| Desi Flava By Lavina Melwani
Indians take to hip-hop.
"Supposedly
what I'm supposed to be and what was meant for me
Was told, through the odyssey of my ancestry
But now I choose to separate destiny and heredity
and
Bomb everybody's perception of our identity"
— Karmacy, "The Movement"
It
was a strange sight but perhaps prophetic of the coming
times: hundreds of young South Asians gathered at the
sedate Asia Society in Park Avenue recently for a throbbing,
blood churning evening of desi hip-hop. You say the
name "desi hip-hop" itself sounds like an oxymoron?
But it has been happening for quite a while, simmering
underground and now breaking out into the open. The
animated audience, spilling into the aisles and screaming
their gusty approval, proved that the urgent rhythms
and in-your-face lyrics of hip-hop really speak to them.
On the stage were rappers, beat boxers, dancers, MCs
and DJs whose roots were not in Harlem but in India,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In the background
was a mural - graffiti art so symbolic of the hip-hop
culture - painted by Nitin Mukul of DJ Distraction and
artist Siddhartha Joag. There was Jugular, also known
as Nikhil Tumne, a Toronto beat boxer who celebrates
the art form of vocal scratches. Toronto's Word Magazine
named him the premier beatboxer and he has performed
in festivals in Canada and the United Sates, and has
released tracks with the record label, PTR; Abstract
Vision (Fahad Rizvi) and Humanity (Asad Rizvi) are two
young Pakistani cousins in Staten Island who are powerful
rappers; Sumeet Bharati is a Los Angeles based singer/songwriter
in the R & B/hip-hop style and has been the opening
act for the Beastie Boys and performed at Notorious
B.I.G's album release party besides giving many performances.
D'Lo is a Brooklyn-based hip-hop performance artist
who hails from Sri Lanka, and her powerful material
revolves around socio-political issues; Gurpreet 'The
Tabla Guy' Chana, from Canada, merges his tabla rhythms
with house, hip-hop, R & B, Soul, funk and jazz;
Raeshem Nijhon of Michigan blends Indian classical dance
with Motown and hip-hop; New York-based DJ Distraction
(aka Nitin) has performed with live groups including
D.O.T. Army, Sexy Surprise, Marlay and Wank Factor 7.
He is the DJ for the hip-hop group UNAGI, with an EP
out in Spring 2002.
Then there is Anix Vyas of Harrisburg, Penn., a beatboxer
for three years, performing in several cities from Philadelphia
to Dallas, who won first place in the 2001 International
Talent Show in Toronto; Karmacy, a group which has performed
in venues from House of Blues in Hollywood to SOB's
in New York, and has lent its hip-hop sounds to movies
like American Desi, Leela and Four Letter World; and
Ben Thomas, who plays electric bass, acoustic guitar,
piano and drums, all flavored with R & B, jazz and
funk; there is also Sheila (aka Seven), an eloquent
rhymer and part of the South Asian Youth Action (SAYA)
DJ Distraction.
Observes Geeta Citygirl, director of SALAAM Theater,
"South Asian hip-hop is not really a new thing but has
been really, really under, underground. It isn't about
being South Asian in hip-hop; it's about being who you
are."
Nitasha Sharma, who is doing her dissertation at the
University of California on the racial identity of South
Asians involved in hip-hop, says, "I had always seen
hip-hop as a way of forging inter-racial alliances and
may be even creating a South Asian identity. That's
possibly hoping a lot but I got involved in finding
desis who are not only involved in hip-hop, but who
are also involved in their local black community."
She says that South Asians involved with hip-hop have
a different vision of race, an alternative to identity
politics: "Hip-hop is a perfect vehicle for forging
an identity about race that allow artists to express
themselves as South Asians. They are not trying to be
black - this is such a tired argument. We can move beyond
that. These artists are giving us an alterative vision
of race that is not so based on the biological idea
of what is being a South Asian."
Indeed, for long the dominant white culture was assumed
to be the only influence on young people worldwide with
its siren call of Hollywood movies, rock rhythms and
pop culture. Desi parents, growing up in colonized lands,
also had a reverence for everything white. And when
these parents migrated to America, even though they
were brown, they generally preferred to be identified
with the mainstream white culture rather than the black.
White after all led to promotions, success and acceptance.
Their parents may have come from small towns in Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Punjab, but the new generation of desis,
like true Americans, have added yet another layer to
their identity as they embrace the hip-hop culture.
While many immigrant families settled in jumbled urban
neighborhoods in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn, which
were a cacophony of ethnic rhythms and cultures, others
moved to whitebread suburbs in Long Island and New Jersey.
