The Rap Rebel of India returns after fighting addiction

About 15 years ago, an Indian rapper of Humble Origins broke into the hyp-hop music scene of the then inferctile of the country and transformed it forever.

He mocked, cheated and bothered his listeners, challenging them to explore the “diabolical” contours of his mind, while sanging rhymes precipitated about parties, drugs and “seduce” women. His songs were played in clubs and weddings, at full volume of stereos in large parties and tea stalls on the road equally.

Then, at the top of his career, he disappeared. Seven years later, I Honey Singh is returning, with a new album and an ongoing musical tour, which claims to be a man changed after a prolonged battle with drug abuse and mental health struggles.

The 41-year-old singer and producer was once one of the largest musical stars in India, a figure that “moved the cultural gravity of hip-hop music,” says music journalist Bhanuj Kapal in Famous, a recent Netflix documentary about Singh.

But he was also deeply controversial, and, by his own admission, an “aggressive and reckless man,” routinely accused of promoting vulgarityDeboucherry and violence through his music.

Many criticized Singh’s letter for representing violence against women and rape, an image that won more traction in the press after his ex -wife and his childhood girlfriend accused him of domestic violence in his divorce presentation. Singh has denied the position.

Seven years later, the singer is no longer the creator of success challenging who once ruled the lists with his provocative hymns that touch their feet.

Much has changed in the intermediate years, including Indian hip-hop, which has become a prosperous and dynamic space. The artists once inspired by their sound have now surpassed it as the main voices of the genre.

Singh also seems different. From someone who described himself as “the teacher who knows everything about the universe”, now identifies himself as a fearful man of God who believes in good energies, the cyclical nature of life and “scientific astrologers.”

He affirms that his music is now more aware, going beyond drugs to something deeper. But loyal fans say they have lost their advantage and their last clues have not left a brand.

“He has a central audience that will stay with him forever … but his vision is old now. He is outdated,” says Kappal.

But Singh is not yet ready to be discarded.

Instead of trying to hide or defend their personal struggles with fame and drugs, he has made him the centerpiece of his return.

Since his return, Singh has frankly admitted his struggles with addiction and mental health. “Drugs destroyed me completely,” a digital news platform told Lallantop. “I got lost in fame, money and women. It was like a demon, completely satanic.”

In interviews, he is ingenious and relaxed, speaking with the clarity of a tormented artist who, after fighting his internal demons, seems to have unlocked a spiritual truth

“What happens, I really think,” he said recently. “It took me a long time to go out where I was caught. But now I’m back.”

Born Hronidesh Singh in the state of Punjab, grew in a narrow neighborhood of Delhi. Those hard early years shaped their music and still resonated in their work today.

“This ghetto was my home, my hood, it will always be,” it is often heard.

Singh always knew he wanted a career in music. It started as a University DJ, then moved to full -time production. “I wanted to rhythms and produce music, not sing or write,” he says.

But after years as a small producer in Punjab, he realized that it would not be enough. “My sounds were too urban for the place. People did not understand it. Therefore, I had to go beyond the State.”

Then he left alone. In 2011, Singh released the international village, his breakout album. Combining the people of Punjabi, their rhythms and melodies of Dhol ropes, with the HYP -Hop Global, created something completely new.

For three months, it seemed that the formula had failed. Then everything changed. During the night, the songs became viral, they exceeded the lists, won prizes, and catapulted Bollywood.

BrownA song about the global ambition of a brown man, became the most watched video of YouTube in 2012. Filmed in Dubai with a budget of one million dollars, he introduced to many Indians the brightness of the hip-hop: fast cars, baggy clothes, watches with brights gems and gold chains, ready for beats and rhythms.

Despite the growing criticism for his misogynist lyrics, Singh packed stadiums and became hits, breaking Bollywood with songs for stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar.

“Many times, my lyrics were garbage, even I knew that. But people still listened to it because the sound was very good and fresh,” he told Lallantop.

But the rise of Singh to fame coincided with its personal fall.

“I was drowning in drugs and alcohol, smoking 12-15 joints and falls of fall. I left my family, I lost control. This time, I got so high that I bit a friend in my stomach eight times,” he told Lallantop.

In 2017, Singh broke in the middle of the tour, a moment that shook it. He stopped music and substances, returned to Delhi and began to recover with a world team of doctors and therapists. “I told my family that I was mentally bad. I can’t do anything until I improve.”

Singh says he has been sober for seven years, except for occasional beer.

“I’ve been to hell and back,” he says in famous. “Even now, I wake up mistaken due to medications.”

However, fans appreciate the raw honesty of Singh on their self -destructive tendencies, and their effort to overcome them.

“No one is perfect. But at least Singh tries to be better. He may have left the scene briefly, but his music never stopped playing,” says Nandini Gupta, a student based in Delhi.

Others see their transformation as a performative, noting that their new music remains problematic. “Although it is attenuated, it is still objectifying women and speaking only of money and fame,” says the listener Bushra Neyazi.

It doesn’t matter how you see it, the redemption of Singh feels like another challenge for your audience, pushing them to accept their complicated past and give their music another chance.

“I was out for seven years, but I will return to all in the next seven,” he said recently.

“I’m back and I want the same love I received seven years ago.”