MUMBAI: Rapper Raftaar, who has had hits like ‘Swag Mera Desi Hai’ and ‘Dhup Chik Hori Se’, says the lyrics of rap songs should be more about story-telling and not just parties and alcohol.

"Our (rap) culture needs to expand. It has to be more about story-telling. It needs to be about conveying a message as well, and not just roaming around with girls and having alcohol in clubs," Raftaar told IANS.

The 26-year-old, who has rapped about global warming and climate change, feels that not many people are interested in these kinds of songs. 

"I have a song called 'Mother Nature' which has been viewed 2.5 lakh times on YouTube. Why? Because the target audience who have watched it are my fans. Not many people were interested in 'Mother Nature' because that kind of songs would not be played in clubs," he added.

The ‘Yeh Hai Thappad’ rapper, whose real name is Dilin Nair, says the only difference between the rap culture in India and the international culture, is that internationally the videos are bigger and the audience is more understanding.

When asked how he came up with his stage name Raftaar, he said, "I am my own parent when it comes to rapping. I do impromptu stuff and being a rapper, you have to be good at improvising like you give me a word and I have to rhyme it quickly and then make sense out of the rhyme... so that is why Raftaar."