The Desi hip hop scene has seen immense growth since the turn of the century, with heavy hitters like Bohemia responsible for bringing South Asian rap into the mainstream. Hip hop culture has worked its way into the consciousness of major cities like Delhi and Mumbai but until the past decade or so, the genre has remained largely male-dominated. Thanks to the influence of subgenres in the US and the wider dissemination of hip hop via digital media, however, South Asian women have gradually found their way in and through their skilful fusion of languages, melodies and tones from the diaspora, they’ve cemented their position as some of the scene’s most exciting innovators. Though at home and abroad, stereotypes relating to South Asian women as Bollywood starlets and nothing more prevail, there are a select few that are fighting against such labels with their confident and hyper-localised styles and strong feminist messaging.
We’re lucky to live in a time of immense talent here in the UK, as far as women in hip hop, grime and drill are concerned. In the US, early pioneers like Roxanne Shante and Queen Latifah helped open the door for present-day chart-toppers like Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. But in the 50th anniversary year of hip hop, in countries all over the world, women are organising, making noise, and bypassing gatekeepers to ensure that the next 50 years isn’t solely about the men. This edition of Organic Intelligence provides a spotlight on women in the South Asian diaspora who are defying expectations as rappers and making their voices heard across borders.
Listen to the music from this month’s Organic Intelligence via Spotify, Tidal and
With the debate over #OscarsSoWhite coming to a head, it seems apt to remember that "diversity" isn’t about tokenism for its own sake. Through her experiences as a British South Asian, Tara Joshi considers the importance of representing non-stereotyped ethnic minorities in media, and why UK broadcasting needs to cop on It's back nearly a quarter century in this month's antidote to the algorithm as Luke Turner revisits the heady Monday nights at Trash, where the arch and exotic rhythms and deadpan chat of electroclash soundtracked cheap booze and rent of early 21st century London In this month’s antidote to the algorithm, Mat Colegate goes deep into the bloody realm of Italian schlock scores – Goblin! Libra! Daniele Pattuchi! The soundtrack to that film about PCP maddened animals attacking Frankfurt! Ray Aggs speaks to Zara Hedderman about the music created during their Samarbeta residency earlier this year, exploring their relationship with folk music as a person of colour, and released exclusively to tQ subscribers today. Plus, exclusive footage documenting its process, courtesy of Low Four In this month’s essay, Stephanie Phillips reflects on the 1998 lo-fi, art pop album Julie Ruin, in which riot grrrl veteran Kathleen Hanna reaffirms her position in feminist art, while creating the building blocks for a dance punk future It's back nearly a quarter century in this month's antidote to the algorithm as Luke Turner revisits the heady Monday nights at Trash, where the arch and exotic rhythms and deadpan chat of electroclash soundtracked cheap booze and rent of early 21st century London In this month’s podcast, Luke Turner and John Doran sing the praises of this collection of songs both original and covers, from Grace Jones’ artistic imperial phase, recorded at Nassau's Compass Point Studios in the early 1980s In this month's essay, Skye Butchard remembers their dad's collection of cassettes on which he recorded the 1981 radio version of Tolkien's classic to reflect on memory, archiving, and how familial relationships and loss are intrinsically bound up with the culture we share. In this month’s antidote to the algorithm, Mat Colegate goes deep into the bloody realm of Italian schlock scores – Goblin! Libra! Daniele Pattuchi! The soundtrack to that film about PCP maddened animals attacking Frankfurt! Half a century after the release of one of the all-time great live albums, John Doran argues that the Velvet Underground only really hit their true peak after they lost Nico, Warhol and Cale. This feature was first published on 2 April 2020From the Archive
No Longer Outsiders? On South Asian Representation In UK Culture
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