics. The peddler is only selling a product that has demand, for better or for worse.

"The intent was more about educating the youth about drugs, without taking a pro or an anti-stand. The character in my song is both a hero and a villain at the same time. The aim is to illustrate that there is good in the bad, and bad in the good. But behind it all, there is a real human being who is just trying to provide for his family. In that sense, he is as bad as the government that has left him with no other avenues for work," the Delhi-based artiste tells us about the track that's part of an upcoming album.

The song's structure follows the rapper's characteristic style of rolling out words as relentlessly as products being churned out in a factory's assembly line. Prabh is clearly an artiste who has a lot to say. "Bhar de tax/ main karke bhes/ loota sarkar/ Chhoti aa gadi/ Bada ve ghar/ Ehna samajdar [I pay taxes/ But I'm street smart/ I rob the government and I keep a small car but a big house/ I know how to play the game]," the musician sings in Punjabi about his fictitious character. You, as the listener, are free to form your own opinion about the peddler. It's a slice-of-life story, without either condoning or condemning drug use. There is no judgment being made here, to repeat the point.

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