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Indian hip hop

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Indian hip hop
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins1990
Derivative formsUrban
Subgenres

Indian hip hop is a genre of popular music developed in India. Desi hip hop is a term given by Bohemia for music and culture which combines the influences of hip hop and the Indian subcontinent; the term desi referring to the South Asian diaspora. The term has also come to be used as an alternative for rap music and even pop music which involves rappers of South Asian origins.

Overview

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Apache Indian, UK artist of Indian origin, was the earliest to make an impact on the UK charts with a series of hits during the 90s.[1] This also paralleled the rise of Asian Underground in the UK.[2] The inflow of hip hop into India is also attributed to certain clubs and DJs in New Delhi in the 90s.[3]

Baba Sehgal introduced a caricaturist version of Hindi rap in the 1990s with his albums.[4][5] In 1992, his album Thanda Thanda Pani sold 100,000 copies in three and a half months and brought rap music to the Indian club scene.[6]

In the 2000s the hip hop scene remained limited largely to the underground, with a very niche loyal audience.[7] Hip-hop culture, including graffiti and b-boying started seeping into the club scene and street culture of big cities like Delhi and Mumbai.[8]

One of the early moments of Indian hip hop was the Bengali-language underground film Gandu which narrated a story of a rapper and had a soundtrack which mixed rap with alternative rock.[2] Besides Bollywood and commercial rap music, the underground hip-hop scene started shaping. Many emerging rappers, crews started to create a buzz in the underground hip-hop scene. Artists such as Roll Rida, Noel Sean & groups such as Machas With Attitude, Hiphop Tamizha and Street Academics pioneered respective vernacular rap music scenes.

Indian hip hop has become increasingly popular in India's biggest cities with big names like 'KR$NA' who has been picked up by talent management agencies like OML[9] who now have music videos with millions of views on YouTube.[10][11][12][13]

Director Zoya Akhtar was very impressed and fascinated after listening to "Aafat!" and "Mere Gully Mein". She wanted to portray the stories of both these young rappers and consequently approached DIVINE & Naezy. Akhtar pitched the idea of making a Bollywood movie based on their lives.

Due to the exposure through Bollywood, rap became a household term and an increased production of rap music was observed, especially in the Punjabi music industry.[14] There is an ongoing debate among the hip-hop community about the contribution of Honey Singh to the genre. While some artists including KR$NA, Badshah,[15] Ikka,[16] Manj Musik and Bohemia[17] have acknowledged his contribution to the industry, others such as Raftaar[17] and Imran Khan[18] have openly denied it. There is also a negative sentiment among some followers of hip-hop culture in India regarding the recent commercialization of the genre.[19][20] However, this commercialisation has also led to expansion of the underground scene, with independent artists building a name in Indian hip hop. Because of this, the future of hip-hop in India is generally perceived to be positive.[19][21] There are many rappers in India, rapping in different languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Odia, Bhojpuri, Khasi etc.

Telugu hip hop became notable since the early 2000s when artists such as Smita started hip hop culture in the Telugu language. "Hai Rabba" and "Masaka Masaka" are her best selling albums which received wide acclaim, especially in the Indian sub-continent.[22] Artists such as Raja Kumari,[23] Roll Rida, Noel Sean and Manisha Eerabathini started the trend in the new-age Telugu hip hop by including rap.[24] With the rise of its popularity, these artists started working in Telugu cinema since the late 2010s.[25][26]

Tamil hip hop is gaining popularity in India. Many other languages like Kannada and Marathi are also becoming popular among the masses in India.[27][28]

Protest hip hop

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YoungProzpekt (now KR$NA) released "Kaisa Mera Desh" in 2010. The track was an anti-corruption anthem against the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the statement of Indian development in particular.[29] It earned a #2 ranking as one of the most watched music videos in India overnight following its release.[30]

Protest hip hop came into limelight again after mass protest started all over India against the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019. Since the crackdown in JMI, AMU and JNU, and the 2020 Delhi riots several rappers from all over the country have joined the cause with their own sonic protest. Rappers such as Lil RockStar gained recognition for their protest songs alongside Santhanam Srinivasan Iyer (known as EPR).[31][32][33]

