New Delhi:
Yo Yo Honey Singh has fans across the globe. The rapper has delivered numerous hits, including Angreji Beat, Brown Rang, Kalaastar and many more. However, the star has often faced criticism for his lyrics, which have been labelled objectionable and misogynistic. Addressing these allegations, Honey Singh stated that he does not objectify women. In an interview with The Times of India, the rapper said, “I don’t give a s*** but I think I should answer this. Gulzar sahab likh rahe hain. ‘Beedi jalaile jigar se piya, jigar mein badi aag hai’, jigar kahan hota hai aurat ka? This is misogynistic for me. ‘Zuban pe laga namak ishq ka’, why is he talking about the tongue of a woman…main yeh sab sunke bada hua hoon. [Gulzar Sahab is writing, ‘Beedi jalaile jigar se piya, jigar mein badi aag hai,’ but where is a woman’s ‘jigar‘ (heart)? To me, this feels misogynistic. In another song, he says, ‘Zuban pe laga namak ishq ka,’ and again, why is he talking about a woman’s tongue? I’ve grown up hearing all this.”
Honey Singh continued, “Sirf main hi kyun galat hoon? Main pehle bolta nahi tha, aaj bol raha hoon yeh baatein. Main pehle jawab nahi deta tha toh log kehte thay easy target hai, issi ke baare mein bolo. Iski na koi PR hai nahi jo iski image clean karegi, yeh leta rahega. [Why am I the only one who is wrong? I did not speak up before, but today I am addressing these things. Earlier, I never responded, so people thought I was an easy target and would say anything about me. I did not have any PR to clean up my image, and they assumed I would just take it.]”
The rapper also pointed out how many people today carry dual personalities. “I am not objectifying women, aise thodi na hota hai. Pehle kaise kaise gaaane hote thay, woh ganon ki tarah liye jaate thay. Main Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai jaise controversial ganon ki toh baat hi nahi karta… par Honey Singh ko hi kyun gaali di jaati hai aur unko aap legend bolte ho? Main bhi bolta hoon. Hum dual personalities leke chal rahe hain aaj ke daur mein. Modernise bhi ho rahe hain par backward bhi soch rahe hain. [It does not work like that. Songs used to be different back then, and they were taken in that spirit. I am not even talking about controversial songs like Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai… but why is only Honey Singh criticised, and you call others legends? I say the same thing. We are carrying dual personalities in today’s times. We are modernising, but at the same time, we still have backward thinking.],” Honey Singh said.
In terms of work, Honey Singh’s latest album Glory was released on August 26.
