DALAI THAPA
Crooning over heartbreaks, flexing with
jewellery, addressing mental health, these
days hip-hop can convey anything and
everything. You can’t stereotype a rapper
with a ‘thug’ or ‘gangsta’ image anymore.
The city of Delhi has a diversifying rap
culture and this year bears testimony
to it. Just give the leading records of
this year a hear and you’ll figure out.
Early this year, the duo Seedhe Maut
who usually pen lyrics heavy on energy
and emotion released their single
Saans Le. Produced by their usual
collaborator Sez, the song sounds more
lo-fi and toned down compared to the
Azadi Records-signed duo’s past work.
Talking about Azadi Records, the
break in the usual Indian aggressive
flows was also marked in Mumbai with
their English MC Tienas. Tienas in his
debut album 0 presents a sound that
comes as a breath of fresh air in a city
dominated by the ‘boht hard’ vibe.
However, Prabh Deep, one of the featured
artists on that album, perhaps underwent
the biggest metamorphosis. A legend
in the country with his album Class-
Sikh, Prabh is known for high bouts of
energy while spitting Punjabi bars.
So, it came as surprise when he dropped
his new EP this year. If Class-Sikh would
make you head bang, KING would make
you bob your head calmly as Prabh
has switched his flow to a mellow tone
with a wavy production by himself and
bass instrumentals by Hash Bass.
We don’t know if Prabh’s borderline-lo-fi
phase will carry on but KING definitely
showed us that Prabh Deep is a versatile
artist. Lyrically too, the EP charters
unexplored territories in Indian rap. Songs
like Amar and Maya have him rapping
about making gaane, how rapping about
violence and drugs isn’t his andaz (style),
what he loves and what drives him as an
artist. Philosophical lyrics aside, you know
this is Prabh being at his most honest when
he even has a line like ‘Iss duniya ch pehla
pariwar mera, duji meri neend mainu
pyaari’ (In this world, my family comes
first, and second, my sleep is what I adore)!
While producers in Delhi are evidently
making songs with the calm, ambient,
lo-fi vibes and rappers are penning lyrics
on a personal level, MC Kode took chill-
rap music to a ‘Chandrayaan level’! His
To the Moon and Back, is basically Kode
talking to a girl about having a date in
outer space. Yes, rap is not just about
streets and hustle as some might think.
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The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
Featured on the track was Frappe Ash, a
Delhi rapper of pahadi descent. Frappe
along with his mate Yungsta form the
duo called Full Power. He has hence
helmed many youth power anthems,
but he has recently been in the spotlight
with his first album Bet You Know.
Instead of featuring bangers, the album
is dubbed as ‘an eight-track ballad’.
The inspiration behind it reveals
that Indian rappers aren’t afraid to
come out with their emotions.
As Full Power’s press release sums it up,
‘Bet You Know came about after Akshay’s
(Frappe) 4-year-old relationship with his
then girlfriend came to an end, in order
to answer the questions and vice versa.
Focussing on issues such as escapism,
obsession, love and loss, there is a
constant new school sonic theme to the
whole album which binds it together.’
Stylistically, the songs show how far
has the city’s hip-hop scene has come.
Featuring verses in Hindi and English,
the cherry on the top is the track Surma
which transitions to a Garhwali chorus.
So, with spacey instrumentals, mellow
bars and personal lyrics, Delhi’s rappers
give us hope for a diverse independent
music scene in the future. It also goes
on to show that Indian hip-hop is more
than ‘paisa bangla gadi’ and ‘boht hard’.
A
Toned-
down
Tone
for
Delhi’s
hip-hop
How 2019 is a year of evolution and
versatility for the city’s rap scene