The lyrical themes addressed in hip-hop music often deal with the struggles that the artistes have faced in their lives, and how they overcame their problems. A different breed of hip-hop tracks also tends to focus on parties and a flashy lifestyle. But it’s rare for a musician to explore subjects like the cosmic nature of the universe and the space we inhabit on earth as a sentient species. Yet, that’s what Mumbai-based emcee Vineet Nair aka Poetik Justis has done with his latest album, Green Heart Astronaut, which launches today.

Nair tells us that the works of renowned scientific minds including American astronomer Carl Sagan and British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins inspired a lot of the material. He says, “There is a sense of poetry in the way Sagan explained concepts of the universe, which influenced me. Dawkins spoke about the nature of God, and that stuck with me since I do have a spiritual side as well. Some of the concepts I have explored are also rooted in the Zen philosophy. The first song for instance, Conversations with God, is about letting go of things that have happened, which comes from a spiritual perspective, and not a scientific one. I wanted to create poetry using all these concepts that are out there.”