Meet Delhi’s own gully boy who says apna time aayega
Sumit, a 15-year-old Delhi-based rapper who was featured in a book, likes to vent out his emotions through rap
Persistence is the key to turning your dreams into reality. And that’s the mantra of 15-year-old Sumit, who has been dedicatedly rapping for the past five years. Born and brought up in a slum near Vasant Vihar, Sumit has been writing rap songs on social issues that he faces in day-to-day life.
“I am very sentimental about social issues, and my way to vent out emotions is to write them down in the form of rap. Jab Nirbhaya hua, Pulwama hua, toh maine apni feelings likh dali. Yahan tak ki mere yahan pani ki samasya ko bhi maine likha,” says Sumit, who studies in a government school.
Sumit mentions the Indian rapper Ikka as his inspiration. “I want to be like Ikka paaji. I have even spoken to him over a call. The credit goes to the radio channel that invited me to one of their shows and called him. I told him, ‘Main aapka bahut bada fan hoon’, aur Ikka paaji ne kaha, ‘Main tera fan hoon’. That moment is etched in my memory forever,” says the young rapper, who is quite a celeb in his colony.
When asked if he is the next gully boy, Sumit says, “I have been rapping much before the movie (Gully Boy; 2019) came out. It’s my passion. I liked the movie, but I feel that the credit for bringing rap to India goes to Ikka paaji and Honey Singh (rapper-music producer).”
However, following his passion wasn’t a cakewalk for Sumit. Talking about his challenges, he says, “When I started rapping, people thought I’m mad. Logon ko lagta tha ki ye kya badbadata hua ja raha hai kyunki main school bhi rap karte hue hi jata tha. Kuch ne kaha aise kaun se gaane hote hain, but I paid no attention to their comments. I never gave up, and the credit goes to my parents, who have always supported me.”
Recently, the story of Sumit was published in a book titled We Are The Champions, authored by Rashmi Bansal and Devendra Tak. “I’ve been featured in books, magazines, and TV shows, but the thing is, I still haven’t got opportunities to perform. My father is a peon and he has a lot of faith in me that I’ll be the one in my colony who’ll take their issues to the forefront and bring a change. I know I have a long way to go,” says Sumit, who was also approached by a political party to compose a song for them, but due to elections, the project didn’t go ahead.
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