For almost a year now, I’ve greatly admired Seedhe Maut’s lyrically gifted songs backed with a tight cadence that would bring quite a few rappers to shame. Encore ABJ has always been a showstopper, especially in the singles that they’ve dropped. But while both occupy a special place in Indian hip-hop, a few (including me) would place Calm a few notches above the entire competition right now. Some are struck by his verses, some by his flow. For me, it is his absolutely deathly intensity that he brings to the board for every single line that floors me. Every single time.
When they came onto the stage, the crowd seemed a little out-of-place for a Seedhe Maut gig. Encore ABJ wasted no time in setting the charge with their iconic “Yeh Hai Seedhe Maut” verse from their anthem. Soon enough, the club was set on fire, and leave it to them to capitalise on it. Song after song, the boys kept their flow and energy right where it belonged and wasted no efforts in turning the heat up.
But, in between the music and the rapping and the mistakes, there were unmistakable moments where Encore ABJ and Calm would simply shut off from the club for a moment to take a second and look at each other, laugh, smile, and then continue to set the club on fire. With every mistake by them came a second or two’s complete ease with whatever was flowing under their skin. As if not a single effort was being made in delivering their fiery lines. As if everything was but a serious play, with an emphasis on play.
And in between the giggles and the tracks, one couldn’t help notice another few set of moments where everything just blanked out for them. For a few five or ten seconds, Encore ABJ would launch himself into another dimension where his body would simply swerve with his verses. Calm’s such moments were more extroverted where you could feel that he was set to enter the next Saiyan mode and dazzle us.
Which brings me to Calm’s entire performance. Having greatly admired his work so far, I was most looking forward to seeing Calm’s mystical energy now on the stage. And I wasn’t disappointed even by a bit. His intensity live is infectious, and you can’t help but sometimes just loosen up from the hype to admire his dedication to the performance. It wasn’t just Calm delivering his lines, but it was Calm absolutely spitting fire, word by word, line by line. And with an intensity that would leave me reminiscing the vibe at the club for days to come.
Whether it be the bangers from Shaktimaan or the lyrically powerful singles or the unreleased tracks with Foreign Beggars, Ritviz, and Sez On The Beat, Seedhe Maut smashed them out of the club.
To put it simply, as DJ Uri said in VICE’s short film on Azadi Records:
“The Seedhe Maut guys have really raised the bar.”