Diss Hip Hop

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Disses became particularly popular and played a significant role in shaping Indian hip-hop post-2018.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9, p.13
  2. ^ a b c Sarkar, Debarun (2023-05-19). "'Azadi's political until you're pressing play': Capitalist realism, hip-hop, and platform affordances". Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 29 (6): 1437–1452. doi:10.1177/13548565231174598. ISSN 1354-8565. S2CID 258818888.
  3. ^ Dattatreyan, Ethiraj Gabriel (2020). The globally familiar: digital hip hop, masculinity, and urban space in Delhi. Durham: Duke University press. ISBN 978-1-4780-1272-6.
  4. ^ "Baba unplugged". The Hindu.
  5. ^ Cardozo, Elliott (2021). "Hip hop goes to b-town: bollywood's assimilation of the underground aesthetic". SRFTI Take One. 2 (1): 26–43.
  6. ^ Gargan, Edward (August 23, 1992). "THE MANY ACCENTS OF RAP AROUND THE WORLD; India: Vanilla Ice In Hindi". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  7. ^ Mehrotra, Palash (12 August 2012). "Indian rap scene: A revolt that will not get televised". India Today. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  8. ^ Kappal, Bhanuj (12 October 2013). "Inside Mumbai's Burgeoning Hip-Hop Scene". The Sunday Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  9. ^ Chakrabarti, Samrat (2015-12-13). "Hip Hop on the Central Line". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  10. ^ "सृजनाची फॅक्टरी : 'द हिप हॉप मूव्हमेंट' एक आगळीवेगळी चळवळ". Loksatta (in Marathi). Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  11. ^ "ठाण्यात हिपहॉप हुर्रे!". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  12. ^ rafdhh (2013-12-03). "Thane Hip Hop Comes To Life!". Desi Hip Hop. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  13. ^ Sharmila Ganesan Ram (Dec 22, 2014). "City gets jiggy as 2-day hip-hop festival vows residents | Thane News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  14. ^ "From Bambi Bains to Aman Sandhu: Punjabi musicians talk about their journey". The Times of India. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  15. ^ Jones, Raaj. "BADSHAH INTERVIEW @104.8 OYE FM BY RAAJ JONES". Youtube. Oye 104.8 FM. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  16. ^ Jones, Raaj. "IKKA SINGH RARE INTERVIEW (TALKING ABOUT HIS MUSIC & YO YO HONEY SINGH @104.8 OYE FM BY RAAJ JONES". Youtube. Oye 104.8 FM. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  17. ^ a b Batra, Ruhi (15 March 2015). "Honey Singh versus the bitter rest". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  18. ^ "Imran Khan says "I don't even know who Honey Singh is". Satisfya". Youtube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  19. ^ a b Omulo, Bob (19 September 2014). "How India is Taking to Hip Hop". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  20. ^ "Rap is rebel music worldwide, here it's 'pop rap': Badshah". Hindustan Times. 29 July 2015. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  21. ^ Mahmood, Rafay (26 January 2012). "Bohemia: More than just forties and shorties". The Express Tribune. Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  22. ^ "Singer Smita turns nostalgic; remembers her first song with MM Keeravani - Times of India". The Times of India. June 2019. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  23. ^ "'My brand of hip hop is a bridge between a traditional Telugu home and the American culture' - Times of India". The Times of India. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  24. ^ "Asura's Telugu rap album hits the right notes". The New Indian Express. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  25. ^ mojumder, oishani (2019-02-27). "The rise of Telugu rap". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  26. ^ Pasha, Gouse. "11 Rap Songs In Telugu That You Must Listen To Right Now!". Chai Bisket. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  27. ^ "It's a rap! New single goes viral on day one". The New Indian Express. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  28. ^ Tagat, Anurag (2019-06-07). "Can't stop, won't stop: the rise of Tamil rap". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  29. ^ "'Yeh Kaisa Mera Desh: - Young Prozpekt's Rant against the Commonwealth Games". www.mensxp.com. 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  30. ^ "Hip hop hustle". India Today. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  31. ^ "Rapper EPR's Song About Farmer Suicides Is Powerful Beyond Belief". The Quint. 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  32. ^ "Voice Of The People: Protest Music In India". www.thewildcity.com. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  33. ^ Majumdar, Meghna (2019-12-23). "How art on social media became the face of anti-CAA protests". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
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