INTERVIEW | PAUL BARRATT ON KAMANI RECORDS, SOUTH ASIAN HIP-HOP AND GLOBAL COLLABORATIONS

We sit down with Paul Bar­ratt, co-founder of Kamani Records, a label that has been at the fore­front of push­ing South Asi­an hip-hop onto the glob­al stage. Togeth­er with his part­ner Shant­anu Pujari, Paul has been instru­ment­al in shap­ing the sound­scape of a genre that is rap­idly gain­ing inter­na­tion­al attention.

Kamani Records isn’t just a record label — it’s a cul­tur­al bridge between Asia and Europe, com­mit­ted to pro­mot­ing authen­t­ic tal­ent and break­ing bar­ri­ers in the glob­al music scene. From organ­ising India’s first hip-hop fest­iv­al to nur­tur­ing ground­break­ing col­lab­or­a­tions across con­tin­ents, Paul and his team are help­ing redefine what it means to be a South Asi­an artist in the mod­ern music industry.

In this inter­view, Paul shares the chal­lenges and tri­umphs of pion­eer­ing hip-hop in India, the philo­sophy behind identi­fy­ing artists with true poten­tial, and the label’s unique role in fos­ter­ing cross-cul­tur­al col­lab­or­a­tions. We’ll explore the rise of the genre, the road­b­locks it still faces, and how Kamani Records is pos­i­tion­ing itself as a lead­er in bring­ing South Asi­an music to an inter­na­tion­al audience.

Look­ing ahead, Paul gives us a glimpse of the excit­ing future for both Kamani Records and Nayab Tal­ent, with pro­jects that prom­ise to elev­ate South Asi­an hip-hop to new heights. Join us as we delve into the jour­ney of a label that is not only shap­ing music but also empower­ing the next gen­er­a­tion of artists.

Kamani Records has been instru­ment­al in bring­ing South Asi­an hip-hop to the glob­al stage. What inspired you and Shant­anu Pujari to co-found the label, and what were your ini­tial goals?

Our main goal was to build a bridge between Asia and Europe, show­cas­ing authen­t­ic tal­ent and help­ing them grow in the inter­na­tion­al market.

The Goa Hip-Hop Fest­iv­al was a ground­break­ing event in Indi­a’s music scene. Can you share the chal­lenges and tri­umphs of organ­iz­ing Indi­a’s first hip-hop fest­iv­al and its impact on the gen­re’s growth in the region?

We faced many chal­lenges when we launched India’s first-ever hip-hop fest­iv­al in Goa in 2014. Secur­ing per­mis­sions, deal­ing with loc­al author­it­ies, and nav­ig­at­ing gov­ern­ment restric­tions on music ven­ues were sig­ni­fic­ant obstacles for pro­moters, cre­at­ors, and fest­iv­al organ­izers at the time.

Kamani Records has nur­tured and pro­moted a diverse range of hip-hop tal­ent. How do you identi­fy artists that have the poten­tial to break through both loc­ally and internationally?

We look for artists with cour­age, a unique voice, a power­ful mes­sage, and con­fid­ence. Their struggle and vis­ion, com­bined with their nat­ur­al abil­ity to per­form live wheth­er rap­pers or sing­ers — are key factors.

We also ana­lyse the UK and European mar­kets to find artists that would com­ple­ment Asi­an tal­ents. For example, we have an upcom­ing track fea­tur­ing UK jungle pion­eer Gen­er­al Levy, pro­duced by Japan­ese female pro­du­cer Noriko Shakti, and fea­tur­ing Skavya, a rising sing­er from Hyderabad.

You’ve worked with artists across mul­tiple coun­tries and cul­tures. How do you ensure that the music pro­duced under Kamani Records res­on­ates with a glob­al audi­ence while main­tain­ing its South Asi­an roots?

We care­fully select pro­du­cers from both Asia and Europe, ensur­ing they have com­pat­ible styles, and focus on blend­ing pro­duc­tion tech­niques while keep­ing the glob­al music scene in mind. We pri­or­it­ise the artist’s authen­t­ic Asi­an roots, story, and back­ground, and aim to cre­at­ively enhance these ele­ments in collaborations.

At Kamani, we’re com­mit­ted to break­ing inter­na­tion­al bar­ri­ers and build­ing oppor­tun­it­ies both loc­ally and glob­ally. Addi­tion­ally, through our sis­ter com­pany, Assembly of Cre­at­ive Arts, we engage with dis­ad­vant­aged youth in the UK and Asia by offer­ing music work­shops and build­ing plat­forms for young talent.

The rise of hip-hop in India is evid­ent, but what do you think are the key factors driv­ing its pop­ular­ity, and how do you see this genre evolving in the next five years?

