Music
Meet Albela, one of the finalists of Red Bull Spotlight 2020
Representing New Delhi
Red Bull Spotlight is a unique hunt to discover India’s best emerging rappers.
The winner of the competition gets to record their debut album in a professional studio, support to plan its release, a music video and more.
Red Bull Spotlight 2020 had 15 city qualifiers around India, followed by a virtual pre-qualifier that was judged by Swadesi. In the pre-qualifier, eight rappers were selected for the next round.
The eight rappers spent several days in Mumbai, attending a series of workshops, mentor sessions, one-on-one advice booths, performances, freestyle and battle rap face-offs, and more. The eight young rappers then participated in a finale where they each performed one song in an attempt to be crowned the winner of Red Bull Spotlight.
The week of sessions, workshops and challenges, as well as the finale, was also documented in a six-part series, with each episode addressing a different aspect of music-making. The series had Seedhe Maut as Masters of Ceremony. It can be watched on MX Player.
Albela was one of the eight young rappers to make it to the finale of Red Bull Spotlight 2020. He came into the competition by attending the qualifier in Greater Noida and was then shortlisted to progress via the pre-qualifier that was judged by Mumbai-based multi-lingual rap group Swadesi.
Albela during the Red Bull Spotlight sessions
© Ali Bharmal
Albela during the Red Bull Spotlight sessions
© Ali Bharmal
Albela during the Red Bull Spotlight sessions
© Ali Bharmal
Albela with mentors MC Kode and D'Evil
© Ali Bharmal
Who is Albela?
Albela is the nickname given to Jitender Sharma by his mother. He is a 23-year-old student of fine arts at College of Arts, Delhi.
He was introduced to hip-hop culture in 2015 when he watched the documentary Tupac: Resurrection.
While he started writing rap as a way to express himself, Albela also appreciates graffiti and the role it plays in hip-hop culture. Graffiti is one of the four core elements of hip-hop, alongside MCing (rap), breaking and DJing.
Between the mentors sessions of Red Bull Spotlight, Albela was often seen scribbling in his books; writing rap verses and sketching. Albela also likes to design his own clothes in his own unique style.
His love for rap and wanting to write rap verses to express himself was his way of dealing with a stammering problem he had when he was much younger. He would often be bullied when he was in school, because of his speech disorder, and that led to him bunking classes often.
While bunking classes, he would roam about the streets of Delhi and often saw people involved in substance abuse.
Albela took up rap as a way to get over his stammer and a way to express what he had witnessed on the streets in his younger years. He says his rap helped stay focused and keep away from bad company so he never became victim to the ills that he wrote about.
He describes his style as khachri rap, saying that he spits rhymes in a satirical style. He writes in Hindi and is heavily influenced by local Delhi slang with his lyrics.
Albela’s motto in life is: “Jis din ruke, uss din maut,” which roughly translates to “The day I stop evolving is the day I die.”
