Life is beautiful

Sheetal

A camouflage jacket, a black cap and a Ganesha locket—Ikka, the rapper and song-writer, is in Chandigarh to make a statement. With his knuckles all inked with the symbols of a gaming console (his love for video games is legendary), he lets us a peep into his current relationship status.

For all the ladies out there, Ikka has a girlfriend in Mumbai. “My personal and professional life are doing well. I am focused on my music and you will find me most of the time cooped up in a studio. Half of the month, I am in Mumbai and the other half in Delhi,” he says.

Complaining about the only thing that takes a toll on an artiste, Ikkka says, “It is the travelling part. I believe the odd hours of this job and consecutively the odd sleeping and eating habits distract you from work.” Highlighting the bipolar disorder of Honey Singh, Ikka recalls how Honey Singh’s tight schedule forced him to make music in the vanity van, who used to take about 100 flights in a month.

About his plans for 2020, Ika says, “Till now, I am not able to follow what I set my mind to do this year, which is, to take care of my health. I think if I feel good about my body and myself, then it will reflect on my work. I am planning to build a personal gym.”

As for his love for camouflage, he comes from an Army background. Ikka says, “I have respect for the true nationalists. My song on Bhagat Singh, Main Fan Bhagat Singh Da, was everything my father told me about the legend.”

Signed up with VYRL for three years, Ikka’s song, Nindra, released under the same banner, has crossed one million mark in just three days. The song is written by Ikka with music mixed and produced by the Indo-Canadian singer-songwriter and producer PropheC.

He says, “I feel there is an audience for all kind of music. I am planning two albums this year and I have kept it balanced. The first one will be totally hip-hop and the second album will be a commercial one. I will try to get on board artistes like Dr Zeuss, Honey Singh and others.”

Ikka believes that respect and money, both are required to survive in the industry. Taking the example of Diljit, he says, “He is up-to-date not only in fashion but also in his music. Pick his songs like Proper Patola, you will get an idea that the biggest weapon for rappers and artiste like us is to upgrade our music according to the current scenario.”