Punjabi teen’s raps create international ripples

Brut India

A student of Class 11, Harsh Likhari’s raps struck a chord with those in India and abroad. This is his story.

Transcript

00:00I used to write rap, I had Indian pride

00:04People call me Harsh Lakkari

00:07Who is that?

00:08Oh, it's this kid from India.

00:09I want to keep my country, India, Punjab, and my turban above everyone else.

00:15And I want to promote them.

00:17I don't promote drugs or drugs in my songs.

00:21I write everything that I have in my raps.

00:32I write what I want to write and what people should know.

00:37I write what I see around me, what I hear, what I understand.

00:46And then people relate it to me.

00:50And then they like it.

01:02I used to listen to his songs.

01:04I used to get a vibe from them.

01:07And then I started writing songs based on my reality.

01:10And then I started getting people's love.

01:16My dad didn't like my music.

01:21He was a little scared that my music would spoil him.

01:29But my mom was the one who encouraged me.

01:34She used to tell me to do what I want to do.

01:46I did my best. If I could convince my dad that I can do something, he would support me a lot.

01:59And that's what happened. My whole family supports me.

02:16I found a rap verse of Splendor on Instagram.

02:27Connor Price saw the video and wrote in the comments,

02:32Yo, DM me bro.

02:33Then I DMed him.

02:35And we planned a song.

02:37And then we made a song.

02:46It's a funny thing.

02:55If someone asks me my name, I tell them my name on Instagram.

03:00And then I get a lot of good comments.

03:04Like a photo of Harsh Likhari.

03:07I don't consider them my fans.

03:09I just want to say that I came here because of you.

03:16I don't pay attention to my studies.

03:22I used to write in my papers.

03:24When I didn't get my papers, I used to leave my papers and write rap.

03:27I got to know about Principal Ma'am a while ago.

03:31That I want to sing a song.

03:34I had 1 million subscribers.

03:36And she called me and told me that I did a great job.

03:40I haven't earned anything yet.

03:49I'm just showing people that I can do more.

03:54Money doesn't matter.

03:56You just have to sing.

03:58People used to demotivate me.

04:01They used to say that I won't make it.

04:03But now they congratulate me.

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