Hip-hop and the Pandemic: Top Songs that Educate and Pay Tribute
Updated On: 24 November, 2020 08:21 AM IST | Shunashir Sen
A bunch of Indian hip-hop tracks are centred on the pandemic, urging people to stay safe. We pick the best four
Knowledge is one of the five essential elements of the hip-hop philosophy, and that's the aspect that a bunch of Indian hip-hop artistes focused on while creating songs centred on the pandemic. We pick four of the best tracks that spread the message of how it's not just important to play by the rules, but also acknowledge others who are putting their own lives on the line to help people in need.
Easy does it
It's pretty simple. Wash your hands, wear a mask, work from home if you can, and maintain social distancing when surrounded by people. There's no need to be brazen or foolhardy about these basic safety measures. If you are, more fool you, says Stay home, stay safe, a track that Ace (above, in pic), founder of veteran hip-hop crew Mumbai's Finest, created during the lockdown. "We primarily wanted to educate people; hip-hop has always been a tool for that," he says, adding that the entire track was made at home, since studios were out of commission during the lockdown.
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A rap salute
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On one hand, there are people who are at risk of contracting the infection. On the other, there are people who are putting their own lives at risk to ensure the betterment of human society. Rapper Divine's track called Salaam is a tribute to the latter group. Let's raise a toast for frontline workers with this song.
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Building immunity
Those who contract COVID-19 before an effective vaccine is discovered are left at the mercy of their immune system. It's only logical then that we eat right and sleep well so that we can do whatever we can to ward off this inexplicable ailment. That's what Mahamari by Mumbai-based collective Swadesi stresses on. Significantly, the track also stresses on how we shouldn't fall prey to fear-mongering. "Fear is the first virus that humans ever contracted. It's an illness in itself," says Aklesh Sutar aka MC Mawali from the group. He adds that one of his biggest problems with this pandemic period was how many people tried to make a business out of others' misery, be it private
organisations or the governing authorities. The lyrics in the track constitute unabashed potshots based on this inference.
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Starry effort
Dharavi hit international headlines starting in the month of July when there was a noticeable spike in the number of cases in the neighbourhood. That's the time when three rap groups from the area — Dopeadelicz, 7Bantai'Z and MC Altaf — made a track called Stay home, stay home, which advocates what the title says. Bollywood starts including Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Suniel Shetty and Dia Mirza endorsed the track, agreeing to appear in the video for it. The trilingual track features Hindi (MC Altaf), Marathi (7Bantai'Z) and Tamil (Dopeadelicz) lyrics. The words highlight how important is to follow some basic protocols that experts including doctors and the World Health Organisation are advising.
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