You know how they say, 'Take your broken heart, make it into art', that's what Asahel Shamir Jannu aka The Mutant did. Born with spina bifida (a defect which doesn't let the spine grow) and bullied ruthlessly in school, this youngster had to drop out at class IX. Somewhere in between, he fell in love with hip hop and it became his respite. "I used to come back from school, write it all out and be at peace with myself," says the 19-year-old. His mic drop moment came when he performed a diss track at his senior's farewell and life has never been the same.
Currently, the young rapper is into beat production, through which, he sells the beats he makes and is almost ready to drop his first single on YouTube in a few days. He spends almost every weekend on stage, doing what he does best and other days he is pouring over his lyrics and writing. "From performing at open mics in January to doing my own gigs since April, I think I've seen a lot of growth. This happened because I started treating rapping as a profession, not a hobby," he says and adds, "When I am on stage, I am me and a much happier person." His first single is going to be an introduction track of sorts through which he will let people know who he is. He might take some time to complete his song, but when he does, he makes sure that is the very best he could do. And that is what he has maintained with his first single too. Nawab Gang is his crew and the hip hop family he is a part of.
Talking about the rap scene in Hyderabad, this city boy opines that it is at its nascent stage. "There are Telugu rappers as well who are putting Hyderabad on the map, but they don't have much recognition locally," he explains. There are a lot of rappers, both younger and older to him, who seek his support and guidance and he has mentored a few as well. And a piece of consistent advice he dolls out to everyone is, "Just put the key in the ignition and keep trying to start it until your imagination fires up. Also, get perspective as it is all that matters," says the young rapper.
From his pen
Some of the lyrics that he has written:
- People these days say "they're in a pursuit of resonance",
While they fail to comprehend that "they're perception's impotent",
To subsist to the open mindedness, first we gotta keep ourselves in check,
Before we go ahead and judge someone else
- Physical state's surly strange, yet the mind state's just insane..my flow would enrage in the most absurd ways...the artist spirit's untamed
- Love is a foundation to peace, love is everything amazing indeed and love is eternal, if we all learn to love each other unconditionally, maybe the world would someday be ideal and flawless!
For more on him, check out instagram.com/the.mutant
