This is the final part of the three-part series on ‘how anti-caste rap and hip hop contribute to reclaiming mainstream cultural spaces for oppressed caste communities‘ as a part of the Justicemakers’ Writer’s Training Program, run in partnership with Agami and Ashoka’s Law For All Initiative. The first and third parts can be found here and here.
Anti-Caste Hip-Hop: A Tale of Culture and Representation
Over the past month, I have lost the count of times I obsessively listened to the ensemble of hip-hop legends performing at the Pepsi Super Bowl 2022.
More than anything, perhaps what was so hard-hitting was seeing so many black and politically conscious artists, taking charge of the culture and music industry. As I think of Black people and their struggles in America, my proximity to the caste question takes centre stage in my analysis of culture and hip-hop.
The Indian subcontinent is a melting pot of cultures, stories, folklores, performances, arts, and music; all of which represent the multitude of experiences as diverse as its population. However, due to the exploitative nature of the caste system and its pervasive gatekeeping of access and resources, the marginalised never got to present their culture and lifestyle as art. In this process of socio-cultural deprivation, the language, reality, lived experiences, and aspirations of the marginalised rarely find space in the popular or mainstream culture.
The Casteless Collective: Raising the Bar
For Indian hip-hop, it has taken a while to attempt the caste question, rather the artists from marginalised backgrounds themselves had to negotiate the space and affirm their identity.
The anti-caste musicians in hip-hop then not just sing but also challenge the ever-present stigma of caste – which can be considered the fruits of justicemaking.
One such changemaker has been The Casteless Collective (TCC), a hip-hop ensemble of Gaana artists from Chennai. Gaana is a musical art form originating from the ghettos of Vada Chennai (North Chennai), an area populated by Dalits, fishers, working-class communities, and ordinary people of Chennai. The Gaana musicians sing along to the beats of Parai and Satti Kattemolom; the instruments carry the stigma of death for they are used for playing at funerals and unfortunate events.
The musicians who sing and play them are considered impure and generally isolated from the mainstream. The Casteless Collective understand it, but they see this same music as a foundational source for conscience awakening, through which the community and masses can reimagine the ideals of social justice.
The founder of TCC, Pa Ranjith, says, “Gaana is to us what rap is for the African-American community; a music used to tell our stories”.
Psychologically, the beats of drum and Parai are constraining not because they are less potent than other instruments, but the mainstream aesthetic sensibilities shrouded by veils of casteism do not allow one to let loose and physically dance to them.
When so many symbols and events are sidelined by casteist preferences, showcasing their presence out in the open itself becomes a challenging manoeuvre.
One such imagination is Magizhchi, which in Tamil means pleasure or an aesthetic that cannot be expressed in any language, but only experienced and lived. The act of embracing Casteless-ness; which talks about love, joy, and pleasure amidst politically-charged sentiments offers liberating imagery.
Love is the real ‘Magizhchi’
Move on! Beyond your past
Forget, all you went through
Content is the real ‘Magizhchi’
‘Magizhchi ‘ will be our address
– Magizhchi | The Casteless Collective
The limits of our imagination hold us back, it is from such constraints that the anti-caste groups emerge, challenge the conscience, embrace the difference— and dare to make them mainstream! The Casteless Collective opened their first show in Chennai with the melody of these instruments put against the daring beats of hip-hop; they called it the ‘first call of revolution’!
It is also at the same stage; one witnessed Isaivani, a Dalit woman donning a blue suit, singing the Beef Song, dancing about its delicacy– in front of thousands of spectators, breaking everything that this regime fears. It was a visceral sight! This limitless imagination is necessary, it is only through the creation of such ecosystems one can create room to break the caste stigma and lay the foundation for liberation.
From Bhim Geete Then To Rap Now
For centuries, music has been at the centre of the marginalised people’s lives and experiences.
Phule used music in his Jalsas (a folk performance started in Maharashtra) in the 19th century to educate and awaken the masses from the shackles of ignorance.
