It’s definitely not easy establishing oneself as a musician or a rapper, for that matter, in the Nepali music industry but the talent these young ones have is definitely worth concentrating on. [break]
17-year-old Digvijay Singh Adhikari, who goes by his stage name Dougie, is pretty good at what he does. After winning the Battle Blast Competition held by PartyNepal, he’s been rapping and definitely enjoys what he does.
“I started rapping like two years back and when I’m on stage, I’m just confident and happy,” shares Dougie.
Digvijay Singh Adhikari
20-year-old, Suraj Bikram Thapa aka Bullet Flo, who considers Lure Dai from the Nepali hip hop band Nepsydaz as his inspiration, has been rapping since the past seven years.
“I started rapping when I was 13 and it just became better,” says Flo. His stage name is Bullet Flo because he can rap fast and there’s no doubt about it.
The two young lads write their own lyrics and Flo composes his music too. “If you don’t write your own lyrics in rap, it’s like cheating,” says Dougie, who can write lyrics for a song in a day but lazes around to finish it in a week’s time.
Flo, on the other hand, can finish composing and writing songs in a matter a days. “I can write and compose faster if I am not under pressure but when you’re writing lyrics for others, sometimes you need to finish it in a day and that’s when it takes more time because someone’s breathing down your neck,” expresses Flo.
The budding rappers, who’ve been around the music scene for quite some time, are thoroughly enjoying themselves and have no regrets.
On that note, Dougie says that his expectation of what he thought it would be like has not been met yet but is inching forward and getting better every single day.
Also they think that the Nepali music industry hasn’t reached its potential and is weak and that there is a lot to be discovered and upgraded.
“The technology is really not up to the mark and there are a lot of talented people in the rap scene but they’re all underground,” echo the two.
Adding to that Flo says, “The potential for R&B, hip hop and rap is quite big in Nepal because a lot of youngsters nowadays listen to this genre of music and this is what we are doing but still, we have a long way to go.”
Performing, however, is under the belt for both of them. “I love performing at the House of Music because people actually come to listen to music but other places; people come to have more fun than to listen to the music,” shares Dougie.
Flo, with his band GX Soul, is soon going on tour to India with ‘Nephop’s Finest Tour’ next month and is excited about it. “Also I’ll be performing with my band on April 14 in Bhairawa,” he shares. Flow, recently, released their album titled ‘Gokhali Extreme’ with Superstar Entertainment.
Young, energetic, enthusiastic, courageous; the two young mind’s in the rapping scene is content with what they have at the moment.
Suraj Bikram Thapa
With constant support from their families and friends, they intend to go with the flow. “Looking at financial aspect, it’s not too good but it’s not impossible either to live and pay your bills with music,” Flo articulates.
For sure, if you have the correct connections, album sales, among other things, one can make a living out of music but when asked if they were pursuing music seriously, and full time, and not as a hobby in the future, Dougie says, “I’m currently doing my A-Levels and I plan to study Business Management later and do something on my own and be a business man perhaps.”
Flo too wants to continue his studies in Hotel Management. “Every parent would want their children to be somewhere up and earn something for themselves and my parents remind me of that sometimes and I understand their feelings,” Flo shares.
When passing by the streets of Thamel, Jhamel or in a poster, if you see a street side board sporting “Dougie or Bullet Flo Live Tonight” do not forget to check them out!
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