Rapping, but make it comedy. Meet Siddharth Sood, aka MC Sid, India’s first and most promising comedy rapper! With a talent for reading the room and creating the quirkiest yet hilarious freestyle raps, here’s MC Sid in a hearty colloquy with PEAKLIFE.
He’s got the party starting at venues all around the world including weddings, parties, and celebrity shows for stars such as AKON, Mob Deep, Sukhbir, Mika, Honey Singh, Badshah, Salim & Sulaiman and many more. He has a much-beloved self-titled album “MC Sid” out on Saavn, plus he has his own cool merchandise for all those who need that extra dash of fun in their lives (think Game of Thrones, Friends, and more.) Check it out here! https://www.epicstuff.com/
With his fire raps in English and a pinch of Hindi and Punjabi, MC Sid is a man of witty jokes and rib-tickling humor. He’s fun, he’s warm, and he’s all about the good things in life. Here’s PEAKLIFE in conversation with the life of the party himself…
You’re India’s first comedy rapper. And I’m curious, how did this come about for you? How did this happen?
Oh, it happened purely by mistake. I tried rapping songs about life’s ordeals, but that just wasn’t me. So somewhere down the line, I decided I needed to do something that matched my personality. I started out all the way back almost 15 years ago, even back then, I was one of India’s first few rappers. There were very few rappers in general and as I started doing my raps I realized we have more fun-loving people since in India Bollywood has a bigger role to play. So if you sort of look at what Badhshaah does today, so many years later, they’re always fun rap songs. They’re always about having a party and having a good time. So I tried to use that at the parties and do something fun to interact with the audience. And that’s my main USP. Since I’m a comedy rapper, it’s an interactive wrap pack where I pick people in the audience and I crack jokes on them in a rapid manner. I started doing this in the nightclubs way back in 2004.
While making your own place, what kind of challenges did you have to face?
Oh, the biggest challenge was dealing with my parents. Even bigger was dealing with my grandparents. My dad could never understand what I do. He could not understand why would anybody pay anybody to come and sing songs, he was worried. Now many years later, they’ve resigned to the fact that this is what the millennial way of life is. I’m just about on the borderline of being a millennial and now they are pretty okay with it. What I’m happy doing as a comedy rapper, I’ve had some reasonable success. God has been kind. I’ve done a good amount of weddings and I’ve done a good amount of corporate shows, so they understand that this is a viable alternative as a career.
You also have your own merchandise on Epicstuff.com. Could you tell me a bit more about that?
I started all the way back in 2013. I was in London and I’m a huge superhero fan of Marvel and DC and Harry Potter and FRIENDS, and I tried looking for products of theirs to put up in my room but I couldn’t find anything. That’s when I decided to try and create my own products, mostly just for my own self. And then what happened is I heard an ad on the radio about something called ComicCon that was happening which sounded really cool. I used to make my own little comic cartoon, so I ended up at ComicCon trying to promote my cartoon. There I realized people are trying to sell these things like posters and mugs and other stuff. I realized there’s a market for products like this. This is something that I could do as well, and that’s how it all began.
It’s hard to stay true to oneself since digitally it’s become a lot easier for anyone to criticize today. So how do you manage to stay grounded and true to your passion and work?
I learned a long, long time ago that as Indians, criticism is in our DNA. They want to criticize the government, they want to criticize how the road is broken; they want to criticize shows, and they will criticize me. My way of dealing with this is that I always look at all my guests, my followers or fan club, or people who have opinions on my performances in the digital space. And I always appreciate their feedback because as an artist, I’m in the service industry so when they criticize, I say next time I’ll try and make a better song. They say I didn’t like this song either then I’ll say next time I’ll try and make a better song. The third time when they say I still don’t like it, I say, “See I’m the only one you’ve got right now.” That’s my take on the entire situation.
Going forward, what can we expect from MC Sid in the future? Maybe another album?
Yes, I’m currently in talks for releasing my new album. My last album was two years ago and was a huge success on Saavn. It was an exclusive release, got 40 lakh plays, and it was also on their top Hindi rap playlists, so that did very well. Now let’s see how things pan out and hopefully, things shall be good.
QUICK BYTES
A motto or a code that you live by?
Always speak the truth.
One thing you miss most during quarantine?
Chili chicken. I learned how to cook. It was very difficult, but I love it so much that I spent a lot of time learning how to cook it. Now I can make it better than any other place that serves it.
Your biggest role model or idol?
Shah Rukh Khan. He’s the most humble person and carries so much humility even after all these years.
Any advice for those venturing in the same circle as you
Go for it, don’t listen to your parents.
Your wellness philosophy?
Do whatever makes you happy. I’m not the most fit person, but if you ever asked me for some cheesecake, I’m totally up for it. Or if you say let’s have a bottle of whiskey, I’m up for it. Life is short. Have that whiskey.
