Good stories have no frontiers , good storytellers fewer still . And when it comes to good stories , very few places match up to the streets of India . A wise man once said , “ The street always wins …” - and the logic in that statement is sound for the simple reason that the street is alive , the street has a voice , the street is omniscient . Most of all , the street is a catalyst for change , always has been and always will be .
Good stories have no frontiers , good storytellers fewer still . And when it comes to good stories , very few places match up to the streets of India . A wise man once said , “ The street always wins …” - and the logic in that statement is sound for the simple reason that the street is alive , the street has a voice , the street is omniscient . Most of all , the street is a catalyst for change , always has been and always will be .
The street is home to the naysayers , the rebels and the misfits . Ones who observe what goes on in the name all that is ‘ mainstream ’ and cannot help but express their angst .
It was this angst that gave birth to what the world knows and loves as ‘ Hip-Hop Culture ’, and the streets of India have given it their signature brand of ‘ desi swag ’.
Rappers , graffiti artists , b-boys and sundry crews have all found ways of expressing themselves beautifully all over India . They talk about social awareness , express and defend their politics , idolize social activists , talk about their own struggles and those of the ones they keenly observe , they end up hiding from the authorities and sometimes flouting rules .
All in all , they talk in different languages , but their grammar is the same .
And it was this grammar that 101India wanted to highlight with the popular web series ‘ Hip-Hop Homeland ’, an attempt to show a larger audience how youth in India is using hip-hop to give voice to a young , vibrant and more socially conscious nation .
Hip-hop Homeland is a monthly gig series that seeks to showcase India ' s finest hip-hop talent . It is a series of raw , gritty profiles about a fast emerging youth trend that cuts across gender , class and geography , and makes powerful statements of youth identity and voice .
The series begins in Mumbai and travels to Kashmir , Shillong , Punjab , Calcutta and finally South India .
From the gullies of Mumbai to villages in the North-East , from Southern India to the valleys of Kashmir , hip-hop artists are using the genre to speak directly to the world - telling them what ' s real and what ' s not and side-stepping the propaganda ( read drivel ) spewed by traditional media .
Hip-Hop Homeland Live is an on ground extension of the hugely popular web series featuring some of the country ’ s finest underground hip-hop talent . The line-up featured upcoming rappers MC Mawali , MC Tod Fod , Mumbai ’ s Finest and Delhi ’ s Prabh Deep Sagar . The event was headlined by the Mumbai-based rappers , Divine , who took the country by storm with the release of his anthemic single ‘ Mere Gully Mein ’ ( feat . Naezy ) and ‘ Jungli Sher ’ and Naezy , who has become one of the most prominent politically conscious artists in the country today .
The artists belong to different communities and backgrounds but what binds them is their passion to tell stories of their neighborhood and change the thinking of people .
HERE IS A LINE UP OF THE ARTISTS
Naezy
Naezy aka Naved Shaikh is one of the best Indian hip-hop to come up in recent times . The MC - who rhymes in Hindi and Marathi - was brought up in the chawls of Kurla , a suburb in Mumbai . Hailing from an orthodox Muslim family , Naezy employs razorsharp wit to address socio-cultural problems and uses hip-hop to bring attention to the state of affairs in his part of the world - one that is often ignored by traditional media . He ' s also written the title tracks for All India Backhod ' s critically acclaimed show ' On Air With AIB ' and the ICC T20 World Cup .
Divine
Divine is an award-winning rapper & hip-hop artist from Mumbai . Born and brought up in the ‘ gullies ’ of Bombay , Divine has come to be known as “ the Voice of the Streets ” - narrating tales of the people that he ' s grown up observing since childhood- and paying homage to the characteristics of the city . Divine has been recognized by BBC Radio One and iTunes as one of the artists to look out for in 2016 and is the first Indian artist to exclusively release his music on Apple Music .
Prabh Deep
Prabh Deep Sagar is an MC from New Delhi , India . Gifted with a unique voice that contains traces of traditional Punjabi folk singers , Prabh has been at the forefront of Delhi ' s hip-hop scene . Besides being a recording artist , Prabh also pushes for and organizes MC Battles in the city .
Mumbai ' s Finest
Mumbai ' s Finest are one of India ' s first hip-hop crews . Founded by MCs , B-Boys , Beatboxers and DJs , the crew is the physical embodiment of hip-hop culture in India . Recently , they won three awards at the Radio City Freedom Awards .
MC Tod Fod x MC Mawali
MC Tod Fod and Mawali are members of Mumbai ' s Swadesi crew . With their socially conscious lyrics and penchant for incorporating local slang into their flow , they ' re rapidly getting recognized as a crew to watch out for .
Catch the updates from the show on www . 101india . com
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