Having recently released his new track ‘Avoi Avoii’, done in collaboration with Wolf Grey Jordan, Waking Grunt admits that for independent artistes in Goa, visibility remains a struggle
SAILEE NAIK
Amit Naik, aka Waking Grunt is known for his tracks with hard-hitting lyrics. And the rapper is now back with his new track ‘Avoi Avoii’ done in collaboration with Wolf Grey Jordan.
This collaboration, he says didn’t begin in a studi. It began in group chats, voice notes, and spontaneous exchanges of creative energy between artistes living in different parts of Goa and Mumbai. Their commitment to the music bridged the distance.
The song, which focuses on the “chaos of daily life” is a raw fusion of hard-hitting beats, emotionally charged verses, and a relentless drive to speak the truth, unfiltered and uncensored. “It is more of a Konkani expression. You know, that moment when something random or painful happens, and all you can say is—‘Avoi!’ It’s a mix of disbelief, sarcasm, irony. For example, you get good marks unexpectedly—you go, ‘Avoi, I passed!’ That’s the vibe. We took that feeling and turned it into a song,” he says.
The beat, in this case, came from Squishy Stone, their producer. “I can’t tell you how many beats he’s made, maybe hundreds,” says Naik. “He sends them to us, and if one sticks, we build around it. Simple as that.” The collaboration of such artistes from varied backgrounds, resulted in a track layered with conflicting energies—tension, frustration, chaos, and flow. Each artiste brought their own verses, their own realities.
For independent artistes like Naik, breaking into the music scene in Goa isn’t about chasing fame. It’s about holding on—through burnout, algorithm fatigue, and the grind of building something from scratch.
“We don’t have big marketing budgets,” he says. “No fancy teams. We rely on each other—on collaborations and on word of mouth. If I share their track, their audience hears me. If they share mine, my circle hears them. That’s how we grow.”
Growth, though, doesn’t come easy. The internet, once thought of as a great opportunity to share talents, has become more of a noisy marketplace. “The real struggle is visibility,” he says. “You upload a three-minute track and it just disappears under all the reels.”
The pressure to present a curated lifestyle online—one that fits Gen Z’s scroll-speed expectations—only adds to the weight. “I’ve realised projection beats honesty now,” he says. “You need to sell a lifestyle people want to follow—not just be real.”
And yet, being real is what keeps artistes like him going. The music is more than a product—it’s therapy, it’s memory, it’s rebellion. “Music helps me calm down,” he admits, “I’m more focused, more grounded. It helped me process everything.”
But even when the track is ready, the video often isn’t. Budget constraints force creativity: scenes are imagined, then stripped down, reimagined, and shot with whatever resources are available. “We adapt,” he says. “If we can’t show something, we imply it. Creativity fills the gaps where money can’t.”
The stakes are high, but the rewards aren’t always visible. “The response so far? About 2,000 views,” he shrugs. “Not bad. But we’re just getting started.”
