Desi Hip Hop

Desi Hip Hop
Stylistic origins	Hip hop • Rap • Funk • Jazz • Rhythm and blues • Soul music
Cultural origins	United States, India
Typical instruments	Bass • Drum machine • Rapping • Sampler • Synthesizer
Derivative forms	Burban
Subgenres
Burban • Indian Hip Hop • Desi rap • (complete list)

Desi Hip Hop is term used to define a musical genre and a rising cultural movement. The term is an umbrella phrase to cover all things “desi” influenced by Hip Hop. The movement started locally (and to an extent individually) in different parts of the world as South Asian populations migrated to the UK, USA, and Canada. The sounds of the culture first emerged in the late 80s, and early 90s from the UK.

Etymology

The term “desi” comes from the Sanskrit root “des,” or “desh,” meaning country. Thus, “des-i” or desi refers to peoples, cultures, and products of South Asia and, increasingly, to the people, cultures, and products of their diaspora.

Although the genre and culture had been born years earlier, the term “Desi Hip Hop” was coined by the California-based Punjabi rapper/MC, Bohemia in the late 1990s.

Hip Hop History (Background)

DJ Kool Herc is credited as being highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip hop music.

In the latter parts of the 1970s, an underground movement started laying its base in the South Bronx area of New York City called “Hip Hop”. This increasingly fast growing movement involved the arts of Graffiti Writing, “B-Boying”, DJing, and MCing. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the movement gained a lot of publicity in the media with Billboard magazine printing an article titled “B Beats Bombarding Bronx”, mentioning a lot of the local pioneering figures such as Kool Herc. Hip Hop quickly became the dominant cultural movement amongst the minority in urban communities throughout the 1980s. Due to the movement’s underground nature, street gangs started picking up the arts to prove themselves to their own crew members or rival gangs. When Afrika Bambaataa realized that gang members can turn violent urges to creative ones, he founded the Zulu Nation - a conglomerate of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, DJs, MCs, and other hip-hop artists.

Elements

DJing

Known as the father as hip hop, DJ Kool Herc would isolate and play only the instrumental section of popular songs, or otherwise known as the “breakdown” section, or the break. Furthermore, DJ Grand Wizard Theodore noticed that rhythmically moving the record back and forth made an amazing sound, and began to incorporate the movement into his sets. Thus, came the birth of the scratch. Notable pioneers include DJ Grandmaster Jazzy Jay, DJ Grandmaster Flash, and DJ Grandmaster Caz. In the 1990s, she term “Turntablism” was coined by DJ Babu of the Beatjunkies, literally meaning turning the turntable into an instrument.

M-Rock was one of the first South Asian djs to make an impact in the international DJ Battle Scenes. He is a World Class competitor with titles in the DMC, Vestax, and ITF DJ Battles.

Other notable “Desi Hip-Hop” DJs include Panjabi MC, Bally Sagoo, DJ Rekha, DJ Stin, DJ Kayper, DJ Raf, Tru Skool, DJ M-Rock, DJ Double AA, doc bLAdez, and DJ Biks.

MCing

MCing, or emceeing, first started as a complement to the DJ. The MC would incite the crowd with energy by getting on the microphone and rhythmically speaking to the crowd and praising the DJ. Lil’ Rodney Cee, of Double Trouble and Funky Four Plus One, sites Cowboy, of Grandmast Flash and the Furious Five, as the first hiphop MC. Since then the term “MC” has been used to refer to “Master of Ceremonies”, “Mover of Crowds”, “Microphone Controller”, “Music Commentator” and even “Mentor to Child”. The MC, eventually began to speak of social injustice and oppression. As it was brought into the limelight, the MC began to shine on stage over the DJ. Rapping and MCing is rhyming words on a beat, but it’s slightly different from Spoken Word, which is usually performed without music or a beat.

Breaking

Breaking, Break Dancing or B-boying is also another aspect of Hip Hop where artists express their thoughts, feelings and music physically in the form of dances, showing off technical skills as well as displaying tongue-in-cheek bravado.

