South Asian Undergraduate Artists at UNC: Craft & Perspective 

By: Swaycha Goli

Video Interview By: Alisha Abhayakumar

Vishal Kasula, Singer/Songwriter

Vishal is a sophomore singer/songwriter at UNC. He just released his single “Who’s Staying Here” in July 2020. I sat down with him to learn more.

How does your music connect to your experience as a South Asian?  

I have always involved myself around other Indian or South Asian artists, with my music, like, with my band, MODUM. The bass guitarist for MODUM was Indian. Over the winter, we had a drummer who was also Indian. It was really cool, just jamming and connecting. Even though the music wasn’t Indian, we were. We played whatever the hell we wanted. We did connect with the fact that we were related on a personal level, because we were of the same ethnicity. However, being Indian was never really culturally apparent in my music, if that makes sense. I like blues, jazz, rock, and that sort of stuff, which isn't generally South Asian in culture.

When I released my song, all the uncles and aunties were spreading it around. They were like, “Oh, very nice.”  I got a lot of support from the Indian community, from even your parents as well. I'm very glad that the community was a part of that experience.

Even though the music wasn’t Indian, we were.

We played whatever the hell we wanted.

Are there any challenges for you in the music scene due to your South Asian-ness? Or, in your experience as an artist? 

Well, I feel like being not white in America already poses a challenge to anything you do. I feel like if I was white, I mean, it would inherently be easier to do what I wanted to do in America. Especially with the type of music that I make; I'm sure people were like, “Is this Indian kid playing guitar?” 

So there are disadvantages, but there's also advantages to it. I mean, which other Indian kid is playing guitar? I feel like most other Indian people, and most other Indian kids like me, who are into music, aren’t as active in the relative styles that I do. So, I think that it does set me apart. I guess it does add some flavor that I am Brown, you know, and I'm doing what I'm doing. I view it as a good thing. I try not to get bogged down by any of the disadvantages. Because once you start thinking about that, you're, like, insecure. And then you're like, “Is my music even worth it?” 

Is there anything you're looking forward to in the future with your music? 

Yeah, over the winter, I'm planning on producing with the guy who helped me produce “Who's Staying Here.” His name is Ayman and he's basically, like, 70%, producer, 30% musician. On the other hand, I’m, like, 70% a musician, 30% producer. Ayman taught me a lot of things about producing. He happens to be Lebanese, actually. It always seems like I'm working with other people who are ethnic, first-generation immigrants, which I think is pretty cool. I don't know why, I guess I can connect inherently with those types of people musically. You have to connect with them as a person to be able to connect with them musically.

How was your experience with your parents and their opinions about your artistic aspirations? Was it challenging? 

Yeah, I mean, it was like a slow rise for my parents to actually start accepting me as an artist. When I first started, it was always just a hobby. I would sing at my friends, like sweet sixteens. The first time I did that, I was like, 12 or something. I think the adrenaline of being onstage and being live, like it really fuels my passion and it makes me remember why I want to do what I want to do. So during these times with COVID, I guess releasing the song kind of conveyed that passion, in a way; but there's nothing like performing and connecting with human beings straight up,  face to face. There's nothing like it.

My parents definitely saw that and I think after those performances, they were like, “Okay…” you know, the “oh, oh,” definitive moment when my mom was like, “Okay, yeah, you can do this.” 

It really became apparent when we went to India, a couple years ago.  My grandfather is conservative, staunch Hindu. My thought was, “Every single guy in my family is a doctor.” Almost every guy in the family, except for my cousin who's working at Deloitte now. But he’s still making bank, you know, so every single guy in the family is like, up there, financially. And then there's me! I want to do music.

My grandfather was like, “You know what? You

should do music. I think you should do music.

I think you're talented. You can do it.”

My grandfather was like, “You know what? You should do music. I think you should do music. I think you're talented. You can do it.” And even my mom was surprised when he said that. She was like, “What?” Because, that was a very liberal thing for him to say. My grandpa said it, so it meant something. It really did. That really meant something to me too. And he said that, and I think that was honestly a definitive moment. I always knew that I wanted to do it, but my parents accepting it really pushed my passion forward.

Swaycha Goli is a first year at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is on Monsoon’s content creation and content editing team. She loves animals and looking after them! Swaycha also enjoys to run and bike!