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 In this month's injection of our antidote to the algorithm into our subscriber's inboxes, Jennifer Lucy Allan guides us through the Medieval-inspired French folk revival, featuring Los Deu Lavarth (pictured) and the Gallic answer to Tangerine Dream In this month's antidote to the algorithm, Justyna Banaszczyk (whom regular tQ readers will know as the musician FOQL) guides us through summer woodlands and murky memory with a terrific selection of Polish contemporary experimental music, including Krolowczana Smuga, pictured below. As festival season approaches, writer, memoirist and founder of the Class Festival of literature Natasha Carthew looks back to the 1980s and reflects on the influence of the anarchic Elephant Fayre on her life and work. Images courtesy of Port Eliot / Michael BarrettFrom the Archive
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Low Culture Essay: Natasha Carthew on the Elephant Fayre
