Dhanji Live in Delhi: Desi Hip Hop's Greatest Showman?
19th May 2024: Dhanji at The Piano Man New Delhi (Eldeco Centre)
When it comes to musicians pushing the boundaries of their sound, few maintain the levels of integrity and surprise like Dhanji. The alias of Jayraj Ganatra, the Amdavadi rapper is no stranger to the live stage. He spent a large part of this year and the last touring, putting out new music, and collaborating with some amazing artists.
On the final leg of the BARGAAM tour, no one would have blamed Dhanji for playing it safe and relying solely on hard-hitting fan favourites from Ruab. Instead he showcased a sonically rich snapshot of his extensive discography beyond the obvious hits. “WHAT WOULD THE CREDIT DEPARTMENT DO'' got the crowd rolling and screaming “paisa gandi beemari isne mujhe dhas liya”, “Thaltej Blues” was a full lessgo vibe, 4424 definitely caused a mini mosh, and boy oh boy, when he played “GURU”, it was the most lit crowd i’ve ever seen at a jazz club.
Dhanji at The Piano Man Eldeco Centre, Delhi, 19th May 2024.
The gig is a key moment in DHH’s live music scene. Rather than rely on backing tracks as rappers in the scene are prone to do, Dhanji brought in a ten-piece band to accompany him. This was not without its risks – a live band requires more on-the-ground sound engineering, mic tuning, and finding the volume balance between instrumental and vocal. In the last year, I’ve only seen three other shows do something similar in Delhi. The first was Dhanji’s Ruab launch last July, Bharg performed with a live band in January of this year, and last night Shauharty played a set accompanied by Green Park and Darzi.
BARGAAM leg 3, the Delhi show deserves a special shoutout. The ambience was fun – the tables were cleared from the front to make standing space, and people gathered at the base of the stage, servers were making the rounds with beers for purchase. The band brought the energy, and the gig was superbly organised (mad props to Saqlen). Dhanji did what Dhanji does best: put on a show for his audience.
Everything came together to be a ‘this is how it can be done’ moment, and I am excited for what’s next.
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