India felt the bounce as Dhanji and friends took the Guju wave to every corner of the nation.
2023 was much more than just a year of bounce; it's 2024, and I am still feeling the bounce. After getting his listeners off their seats and making them jump up with his Gujarati funk experimental project "Ruab" last year, I would rather say that was just the start of a bigger event or a picture, which this writer likes to quote as "THE BAARGAAM SPECTACLE."
Reeling back to the date 8th August 2023, the Amdavadi ace Dhanji Kumar released his self-proclaimed "Album of the Year" in "Ruab," marking the emergence of a new wave in new-gen Gujarati music, an emergence of Dhanji and the rest of the f*ckers. The album was not merely a compilation of tracks but turned out to be a movement. The Indian rapping plateau, what we embellish as the DHH for a strong second, came together with each tweet, each story, and each speaker blasting the words "RUAB." Dhanji, who was already stated to be a visionary and an underground elite, came out with his own Magnum Opus, and it was only right to bounce to the people with his "Baargaam Tour." But that's not everything about it that we found special.
You see, one can excel at things with perseverance and practice, but it's a different case when you are born to excel in those things; it's a different level. Working on his craft over the years, one can undeniably state that Dhanji has excelled in music in his own way and lies in the top echelon when it comes to artistry. But when the dial is shifted to performing, it comes to him as a "natural." Six states, 20 cities, covering 7000 kms, and performing in front of more than 2000 people combined spanning over 5 months, the Baargaam Tour pushed the boundaries of what an independent artist is capable of doing as Dhanji, with his Guju-unit, took the Baargaam spectacle on wheels everywhere.
Dhanji's connection with his audience has provided him with one of the strongest fanbases this writer has witnessed for an independent musician. A firsthand experience comes from when our video editor, age 18, saved up his money and traveled from Pune to Mumbai just to witness the Amdavadi live. That's the power he carries within himself. With the expectation of his listeners and coming off his career-best performance, the job on hand was even harder. He made them listen to his vision; now it was time to make them experience it, to have his music speak through the overall performance and not just the music. Like the true performer we see in Dhanji, that's exactly what he and the ROTF did on this tour, taking care of the most minute details to the extravagant moments to turn the shows into spectacles as their fans ventured into the Baargaam world.
NIRVAN"Ruab," Dhanji's debut album, was in short a theatrical piece of music, centered around money and societal structures packaged with a ton of old cinema spice. To translate this identity of his music, Dhanji transformed himself into the main character of an old Bollywood movie as he performed in rustic suits with his staple green and black checkered bandana. To boost the Ruab experience, the artist performed across the nation with a live band, ensuring that the fans get the best experience of his album, which most artists fail to provide, keeping comfort first. Not to mention, the cost of performing with a live band is really expensive as well. Dhanji's charisma on the stage is an aspect of the artist where he is unparalleled. As he enters the venue with flashlights gleaming in his eyes, he doesn't ball up in nervousness but takes it all in, stands relaxed but with the confidence that he belongs on the high-held ground before he bursts into the crowd with the most electric word, "RUAB."
Comentários