After Babasaheb Ambedkar’s ideas and policies that shaped modern India, Bhim geete (Songs of Dalit rights, leaders) gained prominence that continue to be ever relevant. The rappers, these days, sample bhim geete with rap music.
By doing so, they transgress the linguistic and regional barriers. In the process, the saga of the Ambedkarite movement tries to make space for itself in the force that hip-hop stands for.
I met rapper Vipin Tatad. He tells me how bhim geete continues to shape the larger part of his memory and identity. “I figured hip-hop only in the latter part of schooling, it took a few more years to learn about rappers like Tupac and understand the history of hip-hop.
But bhim geete are part of everyone’s life in the community. I make rap so that it can resonate with a larger audience. I consider myself part of the same tradition; my values still align with the community,” he explains.
The rappers like Vipin, are incorporating new technology and production processes, in an attempt to present a fine blend of their history and politics with modern artistry.
The rappers have also taken on stereotypes that permeate our gaze; which more often than not stem from casteist prejudices. It is fashionable if the privileged do it, but very “Chhapri” or “Pullingo” when the lower strata try to emulate something new. That way, a person’s standing in a broken society is reduced to their hair colour or the style of clothes. Saurabh (100RBH) raps,
Aaya Samay Abhi Karne Ka Khwab
Pura Khelenge Banke Sabki Maut
Samjho Jo Chapri Badal Unki Soch
Tu Dikha Bin Chappal Ke Pairon Ka Khauf
To Aaja Ab Tak Ke Kiye Hamalya
Wo Itihas Ko Tu Badalne Jaa Raha
Ab Tak Ke Jo Log Dete The Galya
Sunna Hai Teko Wohi Hathon Se Talya
— Laat Maar, Jhund
(It says that the time has come to dream now, our youth will play to the fullest of their power, and anyone who downplays us by calling derogatory names will be humbled by our talent. For that, let’s all come together and rewrite our histories or rather make them anew. The same lot who curses us, one day will applaud us with the same mouth._
This new wave of anti-caste rappers does not believe in joyless political messaging. They are making conscious efforts to enter the culture that keeps pushing them down and fix it with their own grammar of the language that represents the life and ways of their world.
Sting Like A Butterfly, Float Like A …
In a podcast episode, Tenma, the producer of TCC, says, “As artists, it’s important to understand the social structure we are part of. Only then can one be honest to their art.”
Talking about the future of anti-caste spaces in music and elsewhere, they say, “We are still in the starting phase; it’s just the beginning. We are nowhere near the end goal, but you need to keep going. First of all, make sure your sides are sorted. Financially, you have to consider your interests, long term goals, and the idea of protest/ politics surrounding it. It is critical to keep listening to your conscience.”
Along similar lines, Vipin Tatad told me, “Protest songs will not pay for rent or roti. You have to keep doing everything else to stay afloat. There has to be a balance between protest music and entertainment.”
Recently, Vipin’s rap was featured in Nagraj Manjule’s Jhund movie. Another rapper I met (who wishes to be anonymous), echoes these sentiments and suggests that social media is a new marketplace. “To sustain ourselves, we have to evolve differently.” As these artists rap about social justice and identity politics, they are also exploring the commercial side of it.
Many of them do freelancing, take up individual projects, and find shows and gigs among other paid work. They aspire to start their own production houses that will encourage more people from the community to come out and join hands with them.
Roti, Kapda, Makaan Aur Internet
It is certain that the conversation on caste has attained some currency in the last few years, but it has a long way to go in achieving its true potential. The presence of awakened, conscious rappers provides hope.
The Dalit-Bahujan artists strive hard to create anti-caste public spaces, but at the same time, it is also upon the dominant caste groups with resources and opportunities to acknowledge the presence of the marginalised and create a conducive environment for equitable justice.
The true change and progress in society will only come when the masses act on their right sensibilities, culture or exchange of it shapes the momentum of a nation. The work of anti-caste rappers is one such attempt in creating a conscious society.