Lankesh Patel, better known by his stage name Spitty, recently released his second album titled Motherland. The Brampton-raised rapper and artist ambassador pays homage to his motherland, India, while also infusing his music with the sounds he grew up with in his hometown. Spitty’s music seamlessly blends socially-conscious lyrics with “hype, mosh-pit” vibes to strike a balance between thought-provoking and radio-hit playability.
“Too Many Indians” opens with the audio from a viral video of a woman spewing anti-Indian and anti-immigrant hate. The song then explodes into an energetic beat, as Spitty responds with unapologetic swagger and an even deeper dive into his identity and upbringing lyrically. Tracks like “Rodeo” feature Roze singing in Punjabi, while Spitty raps about his romantic interests with playful energy and pop culture references.
When asked about “Rodeo” and the different moods evoked by his songs, Spitty says, “There’s replay value and there’s catchiness; even if [it’s] fun I gotta make sure there’s lyricism and wordplay so I can still appreciate what I put out.”
The album cover and concept is partly inspired by one of his favourite albums, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. “I actually didn’t know he was even in the cover for a long time until this year, but he’s in the back,” says Spitty. “It’s mainly all his uncles,friends,and relatives ganged up in front of the White House and it’s black and white.
“And so that visual really struck me, as something that speaks to something bigger than just Kendrick. It’s still Kendrick, but he’s talking about more than him: his community, his people, his background.”
He wanted to capture a similar feeling in his album cover, letting it be a backdrop to more complex emotions from the music which would fill the space. “My motherland might be in India or South Asia. I grew up in Canada and I was born in the U.S. Everyone’s motherland is different,” Spitty says. “We wanted to really show that we’re taking the culture I grew up on in North America, the culture I grew up on in South Asia, merging it and creating something for the world.”
Similar to the rise in international popularity for Latin music and K-Pop, Spitty believes that the inclusion of diverse styles and dialects in his own music can be for anyone, especially those who have grown up “between two worlds” like Spitty himself. “The language, it can definitely matter obviously, but what matters more with music is just that feeling and the emotion it drives in the people,” he says. “Even if they don’t understand [the language]” the music can still resonate with people, especially for his main target audience of South Asian diaspora listeners.
In his review of Motherland, Balraj Saggu, a third-year political science major and Brampton resident, writes, “Throughout the album, the production is top-notch; all the samples and beats are mastered well and both Spitty and his feature artists do the producers justice.”
Spitty is also an artist ambassador with the Brampton Arts Organization, and creates spaces for emerging artists of all kinds to showcase their talents and network with other artists.
The next open mic will be held at Brampton’s Springdale Library on Nov. 21 from 6 to 9 p.m.
