Can't stop, won't stop

Yo Yo Honey Singh wins over India with his surreal boasts and gaudy chains. But, says the author, his dream is to take on the world

Some 20 police cars and two helicopters frenziedly tail Yo Yo Honey Singh, who is eloping with Sonakshi Sinha in a fancy getaway vehicle in the music video, Desi Kalakaar. Singh (he prefers the use of his rapper nomenclature, Yo Yo) dodges the Los Angeles Police Department squad, leaving behind a trail of wrecked vehicles. The cops finally manage to chase Singh down and draw their pistols on him. Sinha is handed over to her father. After arresting Singh, an officer asks him how long he is going to do things like this. "Forever," he replies, eyebrows raised, muscles glistening in the desert sun.

It is this can't-stop-won't-stop attitude, both on screen and off it, that has fuelled Singh's popularity. With surreal boasts, gaudy chains and glaring tattoos, the rap singer has endeared himself to the country's youth and turned into music's version of a viral post. But he has bigger plans.

Singh, 31, was born as Hirdesh Singh in Hoshiarpur in Punjab and spent most of his childhood there. For somebody whose lyrics today make fathers and mothers cringe, he says his parents loom large in his career. "Especially my mother, she plays a very important role," he confides. "She always believed in me and my passion for music. I have learnt from my father how to work hard to fulfil my dreams."

He began early. "I used to perform at school annual functions and fests," he says. But his journey from the margins to the mainstream - providing songs for super-hit Bollywood films and giving teenagers new slang - hasn't been easy. "I have struggled a lot to achieve whatever I have," says Singh. He studied music at the Trinity School in the United Kingdom and began his career as a music director in 2005. In 2006, his single topped BBC world charts.

His first Bollywood track was in 2012 for Mastaan, a gangster movie that hasn't been released till date. He was reportedly paid Rs 70 lakh for the song. Today he commands a higher price. Film trade analyst Komal Nahta says, "He is the highest-paid Bollywood singer - Rs 1 crore per song. He makes his own music and lyrics. But then every song of his has proved a chartbuster." Singh also reportedly charges Rs 40-50 lakh per stage show, not bad for someone who, as sources claim, lip-syncs his way through them.

T-Series Chairman & Managing Director Bhushan Kumar tells me that he and Singh have always shared a good rapport. "That has given us many successes - Lungi dance , Sunny Sunny, Chaar bottle vodka, Party all night long … We have also released singles like Blue eyes and Issey kehte hain hip hop that are popular at pubs, parties and in cars." As for that now famous song, Kumar says, "Honey and I went to Shah Rukh Khan with Lungi dance after the entire album for Chennai Express was already done. He liked it and added it to the film." The song got 22.5 million views on YouTube.

In my Delhi neighbourhood, Singh clones in their twenties converge under a lamp post, a blur of baggy jeans and sneakers. But under one cap, you might just find the rapper himself on a mission. "I like observing human behaviour, expressions and the new slang that comes up every week. I like to keep myself updated on my surroundings," he says.

Stardom may mean a mansion far from the humble surroundings where his life began. But to retain his creative edge and his credibility with audiences, Singh revels in the very humility where his talent took root. It is with much self-congratulatory joy that in Stardom, he sings: Delhi ka local londa/Dum hai b***s mein/Kal tak ghuma Metro mein/ Aaj Rolls mein/Kiraye ki na hai ye hai mehnat ki kamai ki/Ye R8 meri, ye lambi gaadi bhai ki/Madhyam-wargiye pariwar se/Pitaji in sarkari job/Sarkari school ka ladka/Sunta tha hip-hop/Karle kuch vyapaar/Kehte the ristedaar/Ristedaaron ke liye middle finger ab taiyaar/Sachi I'm having fun, paisa, fame, stardom/Sachi saari baatein inki ek ek line bum/Seduce kare beat kyuki beat mein seduction/Singh Honey Singh! F**du production."

And without a thought for his image, he endorses his madhyam-wargiye credentials by saying he loves rajma chawal and misses home when away on work. Really? "If I ever get a day off, I like spending it with my family and friends." He does treasure the quieter moments, for wherever he goes today, there's a sea of people in tow, be it kids or adults, Hollywood's Kevin Spacey included, hiking up their sarongs in response to the Lungi dance beats.

Everyone is salivating over Singh. Online fashion brand American Swan has roped in Singh as brand ambassador. "Because of his quirky songs, he is apt for youth products with a bit of irreverence, perhaps a foreign underwear brand," feels Nahta. The singer has also been wooed by a political party in Haryana, for whom he has recorded a poll campaign song. Even Sinha loved her experience shooting with Singh. "I'd like to work with Honey again," says the actor, mindful of the fact that Desi Kalakar managed 10 million views on YouTube. She, of course, doesn't cede all credit to the rapper. "The audiences anyway love Yo Yo's songs but I think with both our fan followings put together and the international look of and desi feel to the video, we managed so many views on YouTube."

I ask him if he sees himself as a rebel and Singh immediately gets defensive: "I am definitely not a rebel. My songs are not a portrayal of my life but of the things I see around. Today's youth have a rebellious streak but in a good way. They want to go out there and achieve their dreams - that is admirable."

But role models have social virtues to peddle, and many don't see the happy-go-lucky rapper as an appropriate icon. "The youth begin to attempt shallow imitations of the dress, speech and mannerisms, even going so far as to attempt to produce hip hop, making asses of themselves. Symptoms include buying baggy clothes and chunky jewellery," fumes an elderly gentleman. "We are witnessing cultural genocide." The angry old man can take heart perhaps in the fact that many devotional songs in the just concluded Navratri were based on Singh's songs. Here is one, a take on Lungi dance: "Mandir ke thode round lagake/Mata ke jaisa tika lagake/Coconut ka bhog chadha ke/ Ajao sare dhoop jala ke."

Does Singh want to take on the world? "Representing India, that's the dream," he says, admitting his heart is set on a Grammy award. Desi Kalakaar was shot in Los Angeles with global production standards. His releases are now more restrained and radio-friendly, therefore more Grammy-friendly. Also perhaps sensing the exhaustion among his fans with his one-dimensional image, he is trying to clean up his act.

He tells me he is interested in social change and Indian culture. An example of the latter is his Marathi song, Aata majhi satakli for Singham Returns (nine million YouTube hits). "The language fascinates me and I have learnt a bit of Marathi from my friends during my long stay in Mumbai. When I was approached for the song, I just knew what I had to deliver."

So what next? The age of Khans giving way to the age of Singh? Here the rapper tells me there is a line in the sand that's not to be crossed. "I don't want to act in movies or become a hero. The Khans are Khans and no one in Bollywood can replace them." Nahta agrees: "Taking on the Khans is a Utopian thought because he is a singer, not an actor."

At a mall in Rohini in New Delhi, I hear Singh's Break-up party, in which he blames his girlfriend of being disloyal and leading to the split. I walk up to some girls at a coffee shop and ask them if they like the song. "Are you mad?" retorts Richa Dhanuka. Shilpa Sharma isn't having it either. "What do you mean? Can't girls be loyal?" I counter the girls' derision with the fact that Singh is an attentive lover in Brown rang, but I am heckled once again.

Be that as it may, the rapper knows his ever-widening fan base is content with new narratives, toned down or not. "I will always make sure that my audience connects with my song, leaves all worries behind for a few minutes and sits back and enjoys."