The Slumgods, India’s 1st Hip Hop Collective, has been on the rise with their collective of B-Boys/Girls, MCs, DJs, Writers, and beatboxers and a crucial entity in empowering India’s Hip Hop movement. B-Boy Prosenjit Kundu, moved from New York to Mumbai in 2005 to expedite the explosion of Hip-Hop and Breaking. Today, we see emerging breaking crews emerging from the depths of Punjab, Gujrat, Sri Lanka, Mumbai, New Delhi, Karachi, and several other regions and cities of South Asia.

Graffiti

Hip Hop and Graffiti writing went hand-in-hand early on in the history of the culture. It was an artist’s way of expressing their thoughts and feelings graphically and thus became another aspect of Hip Hop. It is recognized as a visual expression of the music, similar to B-Boys expressing it physically. Subway Art (New York: Henry Hold & Co, 1984) and the TV show Style Wars were some of the first sources that introduced hip hop graffiti to the majority of the population in the United States.

Beatboxing

Beatboxing recently got included into the top elements of Hip Hop, but was popularized by Doug E. Fresh long ago. It is the vocal percussion of the hip hop culture and stemmed from local neighborhoods and the streets. Early rappers who expressed their thoughts with their friends and neighbors usually rapped on a beat by Beatboxers. Desi beat boxer, Bigg Taj, from Glasgow, Scotland is one of the first Desi artists to make an impact in this arena. Another notable artist in this small and relatively new arena is Ekko.

Origins

Hip Hop might have originated from the streets of New York and has an African-American heritage, however, that simple movement has matured over the years to become a global movement now covering every continent. According to the United States Department of State, hip hop is officially “the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world” crossing every political and social boundaries, cutting across racial lines. National Geographic also recognizes the movement as “the world’s favorite youth culture” in which “just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene”. Hip Hop is one of the biggest examples of a globalizing world, breaking barriers to become a “global music epidemic”.

UK

As with Hip-Hop in general, Desi Hip Hop began with the DJ. Desi DJs out of the UK, such as Panjabi MC, Mick St Clair, X-ecutive Productionz, and Bally Sagoo began mixing classic Punjabi and Bhangra tunes with the likes of James Brown, Cold Cutz Crew, and Run-Dmc. Panjabi MC was also accredited as the first Desi Hip Hop Emcee, as he was the first to rap (in English) over a mainstream Punjabi album. His rap style was similar to US artists like B-Real and Wu-Tang, with a dark, melodic, and rugged sound. It even appeared as Panjabi MC would mask his British accent to sound more like the streets of LA or NY. Panjabi MC later went on to release “Mundiah to Bachke” featuring Jay-Z in 1998, topping the Billboard and International charts for months. UK’s huge South Asian diaspora continued to supply the music industry with a plethora of Desi Hip Hop artists. In the early 2000s emerged Rishi Rich, the producer who was the musical backing for International Desi R&B star, Jay Sean. Jay Sean was the first South Asian singer to top American R&B charts and now signed to Lil’ Wayne’s record label. Hard Kaur is one of the first ladies to take on Hip-Hop music and has taken her musice further East and West. Hard Kaur is a household name in Hinid cinema with countless playback features and has worked alongside d12 creating the song “Desi Dance.” At the same time we saw an explosion of UK emcees, including Mentor, Shizzio, Swami Baracus, Mumzy Stranger, A.G. Dolla, Raxstar, Metz & Trix, and Kan D Man. Many of these British emcees have also started their own music movement called Burban which is term used to move away from the phrase Urban Desi.