Yet the alluring sounds of hip-hop - almost like the
seductive trance of the snake charmer's been - floated
across the land into the suburbs, into solid split-levels
and mini-mansions where young desis not only embraced
it but also made it their own.
Little India talked to a number of hip-hop performers
to trace the anatomy of desi hip-hop and where it's
headed. "Hip-hop was not only the music, but it was
the language, the walk, the style of shoes, everything!"
says Jugular, beatboxer. His parents came from Maharashtra
but Jugular grew up in Toronto in Thorncliffe Park,
a very urban, black and Indian-Pakistani neighborhood.
"And it didn't have a color or ethnicity, because we
all had one common love, Hip-hop. So by living there,
I knew of Doug E. Fresh, Eric B. and Rakhim, Grandmaster
Flash, Kool Herc- hell, all the pioneers, way before
I knew what rock music was!"
He recalls of his growing up years: "Everyone was breaking,
rapping, Dj-ing (I tried it all). By the early age of
4 and 5, I would roll with my older brother to the local
parks with a couple of his friends and join into freestyle
circles. These circles consisted of people beatboxing
(making music with only the mouth) and improvisational
rapping (known as "Battling"). One day, I jumped into
the cipher and started busting; ever since then I've
been pushing the boundaries of mouth beat imitation.
I got attracted to hip-hop, because I felt I could really
relate to the vibe and straight up, I'm a music slut
so hip-hop is the supreme eye candy."
Nimesh Patel "Nimo" of Karmacy has an explanation for
the allure of hip-hop: "Just like anything else in the
world, if something moves or touches people it will
be adopted regardless of race or geography. Hip-hop
is proving to be a form of expression that defies boundaries,
through the music, the fashion styles, the dance, the
attitude and tone. As a South Asian I heavily relate
to this culture. It is easily becoming more and more
of my own culture, regardless of my 'non-African American'
identity."
Karmacy's hip-hop quartet - Nimo, KB, Swap and S.Ceez
- made its debut appearance with five defining tracks
on Rukus Avenue's compilation album Passage to India,
which was released last year. The group is currently
putting the finishing touches on their first full-length
album, The Movement, which will be released in Fall
2002, and planning a tour in 2003. Says Nimo, "There
is definitely a movement in construct. It's an exciting
time for us. We're part of this greater movement and
people of all types are starting to open their eyes
and minds to all types of art being developed by South
Asian Americans."
"Hip hop is part of the American fabric," says Sammy
Chand, head of Rukus Avenue Productions in Canada and
producor of Karmacy's debut album.
Gurpreet “The Tabla Guy” Chana.
"Its global impact is immeasurable. It has defined the
ways of a global generation. Japan to Paris, India to
Brooklyn ... it has no cultural boundaries. It is the
ultimate voice of a cultural movement, and as South
Asian Americans, it is a language that we have adopted.
Our generation will continue to endorse it as the means
of social commentary and political empowerment."
Chand who came to Los Angeles via London, started Rukus
Avenue, his South Asian fusion record label, in 1996,
and it blends urban music with Eastern music. Within
the next 12 months he will be releasing four albums,
and he says, "Political messages are always deeply embedded
in hip-hop. It requires for an artist to make an expression
valuable, and not lose sight of its power."
Gurpreet "The Tabla Guy" Chana, who performs in Toronto,
agrees. He points out that people are listening to Hip-hop
everywhere with Punjabi MC's mixing it with bhangra,
and Bollywood movies incorporating it into the musical
potpourri. Says Chana, who mixes his classical tabla
rhythms with everything from hip-hop to jazz to soul
and R & B. "It is definitely another aspect of being
South Asian, because it is another means of communication
that many South Asians are adopting because it is part
of the fabric of the society within which they are growing
up."
For Raeshem Nijhon, hip-hop was just another extension
of her passion for dance. Coming from a family of film
directors, journalists, actors and writers in Bombay,
she was very aware of her Indianness: "I would say that
I've been influenced pretty heavily by Bollywood - yes,
it's true, I am in my own way a bit of a Bollywood queen!
Growing up, I adopted for myself two identities, never
conflicting - I loved them both. At home I jammed the
Silsila and in school I was a Milli Vanilli junkie.
This duality of cultures really inspired me to have
a pro-fusion way of creating."
Raeshem, who is a trained classical Indian dancer and
also studied at the Tisch School of the Arts, is currently
working on her own troupe, Lotus Fire, in experiments
with film, spoken word and movement to bring Indian
art forms and hip-hop together. While her parents never
could understand hip-hop or her fascination with it
- "it seemed like much cussing to them" - she felt it
was the perfect way of talking to her generation and
expressing her convictions.
