Drrt Gang: We came from the bottom and we are going to the top
Even when they were working on the release of Percs & Recreation, they were already revving up for their next release. They explained that their upcoming songs are better than their freshman effort as a group. They have plans for more music videos and will be putting out an album soon, but did not reveal a release date
Drrt Gang was never actually meant to be a hip-hop group. As founding member Shahrukh recalls, they were disparate individuals who had aligned interests about the music that they wanted to produce, and banded together to form the group in 2021.
The group is composed of Tunan (Drrt9), Jo, Shahrukh Masnad, Addhaya, Zunayed and Razin.
They released their first official EP, 'Percs & Recreation', in January. It is available on all popular streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and beyond.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"In the music scene we like to think of ourselves as 'DIRT'. The name Drrt Gang signifies that we came from the bottom, the rawest place possible, and we are going to the top," explained Jo.
For Shahrukh one of his greatest influences was the seminal hip-hop group 'Wu-Tang Clan'. He was enamoured by how they formed their group, the way they came together, and their method of making music.
"That is exactly what we are trying to do and we can relate to this group a lot. Other influences include the ASAP Mob and Odd Future too. As individuals however, we are all inspired from a broad spectrum of artists," said Jo.
Regarding the roles played by the different members, Jo elaborated that Shahrukh Masnad is one of the lead vocalists with production, mixing and mastering chops. Tunan, aka Drrt9, is the core producer for the group. He used to be a black metal vocalist, and blends in those influences for some of their songs on top of managing the whole gang.
Jo works as one of the vocalists and vibe engineer. Addhaya and Razin who are both producers.
Since everyone has different influences and backgrounds, The group's ethos is that they can make something original by fusing metal, crock or any kind of genres that group can bring to the table.
Some of their music will want to make you bounce. They have tracks that will give you the hint of the darker recesses they have been through, and tracks that are energetic and soothing at the same time. You'll find influences like southern trap music, contemporary hip-hop, metal and eastern classical sitar over their discography. Their mastery over heavy eight-o-eight beats will surely catch the purist's attention.
"If you look at the EP cover, you will see two people in an intimate vulnerable position where we intentionally blurred out their faces. This symbolises the idea behind Drrt Gang," said Tunan. "Making a musical project together puts you in a vulnerable position. You are reaching into your deepest thoughts, and sharing those ideas for a project without knowing what the outcome might be. When we started the group, we barely knew each other."
Drrt Gang's aspirations include a collaboration with Arnob.
''For us, if we think about the pioneers of Bangla hip-hop, Stoic bliss comes to mind because they made huge hits in a year or so. We look up to them as the standard but we do not want to follow their footsteps," said Shahrukh.
"We seek to be the change we wish to see in the Bangladeshi music scene," he added.
Even when they were working on the release of Percs & Recreation, they were already revving up for their next release. They explained that their upcoming songs are better than their freshman effort as a group. They have plans for more music videos and will be putting out an album soon, but did not reveal a release date.
The EP consists of six songs in total. Each song will give you a different aura. The production quality that they brought out as an independent artist is on the next level. Our personal favourite from the EP is 'Scarface', a gangsta rap anthem replete with clever punchlines and pop culture references.
