The decades-long evolution of rap music in India
Influential hip-hop blogger and music exec Navjosh Singh gives an overview of the rise of Indian rap
In honour of hip-hop's 50th anniversary, Commotion has been looking at hip-hop's history here in Canada and in other places across the world.
On today's show, guest host Amil Niazi speaks with HipHop-N-More website founder and Mass Appeal India exec Navjosh Singh about India's rap history, and where the industry is headed next in South Asia.
We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.
Amil: Let's talk about Pakistani-American rapper Bohemia and his role in rap music's rise in India.
Navjosh: When Bohemia was starting to create some buzz back in California, it was such an interesting case because he was a Pakistani rapper rapping in Punjabi over very, very traditional hip-hop sound influenced by both West Coast and East Coast music. And when he was creating a buzz in California, that was like the start of the Internet era in India. That was so impactful; I remember listening to Bohemia for the first time.
I was in college, and I think I downloaded a couple of songs through LimeWire back in the day. I heard a couple of songs and I couldn't believe it…. This is really the hip-hop that I listen to from North American artists — but he was really rapping in Punjabi. I've never heard anything like this. So his popularity gave belief and strength to a lot of the artists who were trying to do hip-hop, but in English language. It made them believe we could actually have some kind of success and some kind of listenership if we rap in our own language — in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu or Malayali, whatever it is. So his movement is a very, very crucial part of India's hip-hop history.
Amil: I love it. And of course, we can't talk about big moments from within the Indian hip-hop diaspora without [talking about] Beware of the Boys, a remix of U.K.-born-and-raised Panjabi MC's song featuring Jay-Z. As a brown kid who grew up listening to a lot of hip-hop, to see someone like him blow up, it felt like a huge deal. How big of a deal was this record?
WATCH | Official music video for Beware feat. Jay-Z:
Navjosh: This was such a huge moment in the South Asian music scene because this song was so big not just in India or the U.K. or the U.S.A. — this was such a big song worldwide. Jay-Z actually heard the song for the first time in Switzerland, I think in a club somewhere, and he was like, "What is that?" Because the sound — the Knight Rider sample and the tumbi on it — it's just such an impactful song. So this really opened the door for a lot of them that came afterward, because it put Punjabi Bhangra music on the map.
A lot of people got very intrigued with the sound, and then obviously started to experiment in their own music back in the States. Timbaland, Dr. Dre and all these guys really helped usher in a big movement. It is still considered such a staple moment in our culture. I'm in regular meetings where they all reference the song like, "How could we have another song as big as Mundian To Bach Ke?" The song just shut everything down.
Amil: So, fast forward to the present. You're a music exec at the indie label Mass Appeal, co-founded by legendary U.S. rap artist Nas. You work specifically for Mass Appeal India as their head of A&R. So when you're looking at India's rap music industry, what do you think is the biggest hurdle for those artists and for this industry today?
Navjosh: I think overall, the Indian hip-hop scene is in a good place, but there's a big gap between the top-level rappers and the rappers who are coming up in the game right now. I think that has gotten harder. I think we need to figure out a way to get that gap closer and make more up-and-coming artists into stars so that they can have a sustainable career. The second hurdle, I think, would be there's a little bit of a lack of songwriting in the space…. I feel the same way when I deal with the American industry as well.
Amil: Let's talk about what you're excited about as you look ahead to rap's future in India. What is making you feel the way you felt when you first heard the music that sort of moved you to get involved in this world?
Navjosh: I'm very excited about the growth of the genre in India and South Asia. I'm very excited about the several subgenres within hip-hop growing — you have a bit of conscious style, you have alternative style, you have commercial club music, you have music which represents the street. You have a lot of rappers who are trying out melodic stuff, almost trying to be singers. So I think the several subgenres within hip-hop are very exciting right now.
Also, a lot of different languages. There's regions around the country that are growing at a very rapid pace right now. The South is growing very, very quick. In fact, just at Mass Appeal India, we've done deals recently with three Malayali rappers from the South because they've been so good at generating streams and cultivating a fanbase. So I'm very, very excited about the different languages away from just the typical Hindi and Punjabi languages, that those are coming up. That really helps the whole music economy grow, and more artists can have a sustainable career. It's a very good time, with the reach that streaming has, for people to experiment. It gives them belief that they can do it too, even if Hindi is not their first language. They can do it in their own native language and still make a mark.
You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.
For more stories about the 50th anniversary of hip-hop — including Tom Power's conversations with some of the artists who witnessed and shaped the genre — check out Hip-Hop at 50 here.
Interview with Navjosh Singh produced by Ty Callender.