"In a sense it's like passing down history orally -
the oldest way to do it. As a South Asian I relate to
it because I'm making it my own. We are also getting
to the stage where we have an identity separate from
our parents' and it's a vehicle now for us to start
shaping what that is and what that will be."
One person whose identity is very much shaped by the
philosophy of hip-hop is D'Lo, a Sri-Lankan-American
performance artist whose strong material revolves around
war, race, class and gender and is featured at conference,
readings and political events.
She explains, "Hiphop is definitely a cultural thing
for black people, but it has also transcended itself,
going up in the air and falling again on different cultures.
Filipinos have their own way of doing Hip-hop as do
South Asians. It all depends on what were your influences
and what you really liked about hip-hop and that will
be reflected in your own delivery of it. It really comes
down to the cultural aspect of the music, the life that
is very tantalizing for people who are youthful. It's
a culture in which you can freely express yourself in
the way you dress, talk, walk, express yourself artistically."
She points out that hip-hop is now a global phenomenon
and that even white culture has appropriated it: "Hip-hop
is everywhere and it's a beautiful thing. Now people
just have to change the view on what is conservative
and what's not, what's considered right and what's considered
wrong, to look at someone who dresses in hip-hop gear
and to know that that person is not a thug, or rude,
or mean or steals or shoots. The lines have been meshed."
Nimesh ‘Nimo’ Patel.
Like D'Lo, whose work features her agony over her war-torn
homeland, two young rappers from Pakistan are bringing
their angst about war and religion into the hip-hop
vocabulary. MCs Abstract Vision (aka Fahad Rizvi) and
Humanity (aka Asad Rizvi) are two young cousin brothers
who grew up in a largely black/Hispanic neighborhood
in Staten Island, and were attracted to hip-hop since
childhood. Says Asad of their duo, Abrstract Humanity:
"We are fiercely political. We attack colonialism, racism,
radicalism, corruption, and hypocrisy all in our first
album, Politrix. We hope to enlighten minds and create
more politically oriented music."
Recalls Fahad, who grew up with mostly African-American
and Puerto Rican friends: "When I started rapping my
parents thought of it as a little hobby and were fine
with it. But when all I talked was hip-hop and it interfered
with my parents' religious beliefs they started to try
to make me stop. But at the end my father told me just
do good in school and you can do this rap thing. I was
very very happy."
Fahad describes himself as "a chubby brown kid with
a mind and a mike. My lyrics are a great part of the
way that I live. I live by them and they were created
from my experiences." The pressure of growing up South
Asian and Muslim in America finds its way into his dynamite
lyrics. Take a look:
Ay yo the media got us all plottin' tactis
Runnin' for cover-shootin' for practice
Muslim Americans feelin' like they lack this
Feelin' like the hunted in the land of taxes
Reelin' for salvation but catching axes
At their throats and at their lives
Yo we're strugglin' to survive
The two cousins grew up watching Video Music Box, a
hip-hop video show, and artists like Onyx, Black Sheep
and Wu-tang. Recalls Asad, "I encountered my first experiences
with racism during this time. In 4th grade I was repeatedly
harassed in school. Also, in 7th grade rumors were spread
about me that were false. I was always a pacifist. I
am till this day."
As he experimented with different types of music, hip-hop
became a great medium for self expression, listening
to artists like Big L, Common Sense, and Black Star,
and later the Chemical Brothers and Dead Prez. He says,
"At the same time I was into the Asian underground scene.
Asian Dub Foundation was also an inspiration for me.
They showed me that you could be conscious and make
good music, all the while being true to your South Asian
roots. I never chose to be with the mainstream. I was
always discontented with pop culture and its superficial
character."
From buying CDs and memorizing lyrics, the cousins started
rhyming and producing lyrics themselves. Says Asad,
"My parents aren't strict or prudish about anything.
They know I am a rational kid and I have my own mind.
Therefore, they didn't mind when I started listening
to hp-hop. However, they did make fun of me. For example,
they would make the emcee gestures and the low-riding
pants caricature of stereotypical hip-hop."
Parental disapproval is one of the hurdles most young
performers face. But, as Pradnya Haldipur of Diasporadics,
an organization which showcases emerging South Asian
artists and progressive social change, points out, Hip-hop
embodies not only music but a sense of American-ness
and sense of entitlement to be: "The comment we get
from our community is oh, hip-hop, but we are Indians.
Yes, we are Indians but we are also Americans and are
part of American culture and are claiming our rights
to what we will."
