Rishaad Chaudhry’s new song ‘Tu’ celebrates love beyond lover’s tiff

Team L&M

An amorous dedication to ‘the one’, penned by the 20-year-old melodic rapper Rishaad Chaudhry, Tu released today. Rooted in hip-hop production while imaginatively looping a finger picking guitar over melodic bars, Tu, meanders through pop, desi rap & direct, no frills songwriting.

The single is an acknowledgement of an ideal love where one cannot imagine themselves with anyone else in the place of their lover. The titular ‘Tu’ is someone the artist’s protagonist is never willing to let go of.  An acoustic structure for a heart-swelling pop ditty that is presented as a hip-hop offering is Rishaad’s second release in Hindi/Urdu.

Tu is keenly crafted storytelling that draws influences from varied genres bringing them to a thematic unison. Soft-chill and dreamy beats carry the sombre yet intimate scripting of Tu – a love that is rare or ‘rishaad’ (Urdu) for a new romantic genre.

The producer for the track ProdVenus laid down the beat for Tu following which Rishaad wrote the song in a desi rap format.”Tu is a result of my own experiences and others about how love can have a huge impact on us. Love allows us to get attached to one person who we do not want to let go of no matter what the circumstances may be and this is exactly what my song talks about. It echoes the love for a special person,” says Rishaad.

The artwork for Tu is a reinterpretation of the legendary Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. In Rishaad’s take on the masterpiece, the hands face one another as a symbol of the love one feels for a special person in their life.

While all his releases so far have been in the space of Hip-Hop/Pop-Rap, a popular favourite of his generation, the artist views them without the glasses of genre-based descriptions. The aspect of spontaneity in these genres and connected pop cultures as also in life is another reason that drives him to create music, indicating the base motivation of the artist to be beyond labels. He wants to find the space for his own unique expression in every genre possible.