The fabric of the city cannot get more diverse as a new crop of rappers come up on Kolkata’s culture horizon. These youngsters—from Park Circus to Dum Dum, from Gariahat to Kidderpore—compose powerful lines, drawing from their daily lives and sociopolitical issues, and add peppy, foot-tapping beats to them.
These tech-savvy boys and girls use words and rhythm to express their resentment against what they feel ‘stifling social order’, highlight violence in different strata, and talk of the pros and cons of Kolkata. While most of the lyrics are in Hindi, Urdu, English, for a broader reach, some composers choose Bengali, too. An online browse throws up videos of artists, clothed in long tees, flashy snapbacks, coloured shades, thick chains, ripped jeans, canvas shoes and jackets, belting out rhythmic songs, accompanied by spirited dances. The backdrop is mostly a deserted alley or a roof top or an empty train compartment or a crowded bus near the Howrah bridge.
Rajsikha Kori, aka Femcee Frosty, packs girl power in the male-dominated rapper community. She started off in 2011, when not many girls of her age were keen on rap music. Eminem, Tupac and Nas are inspirations for Kori, but she says she learnt the “true meaning of hip hop” from K-Krew, the pioneers of Kolkata rap movement since 2007. “I want to put Kolkata on the global map. I am known for my international collaborations,” said Kori. “My songs are of hope through which I promote cross-cultural exchange among nations. In my song ‘Remember Me’, I worked with an Iranian girl who sang the Persian hook and a Spanish rapper who complemented my Hindi verses. ” It was during the lockdown that Kori released her last album, ‘Quarantine Connection’, which has eight tracks, featuring more than 20 artistes who sang in over 10 languages. “I reached out to a Latvian opera singer and a Hungarian vocalist for my first track. I also collaborated with a German girl who raps in Swiss-German and an American beat-maker for the title track,” she said. “It’s important to be innovative and to collaborate with global talents. ”
Vikramjit Sen, who goes by the name Feyago, composes, writes, performs, films, produces and promotes rap music in multiple languages. Sen, who won the Vh1 Sound Nation Award for Best Hip Hop Act, 2014, said, “Growing up in Darjeeling, old school rap music was a popular genre. After school, I went to the UK to study marketing, where my friends exposed me to the technical side of music-making. Rap allows me to channel my inner thoughts. Hip Hop has a soul of its own that allows artistes to take off their masks and communicate openly with listeners. ” He challenges the norm and creates unique sounds. “I am extremely fond of folk rap, a subgenre I coined myself and have spent a decade trying to promote,” said Sen, creator of hits like, ‘Logical Guy’ and ‘Sadher Lau’.
His first folk rap was with the late Tarak Das Baul and later, he diversified into various languages, like Meitei, Dzongkha, Nepali and Hindi. Pointing at the challenges of being a rapper, he said, “Though live shows have increased, we need more booking agents, record labels and listeners who believe in the talent pool of Bengal. ” Adnan Neayz aka Adnan Hitzz began rapping in 2013. Inspired by Divine and Naezy, now famous after ‘Gully Boy’, Adnan, too, raps about his neighbourhood and people. “We talk about social change. I use rap to talk about topics that many are not comfortable discussing openly. It is a cool medium that can be used to spread awareness,” he said, breaking into a song, which went, ‘Badal raha samaaj koi uthaalo awaaz / Aisi cheez dekh kar kab tak band rakhe alfaaz / Chalo sab kare aur kare yeh agaaz / Samaaj ko hum badle aur uthaye kuch awaz’.
The youngsters draw from their surroundings to create songs to spread awareness, express their resentment against ‘stifling social order’, talk of Kolkata and to also blend their contemporary topics with traditional thoughts and tunes
Adnan uses his pocket money to make rap videos. “We belong to a humble family. I save my pocket money to shoot videos,” he said, pointing out the rap scene in Kolkata might improve if artists focused on the quality of music. Zeeshan Hasan or Zee Shan started writing raps in 2015 after listening to Naezy, Mumbai Rapper, Ikka and Raftaar. “My passion for writing poetry and lyrics led me to rapping. I mainly write on social issues that I see in my neighbourhood. My first rap was to spread words against addiction among youngsters,” said the Park Circus boy, whose latest tracks, like ‘Alhamdulillah’, ‘Manzil’ and ‘Arey Badshah’, are major hits. For a broader reach, he pointed out, they needed to compose in different styles, such as groovy, party type, story-telling and oldschool. He also feels the genre will have a better future if suitably used to spread social awareness. “One must remember rap was adopted to create revolution,” Hasan added.
For Menaj Khan aka Minaj Khan, what started as a pastime in 2013 has grown into something bigger. One of his hit songs is ‘Kidderpore Basti’ that talks about the bylanes of the neighbourhood he grew up in. “I could not find a better option than rap to express myself and showcase my talent,” said Khan, whose inspirations are Honey Singh, Badshah, Raftaar and Divine. He categorises himself as a “versatile rapper” who performs every genre of rap. Though Khan is convinced rap will rule the music industry, given its appeal among the youth, he is not so sure about Kolkata’s scene. “It has not grown much here because of the disunity of rappers,” he said.
Like many Bengali kids, Abhinandan Purkayastha aka Oldboy’s introduction to music was through Rabindrasangeet and Nazrulgeeti. He was trained in tabla, from where his fascination for beats and rhythm grew. “My playlist got diversified. I drew inspiration from Nas, Jay Z and Biggie,” said Purkayastha, who works at a bank and creates rap songs in Bengali some of which have gone viral even in Bangladesh. He claims there is a “basket full of raw talents in Bengal”. “I represent the mofussils. There are plenty of girls and boys in the suburbs and outskirts who are waiting for an opportunity to showcase their talents. They are more versatile than many in Hindi rap,” he said.
