Imagine climbing into a flash sports car and immediately putting the pedal to the metal. Then picture driving with abandon at top speed until the fuel runs out. That’s pretty much the Midtown Madness experience—a high-octane, no-nonsense ride over four relentless, gritty and in-your-face tracks. The car analogy is apt, too, as Delhi rapper Raga channels the 1999 racing video game of the same name throughout the EP. It’s one of his favourite games from his childhood and it shows, as even the bass and drums often evoke the sounds of wheel spins and revving engines. But the theme isn’t cars, for the most part—it’s Raga’s Delhi background that’s placed under the spotlight. The artist tells Apple Music: “The [EP’s] theme is around everything Delhi boys do. We grow up seeing a lot of violence at home. That’s what’s rooted in us.” Raga’s grungy, gravelly rap on the EP frequently draws from his early years. To that end, Midtown Madness—which brings in fellow hometown rap star Ikka, Haryanvi emcee DG IMMORTALS and American-Pakistani hip-hop force Bandzo3rd—frequently focuses on getting out of the hood. “I repped the hood but it’s hell,” Raga says. “So the main motive is to get out of the hood and take the hood out with you—but never take the hood out of you.” Below, the rapper takes us through his intense EP, track by track. “Kheench Maari” “There was this new producer, Nitin Randhawa. He has a YouTube channel where he was doing really well with making his beats; he was taking verses from rappers on different songs and putting it together on one track. I love his work. I called him and played his pack and there was this phonk beat. I said, ‘I’m taking it but I’m not working on it today.’ A week later, I called Nitin to do a session with me and DG IMMORTALS. As soon as we reached the studio, the song was written in 20 minutes. Peak grunge, scream shit—only DG can do that.” “Mastikhor” “[Producer] Jai is one of my friends, too. About six months ago, I was entering his flat and he was already playing that beat. As I entered, I freestyled the hook—I didn’t have the words but I had the rhythm. I recorded the hook and didn’t know what to do for the verse. Then Ikka bhai came on board and I sent him the hook. The verse that I put in was from a very big collaboration but my relations in the industry with that party didn’t click, so I put that verse in here. “In this song, I rap about how to hit someone without getting caught in a [legal] case. So, no head injuries and all that. I’m not repping those guys and I’m not one of those kids who roam around in cars, breaking barriers, but it’s where I come from. They call their dads when they get pulled up by the law and they don’t respect cops—that’s the hood I come from. Ikka bhai has repped Jamnapaar [in the east and north-east of Delhi] before so he brings that to his verse. There’s even a shout out to Raftaar in it.” “Sir Kholkar” “Bandzo and I have a great bond and we’d been talking for a long time. We always knew that if we worked on something, it would be killer. I had my hook and verse and we were deciding who to bring on for a verse and AK [manager Aranyaka Verma] asked, ‘Why not Bandzo?’ I wanted to show how the hoods that Bandzo comes from in the US and where I come from resonate on the same things—but the slang changes a bit, as do the social settings. We’re still talking about dealing with cops, going here and there, people drinking all the time—but we’re still making music. “My verse is all about cars but I can tell you one thing—I don’t drive at all. We had to add all the spice but we wanted people to understand, ‘Okay, he comes from that place and he’s doing this.’ No felonies on my head, up till now. I’m coming from that background.” “Speed 206” “There’s a different DG IMMORTALS on this track. It’s got his more commercial vibe and people can instantly recognise it; all of Haryana stands up when he sings like that. I wanted to show off my craft on the verses, with cut-to-cut bars and very few breathing spaces. It almost represents a speedometer, the needle going higher and higher. DG just heard the beat and started singing, ‘Aa gaye chhore desi’ (‘Desi boys are here’). I just throw my guard down when I make songs like these.”