Indian Hip Hop

Hip Hop music in India had started at around 1990 and Baba Sehgal is credited as India's first rapper. Hip Hop music became all the more famous with the song 'Pettai Rap' from the Tamil movie Kadhalan starring Prabhu Deva(music composed by A.R Rahman). The song catapulted Suresh Peters as a rapper and a music director. Rap/Hip Hop was often used in the regional movies as fillers in between songs and off late has started to become main stream songs. London based The Rishi Rich Project, Bally Sagoo and Canadian based Raghav further laid steady foundations for Hip Hop/RnB music in India. California based Punjabi rapper Bohemia became one of the best-known pioneers of Punjabi rap in the country after producing tracks like 'Kali Denali' and 'Ek tera Pyar'. He became the first hip hop artist to launch a full Indian rap album signed to Universal Music India. He has also produced songs for Bollywood movies like Chandni Chowk to China. Machas With Attitude a Indian Hip Hop Crew blasted into fame after Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, a Film Under the Y Films Banner and in addition have performed in 30 Tamil Movies, Their Versatile style of mixing Dappangkuttu music with Hip Hop made them Pioneers in the same. Canadian based hip hop artist Ishq Bector became a success after the release of his superhit single 'Aye Hip Hopper'. Malaysian based Yogi B and Natchatra brought in the culture of Tamil rap in India. Yogi B, as part of Poetic Ammo, achieved success when they won at the Malaysian Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM)(Music Awards) 1999, 2000 and 2001. Yogi B is now the most critically acclaimed Kollywood (the Tamil Movie Industry) rapper because of his work on the 2007 movie Pollathavan. Machas With Attitude are one of the most popular Hip Hop group in India and are famous for their songs in movies like Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge and Aayirathil Oruvan (2010 film). International artists such as 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, and The Black Eyed Peas have performed in India. Snoop Dogg appeared in a song from the film Singh Is Kinng in 2008 which further popularized hip hop music amongst the people of India.

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Desi Rappers Protest and Celebrate

Have you heard of Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopal Seshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman?
 Yes, indeed, that’s his real name. No surprises if you don’t know that he is a rap singer. Even his fans know him only as BlaaZe. Although born in India, he grew up in Zambia and later studied in Britain and the U.S. He has sung for Indian films and worked with the likes of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and A. R. Rahman. One of his most popular songs, “Gangsta Blues,” is from Slumdog Millionaire, for which he also co-wrote “Dreams on Fire.” Around the same time, he was chosen as MTV’s Youth Icon in India. BlaaZe calls his recent debut, Time for Gandhi, a ‘protest’ album. Rapping against injustice, he pleads for social changes and extols Gandhi as an inspirational figure who is worth following.
 And then we have Das Racist, a rap group that includes Heems and Dap. Their families know them as Himanshu Suri and Ashok Kondabolu, respectively. Kool A.D.—otherwise called Victor Vazquez—rounds out the group and makes it more multicultural (he is of Afro-Cuban-Italian heritage). Das Racist’s debut album, Relax, was released in September, just like Time for Gandhi. Their musical style, not unlike the group’s name, isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But you cannot ask for a better example of how second generation Indian-Americans break stereotypes as they range far from traditional careers.

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