Hip hop may be a male bastion but these girl rappers are breaking the glass ceiling
Jatt Ludhiyane Da is an infectious track from Student Of The Year 2 rendered by Payal Dev and Vishal Dadlani. But the song (originally a Punjabi folk by Surinder Kaur and Harcharan Grewal) also has rap portions by a young artiste, Deane Sequeira. While expats such as Hard Kaur, Nindy Kaur and Raja Kumari are popular in the genre, there are a number of underground girls who cannot be ignored. Just like Murad in Gully Boy, some have come up the hard way, dealing with issues such as being bullied, lack of freedom accorded to girls and other patriarchal issues. Here’s a look at these femcees (female emcees).
1. DEANE SEQUEIRA
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The singer-songwriter and composer entered the studio to record her debut Random, which she composed, rapped, sang and wrote when she was just 14. Her repertoire includes rap portions in Mohit Chauhan’s Bezubaan for ABCD: Any Body Can Dance (2013). She has worked with the likes of Pritam, Sachin-Jigar, Mika and Rochak Kohli. Along with Bass Baby in Netflix’s film Gabru, she has OCs such as Nobody Cares, Only Mine and Time Flies to her credit.
2. SOFIA ASHRAF
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How about getting an endorsement of sorts by Nicki Minaj herself? That’s what happened when Sofia released her single, Kodaikanal Won’t, which took on a corporate giant asking it to clean up its mess created by mercury pollution in the Tamil Nadu city. The song garnered 3.8 million views soon and Nicki tweeted about it as well. I Can’t Do Sexy is her take on unrealistic expectations people have of a woman’s appearance and The Kela Rap (from short film Miyan Biwi Aur Banana) is about biodegradable sanitary pads. What sets her apart are cheeky lyrics. While she does rap about issues related to women, for her, the future is not female but inclusive.
3. DEE MC/DEEPA UNNIKRISHNAN
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We saw a glimpse of her in Gully Boy, as one of the participants auditioning to open for Nas in the movie. But an explosive track from her as a musician was Jagga Jiteya in Uri: The Surgical Strike this year. In the underground hip-hop scene, she is known to speak her mind about gender inequality. Her collaborations Dekh with Yungsta and Seedhe Maut as well as Smoke featuring Shah RuLe and D’Evil are worth checking out. The youngster from Mumbai says, “India is anyway a patriarchal society. So, as an artiste also, women have to fight a bit more to be liberated. Apart from that, until two-three years ago, hip hop wasn’t even a profession for a lot of people. But because of Gully Boy, the industry is more open to collaborating with rappers for film songs.” Dee MC performs live frequently, raps for a few ad commercials and is currently in talks with web series.
4. SIRI NARAYAN
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Bullied as a kid because she was a tomboy, Siri Narayan took to rapping four years ago after listening to B.o.B by Nicki Minaj. Recently, Budweiser’s Be a King campaign had powerful rap portions by Siri along with DIVINE. The Bengaluru girl expresses herself in English, Hindi as well as Kannada. She says, “For me, rap is a mirror of myself, which I am most comfortable expressing in my mother tongue. I often make a commentary on society in my songs, but I have never let it command the way I express it.” Siri has a power anthem Tu Bas Naach, IPL’s RCB Anthem 646 and single Live It to her credit.
5. MC MANMEET KAUR
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The artiste, originally from Punjab, is regarded as the original femcee and the first woman underground hip-hop performer. She has come a long way, starting as a bedroom rapper at 13 (as a reaction to her movements in an orthodox family being restricted), kitchen rapper at about 22 to being a name to reckon with, who has performed in six cities across Europe. After an 11-track EP, Hip Hop Bahu, she dropped Neophilia. Like Sofia, MC Kaur also believes that we don’t need raging feminists but pacifiers.
6. ISH KAUR
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The Delhi girl is known as the gaint kudi after her track by the same title. She started at 13, too, when she was bullied at school and went on to join a hip-hop outfit, Gangster Soul. Ish (real name Ishita) often sings about being a woman in a man’s world and women’s empowerment. She has admitted to being mansplained as a female artiste and has made tracks such as a feminist rap song Pehlaa Vaar, Perfect Munda, Jazbaat and more.
7. KAURATAN
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Rapping in English, Hindi and Punjabi, Ratan Kaur aka Kauratan is a new-age star who broke into the scene in 2015 with her track Invasions. She has appeared alongside Sikander Kahlon, who is a big name in the underground hip-hop scenario. Bad Girl (with Punit and Kahlon) and Kaurageous (with Nakulogic) are her standout songs. She is known for gritty and raw lyrics.
8. GAYATRI NADAR AKA ICCYY FIRE
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If Gully Boy focussed on the story of two male rappers from the slums, Gayatri is their female counterpart. She is the sole girl rapper and beatboxer from the Dharavi Project. Inspired by 7BantaiZ and Dopeadelicz, it only took her a year to learn beatboxing and rapping when the guys said she couldn’t do it because she was a girl. The young artiste writes about being a stree in the male bastion of hip hop. Her first performance was at a hotel with Badshah.