The artists them­selves are key drivers, along with main­tain­ing a pro­duc­tion style that stays true to its roots. In India, youth cul­ture is heav­ily inves­ted in study­ing hip-hop’s his­tory, from the 1980s to today. Crews like Bom­bay Lokal do incred­ible live shows, incor­por­at­ing break­dan­cing, DJing, MCing, and graf­fiti, keep­ing the essence of hip-hop alive. I see this genre going glob­al on an even great­er scale in the next five years, and Kamani will be enabling artists to tour Europe and intro­duce them to inter­na­tion­al audiences.

Nayab Tal­ent is a sig­ni­fic­ant part of your work with Shant­anu. How does Nayab Tal­ent com­ple­ment the mis­sion of Kamani Records, and what unique oppor­tun­it­ies does it provide for artists?

Nayab Tal­ent rep­res­ents some of the biggest, most respec­ted artists from across India and Nepal. We’ve earned trust and respect, espe­cially giv­en Shantanu’s deep con­nec­tions with artists like Divine and MC Altaf. Shant­anu also foun­ded India’s first multi-lin­gual rap group, Swadesi, which has gained glob­al recog­ni­tion. His work, includ­ing pro­du­cing over 100 videos in the Asi­an hip-hop industry, com­bined with my skills, has made it easi­er for us to build bridges between Asia and Europe, help­ing these artists flour­ish and grow the label organically.

Build­ing bridges between vari­ous regions like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Lon­don is cent­ral to your mis­sion. What strategies do you employ to facil­it­ate col­lab­or­a­tion between artists from these diverse backgrounds?

We have team mem­bers based in these regions who help us reg­u­larly ana­lyze the mar­ket and assess artists’ poten­tial. We don’t just focus on num­bers like streams and fol­low­ers; we look at the authen­ti­city, mes­sage, and inten­tion behind the artist’s craft, and how it com­ple­ments the col­lab­or­a­tions we organise.

As the hip-hop genre con­tin­ues to grow in South Asia, what do you believe are the biggest chal­lenges facing artists in the region, and how does Kamani Records help them over­come these obstacles?

One of the biggest chal­lenges is the pace at which pro­moters and industry insiders are recog­niz­ing the poten­tial of these artists. They need to adapt faster and ensure that artists are paid fairly for their craft. This would sig­ni­fic­antly strengthen the hip-hop industry in Asia and open doors for inter­na­tion­al busi­ness. Kamani and Nayab have been organ­iz­ing and fund­ing hip-hop fest­ivals and events across Asia for over a dec­ade, build­ing a found­a­tion of trust and respect that’s cru­cial for us.

You’ve been involved in numer­ous inter­na­tion­al col­lab­or­a­tions. Can you share some insights into the sig­ni­fic­ance of these part­ner­ships and how they have helped elev­ate the South Asi­an hip-hop scene globally?

We are cur­rently work­ing on col­lab­or­a­tions with artists like Apache Indi­an, Congo Natty, Gen­er­al Levy, and Killa P, along with Asi­an artists from Mum­bai, Ban­galore, Nepal, Pun­jab, and Goa. These col­lab­or­a­tions are cru­cial as they build rela­tion­ships between artists, con­nect musi­cians across bor­ders, and cap­it­al­ize on both the Asi­an and European markets.

Look­ing ahead, what are your aspir­a­tions for Kamani Records and Nayab Tal­ent in 2024 and bey­ond? Are there any upcom­ing pro­jects or col­lab­or­a­tions that you’re par­tic­u­larly excited about?

Nayab has over 15 albums in the pipeline with Asi­an artists. Kamani and Nayab Tal­ent are plan­ning to release more music over the com­ing years, break­ing into the inter­na­tion­al mar­ket and bring­ing togeth­er these incred­ible cul­tures and artists. We have mul­tiple albums, singles, and EPs lined up with inter­na­tion­al artists for the next 3–5 years.

We aim to be one of the lead­ing label dis­trib­ut­ors, events com­pan­ies, and book­ing agen­cies for South Asi­an music col­lab­or­a­tions in Europe and glob­ally over the next five years. In 2025, we’ll be return­ing to India for the 5th-anniversary edi­tion of the Asi­an Hip-Hop Fest­iv­al, and we’re excited to bring South Asi­an music to the glob­al mar­ket, with col­lab­or­a­tions fea­tur­ing top names in hip-hop, grime, jungle, and dance music.

Kamani Records and Nayab Tal­ent will con­tin­ue to lead with innov­a­tion, build­ing strong rela­tion­ships with stake­hold­ers, music com­pan­ies, fest­ivals, pro­moters, and brands worldwide.

For more inform­a­tion vis­it https://www.kamanirecords.com/

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Rishma

Edit­or / PR Con­sult­ant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhali­w­al has extens­ive exper­i­ence study­ing and work­ing in the music and media industry. Hav­ing writ­ten a thes­is on how Hip Hop acts as a social move­ment, she has spent years research­ing and con­nect­ing with artists who use the art form as a tool for bring­ing a voice to the voiceless.

About Rishma

Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless.