Hanumankind on Arijit Singh's retirement: The man made the decision for himself

Rapper Hanumankind is in an experimental phase — and brand collabs are part of that play. Fresh off recording the latest Thums Up music anthem with Vishal Dadlani, the artiste says the idea was to step into new rooms without losing his core.“I was in the space. Me and the boys were in the space to try out new things, to experiment and try and work with other parties. When they reached out to us, they were like, ‘hey, this might be the space to do that.’ We attempted that and we were able to work with legends like Vishal.”For him, every ‘yes’ in the industry is backed by many ‘no’s. “When we were making music with nothing to our names, there were a lot of things we had to say thumbs down to and thumbs up to.

We fought to get to this point where we can try these things and still retain integrity. Being able to say yes also means being good at saying no to things that will affect you. It’s not always perfect. There are speed bumps and blocks. That headspace is key.

”On Arijit Singh stepping away from Bollywood chatter, he keeps it personal, not political. “He comes from a different space. The man made the decision for himself. You got to respect that because there’s weight he carries with his work and he’s the only one that carries that.

Whatever happens to the industry after that is secondary to the man.”Ask him about burnout, and he shrugs off romanticising the grind. “Don’t focus on the music too long. You put too much fire, it burns. Take a step back. Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. Learn to recognise that and figure out ways to let go. If you don’t have space, try and find it. Don’t blame people for crashing out and burning. Life is stressful. Sometimes it feels like everybody’s out to get you.”