Journeying through the pandemic and broken relationships, MC and rapper Shah Rule emerges with a diverse album that blends jazzy vibes with Afro and old-style hip-hop
Shah Rule at a previous gig
Therapy can be expensive. It involves hours of examining yourself, sharing your deepest vulnerabilities, only to realise that you were exaggerating problems. But once in a while, it can lead to magical breakthroughs. Mumbai-based rapper Shah Rule’s latest album, Call You Right Back, I’m in Therapy, is the result of a cathartic journey through himself. With multiple collaborators, and a musical range that goes from jazz to Afro-beats, old style hip-hop and live instrumentation, it certainly sounds like it was worth the journey.
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The 30-year-old rapper agrees. “You cannot force music. It is a representation of where you are; a timestamp of your life,” he explains. The album, he adds, is a continuation of his previous EP, Hooked from 2021. The five-song EP was a metaphor for the struggles of the pandemic, an addiction to digital toxicity. The new one is about healing. “It begins and ends on a positive note,” the rapper remarks.
The nine-track album that was released on July 12, is versatile in its scoring. From the jazzy vibes of Confident and Three words to the touch of the classical in Saari Raatein (with its beautiful instrumentation), it delivers good listening. Then, there is the flowing verse that hits home with its exploration of loss, longing, regret and eventually, self-affirmation and realisation. The rapper has collaborated with familiar names such as Stunnah Beatz and Zero Chill who are the producers on the album, Anik Khan, Katto and Raga, to name a few others. The production captures beats from the Afro-beats (Shah Rule is a huge fan of Burna Boy and Whiz Kid), Hindi and English vocals, with live instrumentation including guitars by Moses Kaul and saxophones by Harsh Bhavsar. “The live instrumentation elevated the album,” the rapper remarks.
The storytelling though, was his priority. Shah Rule says, “Once I had all these sounds on the album, I was going half hip-hop. Then, we decided that the album can have multiple sounds but the lyrical content had to string things together.” His favourite pick is Lights, camera, action featuring Anik Khan. “This song was the beginning of my healing. It felt like the most positive result,” he says.
Yet, the standout feature is the quirky title. It has a purpose, Shah Rule reminds us. “I also wanted to shed some light on therapy, which is a taboo subject in our culture, particularly for men,” he explains, adding that there is ‘rap’ in therapy.
The healing process is close to the composer’s heart. Having experienced a toxic relationship, a break-up and the pandemic, he admits that it was therapy that helped him accept the need for a support system. Now, he hopes to provide some for his fans. To that end, he reveals, “We are teaming up with Arushi Sethi of Trijog (mental health and wellness organisation) to sponsor five sessions for five individuals as part of our project.”
Now that the healing process is completed, the producer has his eyes set on future targets. Having already gone independent, he is now focussing on the big screen. He famously made his debut with Gully Boy in 2019. “I always wanted to be an actor, so I was delighted to shoot some videos for this album,” he tells us. Whether that translates on to the big screen is yet to be seen, but the rapper is happy. “I have never been so vulnerable in an album before, but I am glad. I do not feel alone anymore,” he concludes.
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