DRV, aka Dhruv Rajpal, believes his 2024 album POLARIS is a mark of just how far he’s come. “This album brought me to a vantage point where I can see my life, career and relationships from a new, evolved perspective,” says the Delhi rapper and producer about the 13-track record on which he sounds his most confident yet. The collection marks the fourth LP by DRV in as many years. It follows 2020’s debut Dhruv Rajpal, 2022’s conceptual NAKSHATRA and 2023’s Multani Mitti with fellow Indian trap pioneer Boyblanck. POLARIS features frequent collaborators, including Boyblanck and Bombay the Artist, as well as other stars of the country’s hip-hop scene—such as Dhanji and Loka, with whom he’s worked before, and others who join him for the first time. The result is an album that sounds fresh yet familiar. “POLARIS is a continuation of the world I attempted to build from my earlier work,” says DRV. “I wanted to demonstrate my evolution and the fact that I aspire to be a better version of myself than the version that people know through my older music.” Below, the rising star takes Apple Music through the making of the album, track by track. “Kaun Dhruv?” “Getting [actor] Boman Irani to narrate the introduction was something I’d never imagined even a month before release. We wanted someone with an iconic voice and for Boman to have done this was incredible. That’s the Boman Irani narrating the album intro of this kid who never even thought he would make it this far. Life is crazy. The fact that he played a lawyer named Mr Rajpal in [the 2013 Hindi film] Jolly LLB also felt like a glitch in the matrix—much like this whole album.” “POLARIS” “I just had to get some things off my chest. That’s what the album and this song are about, broadly. Bombay the Artist came through with her majestic vocals.” “DOBAARA” “This one is about an escape from the matrix. We’re institutionalised [from when] we’re babies. Wanting to break free is what makes us human.” “OVERSTIMULATED” “The sociopolitical commentary on this one inspired me to get Dhanji to drop a quick 16 bars. We go way back—I mixed and mastered [his 2020 album] DZs Control and hopped on his last mixtape so it felt right for him to be on POLARIS.” “Party Mei Aa” “Every once in a while, when I’m locked in the studio, some magic happens that catches me off-guard. ‘Party Mei Aa’ [is an example of] that magic. An obvious tell is when you can’t stop listening to what you just recorded. From the day I recorded this track until now, everyone who I’ve played this song to has practically begged me to send them the unreleased file. I’ve had to politely decline multiple rappers wanting to drop a verse on it.” “hunnies” and “nazaare” “These two songs are me showing I still know what’s up. Some younger artists in the plugg beats scene inspired me to get into this lane. I’d dropped a snippet of ‘hunnies’ on my Instagram, which people loved, then jaiyash came through floating with his verse.” “RAAT KHATAM” “[Producer] Nanku and I were at my home studio when he played me the ‘RAAT KHATAM’ beat. I was instantly captured by the instrumental so much that I asked him if it was open. It was only a matter of time before I had the hook and my verses laid down. [Rapper] YUNG SAMMY felt like the perfect fit for this vibe with his crystal-clear Hindi enunciation. I had three to four random bars from [hip-hop star] Loka on the early demo, which he extended a week before the album release. I love the skit at the end where [actor] Manoj Pahwa goes off.” “extra mile” “This one is my truest love song. [It features] my real-life girlfriend making her musical debut with the sweetest Bengali verse. It’s straight out of a Bollywood love story.” “GOTTA LOTTA” “[Shah] Rule was in Delhi where he set up a little studio situation in his hotel room. We just got straight to recording on Zero [Chill]’s beat. I’ll never forget the dinner we had after we were done recording—there was Calm, Sez [on the Beat], Yungsta, DJ Sa, Rule and me.” “SELF MADE” “I got asked if I want to collaborate with Annural [Khalid, singer] and my answer was an instant, resounding ‘yes’. We finished the song over WhatsApp voice notes—I’d sing two lines and share the idea while she would record and send it back in real time. It turned out exactly the way I’d imagined our collaboration on a [producer] Lambo Drive instrumental.” “mai ’rami ” “There’s just something sexy about this song, which I made a couple of years ago and decided to have on the album. Flyboy [S, rapper] did justice to the track in his verse and it only felt right after we did [2023 single] ‘Teachers’.” “WIDE AWAKE” “When I started making the album, I thought this track would be the opener. It’s got distorted guitars over a trap beat, which, sonically, perfectly resonated with my entire persona and, lyrically, I felt was the right conclusion for the album.”