Interview: New Jersey Rap Artist Kiran Rajan Talks About His New Track "Soundwave"
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““Under the Influence” is a project I wanted to pursue as a way to show that I can stand up on my own two feet as a rapper. ”
Congratulations on the release of your new track "Soundwave", produced by your boy Beats by Vig. Tell us about your creative process for this song and what inspired your lyrics.
This song was the first time I had worked with a producer and it really gave me the opportunity to get a more professional sound. Vig was a friend of mine when I was younger and when I found out he made fire beats I knew I had to work with him.
I came up with the name for this song well after I picked out the beat from his catalogue. In a conversation with a friend I blurted out how I “wanna get hella people on my soundwave” as a declaration of my goals for my music. From there I just locked myself away in my room and created my lyrics through trial and error.
Rapping over the beat with my freshly written bars over and over until I was satisfied with what I heard. It takes a lot of solitude and focus for me to make stuff I like. A big part of my process is getting myself alone with my own thoughts and letting my creativity fly on autopilot.
Speaking of beats, what do you look for in the production that you decide to write to?
The biggest question I ask during beat selection is “Would this beat be something I can imagine bumping in my car?”. I want to make music that people can get hype to so I tend to lean towards up tempo and high energy tracks with some exceptions here and there.
If I find a beat that makes me feel like jumping up and down then I know I have to rap on it. I have a pretty diverse range of sound but there will never be a time where I don’t want to go crazy. Seeing that energy reflected in my music is really all that I need to visualize when I pick a beat.
What can you tell us about your upcoming album "Under the Influence"? Will any other artists be featured, and would you say that there is an overarching theme or concept to the project?
“Under the Influence” is a project I wanted to pursue as a way to show that I can stand up on my own two feet as a rapper. My debut album, “The Orange Tapes” was fun and more casual but lacked the production quality and professional sound that I’m looking for now.
This next album is focused around building that professional sounding music. The songs on the album are all influenced by either the musical, or lyrical style of an artist that has had a significant impact on my own musical development. It's up to the listener to figure out who influenced which track.
The whole point is, no matter what answer they come to, they’re going to form those connections based on their own experiences and influences. At the end of the day, every person is just a combination of those influences. While individually they might be different, those ideas come together to form the foundation of who you are. That’s what I’m truly trying to convey with this next album.
Can we expect a music video for "Soundwave" or any other songs from "Under the Influence" next?
Most definitely, it’s difficult to get a crew together to work on a music video during the pandemic but if it comes down to me using a tripod and doing the whole thing on my own then I’m not afraid of getting that done. Depending on how that process goes you might get to see a few music videos for “Under the Influence”.
If at all, how would you say that your Indian culture is reflected in the music that you create?
I take a lot of pride in where I come from. I was born in the southern region of India and I’ve faced hate from everybody including other Indians. I usually like to address that negativity directly and through my rap I want to show that I can rise above that.
In certain songs like “Drip” (from “The Orange Tapes”) I like to sample Indian songs and sounds I grew up with as a nod to my heritage. However, I think my culture has a more indirect impact on my music because it's the drive for why I rap. There isn’t a lot of brown representation in mainstream media in the US and if I can make it big I hope to act as inspiration for people like me to know that they can make waves too.
Heading into 2021, what are some of your goals musically for the new year?
One of my biggest goals is to grow my fan base. I want more and more people to vibe with my music and I’m ready to do what it takes to make that happen. I’ve started building a bigger social media presence through things like Instagram and TikTok along with working on as much music as I can.
I also want to eventually perform my songs live, nothing compares to seeing a crowd getting hype to your music and I constantly dream about making that happen.
My final goal is to get signed by a label or make a name for myself independently on a larger scale. I’m really hungry when it comes to what I want out of my music career and I’m not stopping that momentum by any means.