Nazaar talks identity, roots in first interview since rebrand

He spoke about big takeaways from his recent social break and what the evil eye means within his brand

In the 12th episode of the Filthy Beat Inspectors podcast, we covered all things Nazaar - including his recent rebrand announcement and why it's important to take a break from social media. He also mentioned he'd be stepping away from dubstep, which took us by surprise.

"I spent time separating myself, going back to my roots, watching YouTube videos and going back to the bedroom creature we all once were," Nazaar said. "I got in touch with the old version of myself that was creative and inspired, it was good to take a step back."

We asked about the cultural aspects of his music, as hints of middle eastern influence are channeled in his songs like Taj and Modern Hieroglyphics. He is full-blown Pakistani on both sides, and he mentioned that his name "Nazaar" is the Urdu language word that translates to evil eye in English. The evil eye concept is a symbol of protection in many cultures, including Greek. People wear it to stay protected from bad spirits.