Rapolution: Represent

words: VISHAL RAI

Who would’ve ever thought that a culture originating from the ghettos of New York would dominate the mainstream in countries far, far away? Certainly not the authorities who were against it, certainly not those who started it. But all it takes is a closer look to realize that hip-hop was almost fated to succeed. The resistance anthems, the clothes, the music – everything that’s appealing to a generation of youngsters hell-bent on rebellion. The once underground sub-culture has hit the mainstream all over the globe including Nepal, and the blow has been hard.

The Big Bang Theory:
Any corner, any street, anywhere you look there’ll probably be a bunch of youngsters in baggy trousers and baggy t-shirts complete with a baseball cap. There might even be a scarf underneath and a chain around the neck (some with a “$” pendant, straight out of RB Complex!). “People used to laugh at our clothes earlier, but today hip hop is the mainstream. Everybody’s wearing baggy clothes,” says Nirnaya, the founding member of Rappaz Union, one of the most prominent figures and pioneer in his own respect in Kathmandu's hip-hop circuit. But then again, although clothes make up an important part of any sub-culture, what matters in the end is the music, and there seems to be plenty of it around.

“There’s hip hop, hip hop, hip hop in every corner. There are rappers coming out like hot cakes," say Kiran and Manas of the Nepsydaz, another prominent rap group from Kathmandu. Kiran, who is also an RJ at Times FM, introduces Nepali rappers on his show Hip-Hop Basement.

“It was a struggle in the beginning, but the foundation has been laid. We used to go from store to store trying to sell our CDs, but after our first album it was easy. We got offers. I guess hard work pays in the end. There’s even a rap category in music awards these days,” says Nirnaya whose album Fo'Ya'All (2000) was the first of its kind in Nepal. Rappaz Union has also helped many other rappers enter the scene, both male and female. Sammy Samrat, now working on solo projects, also started with Rappaz Union. Besides the established acts, Nepsydaz, Rappaz Union, and GP, there are a number of upcoming rappers who have released or are all set to release albums of their own. While talking to the Kiran and Manas, they came up with several names; Sarad Singh, Nine Double Seven, Mad Zone, DXP3, Shreeking (who will be releasing an album soon on SAV), Ace, Spaz, Merricks, the 14-year old Spadix, Hip Hop 061 and 3 Drops from Pokhara as well as Stuti and Nep Soljah, joint winners of the Madskillz 2004 contest on Hip-Hop Basement.

We’ve heard the music, we’ve seen the rappers, and know about its popularity. But the question still remains. What exactly is “Hip-Hop?” “People think hip-hop is about whatever you sing, whatever you rap. Actually it’s not, it’s more than that. It’s about emceeing, dj-ing, graffiting and break dancing,” clarifies the boys from the Nepsydaz. “But there’s very little of these going on here, and in fact, there are no graffiti artists that we know about yet.”

For Nirnaya it’s more about “freedom of expression, the way you dress up, the way you talk,” Contrasting opinions, but to each his own and that’s what makes a scene more vibrant. It certainly wouldn’t be interesting if everyone had the exact same ideologies.

Thug- Love:
Mention rap or hip-hop, and there’s always the stereotypical image of violent thugs or gangsters on streets. While this hasn’t helped the image of the culture much, it has actually managed to attract rebellious youngsters into its fold, which isn’t surprising seeing the popularity of gangsta’ rap. Our local rappers too have their opinions on this. “Gangsters are not part of our culture. What I always tell the youngsters is to be more relevant. Relate more to the Nepali culture, not to guns and gangsters,” says Nirnaya, who seems to be vehemently opposed to the whole concept of “Gangstaz” in Nepal, and rightfully so. Negativities aside, there are times when people are introduced to the culture through gangsta’ rap and then learn it’s not what the culture represents. Such was the case with the Nepsydaz. “When we first got into hip-hop we thought it was all about guns, thugs and slang so we named ourselves Nepsythugz. Later when we were recording a track with Sammy Samrat (Rappaz Union) and he explained things to us. We weren’t “thugz” so we renamed ourselves- Nepsydaz, Nepal representatives,” says Manas.

Freestylin:
Da Nepsydaz, one of the most exciting live acts in the circuit, are also known for their freestyle skills. Freestylin' is improvisational rapping, spontaneous situational rhyming. Witnessing Kiran and Manas in their freestyling spontaneity during the interview was quite a treat. “You use whatever is in front of you as your weapon” explains Manas. “Freestyling is of two types – one, rapping about the environment around you and two, battle rap, i.e. dissing the other rapper. It’s not about writing and practicing which is what a lot of young MCs think, so we try giving them a concept of what it’s about.”

Freestylin' may not be a big deal yet but the impact of hip-hop/ rap in mainstream consciousness was evident with the success of Rappaz Union’s “Din Pani Bityo.” The track took airwaves and music stores by storm and was awarded the Most Air played Song on Kantipur FM just three months after its release. It also managed to win awards at Image and Channel Nepal’s award shows. “I didn’t expect it to be so big,” says Nirnaya. “I actually expected another track on the album to be bigger. Its success was probably due to the fusion between rap and folk beats. Another reason, I guess, could be the lyrics, which was about a person leaving. The situation of the country is so bad that everyone is going abroad, so I guess people could relate to it.” Interesting fact: the track was also played at weddings, evidence of just how big it was.

On Air:
The media, radio in particular, has been a big help in the growth of hip-hop in the city. First there was Bring Da’ House Down and now there’s Raise The Roof! Bring Da’ House Down, hosted by Nirnaya, is Nepal’s first rap/ hip hop show on the radio and nearing 7 years of broadcast. It airs 8 to 9 pm on Friday on KATH 97.9, which is also the time when Raise The Roof airs on Hits FM 91.2. “We used to listen to Bring Da’ House Down regularly and even send in letters. Those were the early days,” reminisce Nepsydaz. Once a listener, Kiran is now himself a rapper and hosts his own hip-hop show on Times FM. It airs on Saturdays 8 to 9 pm. Besides the music, there are regular skill contests too. Bring Da’ House Down organized the Super Hip-Hop contest last year with over 50 participants! There’s a second one currently going on and 10 people have already been chosen as finalists. “We give them a beat and judge them on whether they can flow with the it”, explains Nirnaya about the concept of the contest. The winner gets to record 3 songs for free at Studio 2000, Soundlink and Kathmandu Digital studios. Kiran’s Hip-Hop Basement has a segment called Basement Freestyle to improve the skills of the listeners, and local rappers get to be on the show. There was a contest titled Madskillz 2004 recently on the show in which Stuti and NepSoljazh were the winners.

Keeping It Real:
After witnessing a number of very bad rappers on TV (Avinash Ghising, Nurbu Sherpa and a few others that were nominated at the VMA Awards this year), it was actually quite an experience meeting some real hip-hoppers and rappers who were really into the music and the culture. We never know how long the popularity of hip-hop may last, but one thing’s for sure, there will always be a group in some corner, keeping the flame alive and keeping it real.