US

Bohemia performing live Houston,TX USA

The Desi Hip Hop scene in the US was grew somewhat independently from was happening in the UK. The DJs were the first to make an impact in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, mixing popular hip-hop tunes with Bhangra and Hindi tracks. DJs across the country, including DJ Rekha, Tej Gill, Razor Rus, DJ Notorious, doc bLAdez and Sandeep Kumar were seen in clubs and house parties mixing up Hip Hop anthems with Bhangra/Punjabi/Bollywood hits. DJ doc bLAdez from Los Angeles was ranked among the top 50 Battle DJs in the world in 2003 after entering the International Turntable Federation DJ Battle and Guitar Center DJ Battle in Los Angeles. In the mid 1990’s, emerged a young rapper who gave Desi Hip Hop a new aspect; to rap in Punjabi. His name was Bohemia, a Pakistani-born Punjabi emcee hailing from Oakland, California. Bohemia was the first to release a full-length Punjabi-rap album on a major label, Universal Music Group. Ltc. At the same time in Los Angeles, hip-hop producer Sammy Chand and emcees Nimo, Swap, and KB had formed the first Desi Hip-Hop crew, Karmacy. They landed their debut album, “The Movement,” in 2001 on Columbia Records. As these pioneers paved the way, the mid 2000s brought on onslaught of talented, young, ferocious desi hip-hop emcees and groups, including Hoodini & King!, Chee Malabar and The Himalayan Mission Project, Young Fateh, iQ, Saint Soulja, Deep Cold, and Zulu Nation Tribesman, Kaly,Sullee J, Mandeep Sethi.

Canada

Canadian DJs Sunshine, Double AA, Jiten, and Guru had their own concept of DesiHipHop in the early 1990s. They gave rise to the DJs remix (not necesarrily a studio produced project started from scratch). Classic Hip-Hop groups like Gangstarr, Ed OG & the Bulldogs, and Wu-Tang Clan were being mixed with Classic Bhangra groups such as Apna Sangeet, Gurdass Mann, and Surinder Kaur. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Toronto Turntablist DJ M-Rock was the first Desi DJ to compete at World Class level and was World Champion and Finalist in multiple DJ competitions. In the late 2000s, emerged Humble the Poet, a Canadian-born Toronto emcee. Humble used social media, namely YouTube, to introduce himself to the world, and he made one of the largest impacts in Desi Hip Hop history and a return to the Boom Bap Era of Hip Hop (see BoomBap). Humble, alongside his producer and partner in rhyme Sikh Knowledge, influenced thousands more to join the Desi Hip Hop movement. Humble also created the Believe Me Music Squad, composed of talented American and Canadian Desi emcees and producers, including Hoodini & King!, B Magic, Noyz, Sikh Knowledge, and DviousMindz.Roach Killa is a Desi Hip-Hop act who has taken over the industry with his solo music as wellas his features. Roach Killa has been heard on countless Hip-Hop tracks and brings a Western fusion to Punjabi folk music through collaborations. Roach Killa has worked alongside Blitzkrieg, Miss Pooja, and Rishi Rich among others.

India

Hip Hop was evident in Bollywood movies in the mid-1980s. In the 1987 Film, Pyar Karke Dekho, actor Govinda does a dance to a song called “I Am A Breakdancer,” giving direct reference to the Hip Hop movement that had started in New York. In 1990, Baba Segal, considered to be the first Indian “rapper” did a comical cover to Vanilla Ice’s, “Ice Ice Baby,” in his own version Hindi version called “Tanda Tanda Pani.” As Hip-Hop continued to make comical cameos in Bollywood films, it was not until the mid 2000s that social media gave way to real hip-hop exposure in India. International artists like 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, The Black Eyed Peas etc. have performed in India. Snoop Dogg appeared in a song from the film Singh Is Kinng in 2008 which popularized Hip Hop music amongst the people of India. At the present time, Hip-Hop is one of the fastest growing cultures in India. B-Boys and B-Girl crews are emerging from the shadows of the oppressed and, what is known as, India’s slums, uplifting the young with a all for social change. This is Hip Hop’s true form, as a vehicle for social change in an oppressed society.

