Ever dug deep into the music we thump to every night at parties? The hottest rhymes and craziest beats that we rock to? That's Hip Hop for the not so wise. So here's a '411' of the growing genre that's Hip Hop for all "ya'll".
Rap – What it.
Music that comprises of some local rhyme verses recited over recorded or live instrumental in the back drop is known as Rap. Rap first appeared in the mid- 1970's.
Rap format consists of DJ'S alternating and mixing small extracts of recorded music and adding "Scratching" sound to it, while a "Rapper" recites the rhymes. Bronx, a ghetto of NYC was one of the first places from where rap came into existence by afro American poets who used drum beats and instrumental music in the back drop .The rap music we know was born. Though rap music shortly became a theme of criticism & argument because of the sexually explicit views, drug influences and lyrics that transfigured violence or elevated controversial political views.
Hip Hop is a subculture, which is said to have begun with the work of DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash & the Fious Five, and Afrika Bambaattaa.
Indian Connect.
India, a country of mosaic cultures and multilingual diversity, is rapidly accepting Hip Hop as a popular genre of music. The increasing number of Hip Hop artists that tour India each year stands proof. And rousing receptions meted out to the artists every single time show that India is indeed developing a taste to this hugely-popular brand of music. Even our Bollywood, these days, is full of influences of rap music and the same is true the other way around.
Rap music is slowly making its presence felt in the Indian music scene and winning over an ever-increasing number of listeners. Movies like Bunty Aur Babli, Hey Baby and Loins of Punjab have soundtracks with a definite stamp of Hip Hop music. And all this exposure has provided a fillip to this genre's popularity.
The key factor that is driving the craze for Hip Hop in the Indian cinematic landscape is our quest to sell our movies to global audiences. Apart from being an art form, Hip Hop is fast-becoming a way of life and not to mention, a million-dollar industry. Not surprisingly, several artists of Indian origin have taken Hip Hop as their career.
Blaaze is a well-known Indian rapper and has to his credit soundtracks of movies such as Ah Aah: Anbe Aruyire, Bunty Aur Babli and Rajnikant's Sivaji: The Boss. MTV India calls Blaaze, 'India's hottest rap star on the block'. A not-to-be-missed-out-on artist is Hardkaur, a new sensation who is on a high after success with her chartbuster Glassi. And her most-recent number Move Ya Body of Johnny Gaddaar and her solo album the Supawoman have produced a stupefying response. Popular DJs like Sanj and Dr. Zeus have taken Punjabi music to a whole new exciting level.
When we are talking about Indi-Pop history, the name of Baba Sehgal can't be pushed aside. He was the one man responsible for commercializing rap music in India. He is the desi rapper that developed a style of his own, managing to merge Hindi and Punjabi lyrics. And recently, a new name has been added in that list kind Bohemia, the Punjabi rapper has gained rave reviews worldwide for his style and music. Another hot sensation is ISHQ BECTOR. He has worked with some of very elite Bollywood music directors and it's only a matter of time before this Indo-Canadian artist thumps every abode in the Motherland.
The recent performances by Black Eyed Peas, Mobb Deep, Akon and most recently Chamillionaire have certainly raised the profile of this brand of music in India. And how can we forget the kid with the flow, General, 50 cent and his army, Tony Yayo and Lloyd banks who just smashed all records in Mumbai. Even girls in India are getting into this side of the business.
"For me, rap music is an expression of freedom" said Vinki Oberoi, an IP university student.
"For me Hip Hop clothing is all about low-waists, sneakers, oversized T-shirts, some bling and the gangsta attitude", said Sagar Dhingra, a student of management.
In India the negative aspect is confined only to the partial nudity in the rap videos.
"What really pesters me is the demeaning way in which the girls are shown in rap videos." said Neha Kalra, a CAM student.
Indian Hip Hop is a blend of traditional Indian musical elements with hip hop music. This can be achieved lyrically (using one or more Indian languages), incorporating percussion (tabla, dhol etc), other instruments (sitar, veena) or through the use of sampling popular Bollywood film soundtracks. Although often used to describe the ethnicity of the artist, mainstream hip hop talent including Dr. Dre, Rakim, Dan the Automator, Fergie, Kelly Rowland etc all have incorporated elements from Indian culture in their music - further complementing the effort to accurately define Indian Hip Hop.
So hate it or love it, its all here to stay. And for you, I’m just going to say
“keep it real”.
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