Abhir: “An online hater is my top 1 loser” | EUROtoday

Born and raised in an Indian household within the Canary Islands, he has spent half his life believing that he did not slot in till he determined to embrace his origins. “Before we were all shamans with conscious rap,” he says

“As a child I felt quite displaced. It wasn’t because of bullying, although surely the comments had something to do with it. It was something general. I looked around me and I didn’t see myself as my friends, but I didn’t feel like I was like my family either. “That ended just lately.”

Speaks Abhir Hathiramani (Las Palmas, 1996). Born and raised in an Indian family in the Canary Islands, he has spent half his life believing that he did not quite fit into any environment. A little over a year ago he decided to embrace his origins and pour his feelings into ‘Brown Boy’their second studio album.

A daring album that mixes elements of Indian folklore with American culture, rap and electronics, and in which it opens up. With a good reception among the public and specialized media – some even compare him to Kanye West – he started his tour last night with a double date in Madrid (Sala Paqui) that will take him to venues throughout Spain.

Who in your family heard the album for the first time and how did they react?

I didn’t pass it on to him. I invited them to the presentation event and my parents, both of them, flew from Gran Canaria. My sister couldn’t. That day I prioritized the volume, the times I mention it, how it evolves… So that they felt a bubble of energy and saw the whole thing. There were some tears on the part of the three of them. Because, damn, they know I’m comfortable in my skin but they didn’t know how much and I think that hit them.

When you started, how did they take that you wanted to dedicate yourself to music?

My parents already saw me with the decisions made and they didn’t fight much either. The one who I showed them tangible things has already changed their chip.

What tangible things? When does this start to become something serious?

There are two moments. The first, and the biggest, for me is when I release my first album, ‘Ties and Knots’, because it goes from being something that is in my head to going beyond. This is demonstrated in the theaters, when people take the money and spend 20 euros on you to sing the songs. Not on the platforms. But before that, I released a song on my first EP called Moneyman That caught a bit of attention and thanks to that I was able to leave the job I had. I worked in the communications department of a company and signed a publishing contract. The money they gave me allowed me to spend a year without working and focus on making an album. Although it may not seem like it, I think it is more reasonable to take a risk and run out of money than to always have that thorn in your side for not having tried. People don’t encourage you to do those things, but it doesn’t have to be that crazy.

I was asking you about your family because with your grandparents emigrating to seek a better future, they might have expected you to opt for something more traditional.

For me, success was that my job didn’t feel like a job. It wasn’t so much to think that on day 1 4,000 or 5,000 euros would enter my account, which hasn’t happened to me, but I’m getting quite close to that point in the annual calculation. But money comes and goes. It is normal for the club to think that success is being attached and having money and facilities. I rethink it more every day. I prefer to have a good time with my people and when I have to leave here, say: ‘damn, I enjoyed it.’ I have also learned a very important thing, which is that success does not come from outside and then you feel it inside. That’s a dynamic that I was very familiar with and it’s bullshit. When everything started to change was when I felt like I had the bull by the horns and that I was successful for making the music I wanted to make, the music I would wear.

Before we were all shamans with conscious rap

Do you feel that your beginnings were complicated?

I remember that it was all a bit tacky, but it was very nice because there were few people. There was not networking, it was all about asking colleagues. I remember starting and feeling like loneliness. Then I found people in Tenerife who sounded similar to the things I liked. And on my island I already discovered West Dubai, Highkili or Nestakilla, which are groups that ate criticism for taking risks and breaking out of the mold a little. Before it was conscious rap, with a positive message. They didn’t have to have that message and it seems perfect to me. Before we all went as shamans. Not me so much, but I remember it was all about keeping it real and such. Then West Dubai arrives saying ‘I want lambo’ or ‘I want girls’ and I understand why it bothers you. But for me conscious music is increasingly losing its value. Claiming is cool but I don’t put on two topics in a row.

What has led you to change your music and move from the more traditional RnB to ‘Ties and Knots‘to the proposal of’Brown Boy‘? What happened? Why the click?

Me ‘Ties and Knots‘I love it, but it’s true that I felt the weight of being able to leave my job completely and never work for someone else again. With this album I no longer had that worry and that changes things. That’s why I thought I’d take a chance, see what happens, and if it didn’t work out, I could always go back. I think making the album with a different goal made it come out a little more honest. And the clicking comes from a year ago when I realized it was turned off. The same thing that happened to me in the office. Time went by and I felt like I wasn’t doing anything special.

Abhir Hathi publish this new project with StepFamily, a small Spanish urban music label. But the distribution is in charge Dale Playan international company that operates in several countries and has figures such as Bizarrap, Nicki Nicole or Duki.

“I’m very pleased as a result of I get very concerned in how issues end up and so they have by no means questioned a choice. For instance, I began by throwing Go Getter, one thing dangerous that maybe I could not have performed with a multi that has artistic management over my undertaking. I’m not keen to barter these issues. If I’ve to justify myself I really feel disconnected and that has occurred to me badly earlier than. They haven’t questioned me about something although they’ve tremendous heavy success tales.”

What were you like when you were little? Did you suffer a lot bullying for coming from an Indian family? Or were you one of those who did? Which is something that is not usually commented on…

I don’t think I’ve had many moments of being bullie because in my house there was no hostile environment that caused me to have to vent on other people. But I did and still do get the typical comments. Maybe not so fat because he was fat and that’s it. But the typical hurtful ‘you’re different’ thing. But I think it happens to everyone. They also pick on the girl who plays soccer. I think that’s what she plays with little kids. I will never expect people to come home well educated because I see a lot of fools on the street and on the networks. But, to sum up, I don’t think the bullying formed me as a person, but I did feel quite displaced when I saw that I was not like my friends or like my family. That ended recently.

In line with this, I wanted to ask you about the controversy that existed with the Gallery Session that you did with Juicy Bae and in which she got angry because of the comments that criticized her physique a lot.

They told us everything. I don’t care that they don’t like my musical proposal or the performance, but that they mess with her physique really bothers me. An online hater in a comments section is top 1 loser to me. Juicy and I are doing beautiful things, putting proposals on the table and those people should leave Twitter, leave TikTok and open Infojobs. They call me ‘morito’ or ‘the one with the kebab’. Jokes that don’t make me feel too bad either and sometimes even make me laugh.

It could be very elitist to suppose that music with no twist is worse

What worries you the most or what moves you the most when you make music?

They are different answers. What worries me most is that it matures well over time and what moves me most is that it generates a strong reaction that stimulates me beyond “he is good-looking.”

But are you obsessed with creating different and surprising songs?

No. I don’t want everything I’m going to do to have to catch people on the wrong foot. I don’t like that elitist way of thinking that if you don’t do something out of the ordinary it’s worse. I think Feid’s music is no worse than Bjork’s. It seems to me that they are both the fucking dick. I don’t know, it seems like a way of looking at things by looking over your shoulder. What Feid does is quite complicated. You have to live reggaeton and understand the peña. In another era, I might have told you that reggaeton is a bit repetitive. Well, man, same. But rap is also a bit repetitive and it freaks me out. People criticize today’s music a lot and it is moving millions of euros. They say that Duki makes easy music… Well, he’s going to fill a Bernabéu! I don’t know, you do it.

Has your ego ever played tricks on you?

The ego has not played tricks on me, I have not had moments of speaking badly to the supporters. I do notice that when I’m anxious about something, when it stresses me out, I become quite a bit drier. But there is a distinction between the Abhir of everyday life, much more familiar and calm, than that of music, which is very superb. I think it is necessary. The people I like the most know and assume that they are the best or the best in their field. Me too and nothing happens.

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