Pakistan

Although Pakistani descendants have made in impact in Desi Hip Hop outside of Pakistan. Emcee Adil Omar, from Karachi, was the first to make an impact from within. Born on the 17th of May 1991, raised in the capital of Pakistan, Adil Omar has been into music all his life and has been writing rhymes since the age of 9. Adil's love for writing comes as no surprise though, being born to a writer-mother and into a family of writers such as Zafar Omar Sr. (Adil's great-grandfather, best known for his groundbreaking Urdu detective novel Neeli Chatri which was released in the 1950s). Having worked with both famous household names such as B-Real of multi-platinum rap/rock band Cypress Hill, magician/comedian/actor Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller, and other various well known underground artists/producers, Adil Omar has established a name for himself in the indie music scene. He has just released his debut album, “The Mushroom Cloud Effect,” featuring some of Hip Hop’s legends Xzibit, B-Real, DJ Solo, Everlast of House of Pain, and Kool G Rap.

Bangladesh

“Deshi Hip Hop”, as Bengali locals all over the world call it, was a term coined to represent Hip Hop in Bangladesh. The movement originally began in 2006, with Stoic Bliss releasing their debut album in Bangladesh through the mainstream record label, G-Series / Geetanjoly. Stoic Bliss’s “Abar Jigay” was the first mainstream hip hop album released in Bangladesh, produced by the first official Hip Hop producer Rajib Rahman “Double R”. The album paved the way for the mainstream public to take a look at a growing movement which was spreading through the underground long before the album was released. Underground crews, such as E.N.L. (Enlightenment) formed by MC Shaq, Skibkhan Xplosive & Mc Mugz, had a huge following amongst the youth in the country. They regrouped to become “Deshi MCs” and released their debut album, “Banned” in Bangladesh in mid-2006. In 2008 Kata Taarer Bera was the first major collaboration project in the history of Deshi Hip Hop. The album was the brain child of the first Hip Hop DJ in the country, DJ Raf, who team up with Jasper Al-Rashid on the project. All of the tracks were collaborated or individually performed by these two artists including numerous tracks featuring appearances of the top hip hop artists at the time. The album was entirely composed and produced by DJ Raf & Jasper Al-rashid while Jasper, himself, engineered the entire album in his studio which, later that year, was revamped to be formed into “Jasper Lab Works”. Amongst the guest artists, there were an array of prominent Bangladeshi rappers (Skibkhan, Shaq, Mugz, Slick) and also a few new American Bengali rappers (Traffick, Orion). Jasper Al-Rashid was also the first officially recognized R&B singer of Bangladesh as well as the fastest rapper in Bangladesh in his song, "The History" where he broke record speeds. It featured breaks of instrumental Hip hop by DJ Raf which also has never been attempted in the local industry. This was the origin of a greater movement of Deshi hip hop and later inspired other prominent local Hip hop artists to include similar contents in their albums. The album mostly played a very important role into shaping Deshi Hip hop towards the newer era of artists with vigorous changes and discovery of a stronger local movement with all of its participants making their own spaces in the industry after it was released. The album eventually resulted into being one of the very few massively successful Hip hop albums in the early era of Bangladeshi Hip hop industry and thus considered an all-time Bengali Hip hop classic. Fuad Al Muqtadir, a very popular music composer/producer from Bangladesh featured Skibkhan of Deshi MCs in some of his mainstream works making it a huge commercial success and also exposing Bengali hip hop to the mass audience of Bangladesh. With artists such as the Uptown Lokolz releasing their debut album "Kahini Scene Paat" under the label Deadline Music creating massive hype amongst the youth of the nation. Lal Miah was also another artist hailing from New York, who created a massive thunderbolt of an album which was celebrated all over Bangladesh. Other prominent Deshi Hip Hop artists include Rajotto, a hip hop duo who started their works in London, UK, and recently signed their second major record deal with Universal Music Records. Rajotto’s music is very thought provoking with an intention to uplift the next generation of music listeners and fans.

References