Mic drop: Meet the women rappers making their mark in Kerala's rap scene
The music of revolution, the rhythm of resistance, the beats of the masses... That's rap.
Since long, this power-packed genre has been synonymous with counterculture movements across the world. Few other musical styles have captured the essence of societal evolution like rap has.
With origins deeply rooted in the African-American communities in the US, especially the Bronx in New York, rap music has long been a powerful voice of expression for the unheard and the marginalised. Its inception can be traced to cultures of African-American storytelling and talking blues.
While being traditionally rooted in black literature and music, the genre has gained traction across the world, with multiple people appropriating the rhythmic style to express themselves freely. And among them, Indian rap has also come of age.
It encompasses a million stories from a country with a million cultural identities and languages. Be it the experiences of growing up amidst the fields of Punjab or hustling in the slums of Mumbai, from the established club music of Yo Yo Honey Singh to the newcomer star Hanumankind, rap and its variants stemming from the hip-hop movement is as vast and diverse as the culture here.
In Kerala too, the relevance and popularity of rap have been on the rise. However, amid the huge fan following and the top charters of artists such as Fejo, Dabzee and Vedan, women rappers remain a rarity.
It's to this arena that the sari-clad all-women hip-hop collective Wild Wild Women came out as fresh air, spitting bars like they are made for it.
Founded by Ashwini Hiremath (Krantinari) in 2021, Wild Wild Women is a group of artists and activists, whose collective journey revolves around exploring the intricate experiences of women in society and integrating these often marginalised narratives into their artistic works.
The one-of-a-kind group features four talented rappers — HashtagPreeti (Preeti N Sutar), M C Mahila (Shruti Raut), JQueen (Jaqulin Lucas), and Pratika (Pratika E Prabhune) along with two break-dancers FlowRaw (Deepa Singh) and MGK (Mugdhamangaonkar) and graffiti artist Gauri Dabhaolkar.
Seamlessly switching between Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada and English, they critique patriarchal order, social injustices and female experiences. These women use their art to speak truth to power. Caste, sexuality, religion, and gender — no subject is off limits.
Hip-hop has always been a language of the streets, born of struggle, resistance, and identity. And today there are a handful of Malayali women breaking barriers and carving out powerful narratives. These women may not be headlining music festivals or making chart-topping hits, yet. However, they are part of a broader cultural shift.
TNIE speaks to three such women rappers from Kerala about their experiences, love for the genre and more.
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