Unless you’re living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve seen ‘8 Mile’ right? Well if you liked the type of hip-hop and rap in that movie, Yarki is an artist who definitely deserves your attention. As soon as I heard the beats from his tracks, I was taken back to the Rap God spitting bars in that underground battle! Delhi-born Punjabi rapper Yarki tells us that it all began back in 2009 when he heard a few songs by Bohemia, a Pakistani-American artist. Over time, he started picking up the mic and speaking out his mind. By 2016, he began engaging in hip-hop cyphers at Deer Park in Hauz Khas, South Delhi.
Yarki’s new 7-track album titled ‘Chehre’ was released on January 26, 2021 and is a highly versatile collection. It starts of with ‘Mike Tyson’ and ‘Lightnin & Thunder’, two hard-hitting songs with old school trap beats which drill deep with their flow. The following tracks slow down a bit and focus more on the lyrics. Meanwhile, Faasla actually has an acoustic guitar under the back beat, which blends beautifully with Yarki’s dense voice. The closing track ‘Taqdeer’ talks about the life of a hooker and how nothing phases her anymore. As a package, ‘Chehre’ has something for every kind of hip-hop listener.
The 25-year old artist now resides in Faridabad, Haryana. He tell us that he has also delved into music production in the years that he has been part of the hip-hop scene. His main influences include Tupac, Kendrick Lamar and J Cole. The album took around 6-7 months to materialize and most of it was recorded at ABCMR Studios (A Black Cattz Mind Records). He quotes “See I’m livin’ with anxiety, duckin the sobriety, fuckin’ up the system, I ain’t fuckin’ with society”