How much do these performers relate to the African-American
community? Says Chand, " Its issues are relevant to
ours, and I feel that the cultural relationship is symbiotic.
We are relatively new to this country, so the challenges
they faced over the years laid the foundation for us.
Overcoming racial issues and equality issues made it
possible for us to live freely without discrimination.
America forgets that. They used music as a political
platform for dialogue, and we now must create something
for us. "
Raeshem also feels a deeper connection with the African
American community at large than the mainstream "white"
culture: " I think our values in terms of family and
respect for certain people in our lives match closer
than it†does with other cultures. It's more comfortable
to me because I feel that there is a similar journey
as people of some kind of color in the States."
Says Nimo, "South Asians will continue to mesh influences
that are presented to them in the American fabric. This
doesn't stop at hip-hop. Food, movies ... you name it.
We will always seek to connect with the climate around
us, and it is only natural that the bridges we use to
do so are built with bricks from both cultures."
Asad Rizvi of Abstract Humanity.
For Asad and Fahad, it is also a deep connection. Says
Asad: "I see all the oppressed peoples of the earth
as a collective unit. South Asians and Africans are
both victims of colonialism and slavery by European
powers. We share the pain. I connect with a lot of artists
that are Muslims as well, Mos Def being just one example.
There are many Muslim rappers out there and, being Muslim,
I see similarities in values within their lyrics and
mine. We both are victims of racism."
These desi hip-hop performers have had a rough road
to travel, for often their aspirations are not taken
seriously by their own community or the African American
community. "It is even more difficult, or it has been
a challenge initially for us to push this art-form to
our own people - South Asians - specifically," says
Nimo. "For one, some are already skeptical of the message
that hip hop portrays and two, if they don't see it
coming from African Americans, they then question the
authenticity of it. I think we are beginning to break
those boundaries now and are giving people (our parents
and our youth) ample reason to believe that hip-hop
can easily be incorporated into our already intricate
culture."
Can desi hip-hoppers be taken seriously? Nimo points
out some of the problems: "For real, when I get on the
mike. I'm not a color or a race. I'm just some dude
who's putting on a show. But, you know what, to others
I'm Indian. To others I'm non-black. I'm non-white.
Where do I fit in? I'm proud to be Indian. I must say
it's hard when people already label you as being Indian
and don't think you're a good Emcee or breakdancer or
Beatboxer because you're not black. And I do feel like
I'm not given the time of day due to my Indian physical
characteristics."
Yet he believes there is an ongoing movement of artists
coming together, both black and South Asian. He adds,
"Personally I'm all about the DIY (Do It Yourself) philosophy
in order to change those ignorant classifications."
These pioneering performers are now being taken as role
models of possibilities by young South Asians and have
raised the bar on what a "good" desi can do.
As a teen fan wrote to Karmacy, "I was really shocked
to see a group of young people like me doing something
so different. I bought your CD and when I listen to
it, it's amazing that these are people, not too much
older than me, and they have this wonderful talent and
they are actually doing something about it."
Jugular’s Nikhil Tumne and Gurpreet Chana.
Indeed, it's all about creating a hip-hop community.
"Hip-hop enhances my life?" says Jugular.
"Hip-hop is my life! I'm South Asian too and for real,
South Asians are influenced by other South Asians. Man,
when I heard Apache Indian doing his Reggae-Hindi-Punjabi
rhymes on national television, I was like 'Shoot! He
makes me want to have my own video and scream Mi want
gal, sweet like jeeleebi!'"
Desi hip-hop is emerging from the underground, from
isolated pockets and performers are getting enthusiastic
audiences at festivals such as Desh Pardesh in Canada,
Artwallah in Los Angeles, and Diasporadics in New York.
As Jugular observes, "One person is doing it on one
side of the Atlantic; the other's doing it in the other
side of the Atlantic, but until it's mainstream, one
doesn't think of it as a movement."
Says Asad, "The Asian hip-hop scene is large if you
look at the Pacific Asians as well. But looking at South
Asians exclusively, it is hard to find many artists.
However, it is no surprise considering South Asians
are still a relatively new immigrant group in America.
To have artists already in the hip-hop scene is a clear
indicator that there will be more to come."
"Movements start with some movers and shakers and I
see people feelin it," says Raeshem. "All of a sudden
it's 'cool' - and it's Indian. Wow! In a sense many
Diasporic Indians have been waiting for something like
this to come along. It's comfortable, it's something
we can share with other non-South Asians and they might
actually get it! It's exciting and it's sexy and it's
universal and it's fun." Need any more reasons?
..-
End Of Article.....
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