This new documentary sheds light on a rising style of hip-hop called gully rap

Its not DIVINE Its not Naezy either The two of them are undoubtedly instrumental in giving mainstream credence to gully rap a term that denotes the rhyming style that first emanated from the alleyways of Dharavi and Mahim But the story of hiphop in the city begins with crews like Dopeadelicz they imbibed their immediate surroundings and native lingo to produce indigenous content while at the same time appropriating Snoop Dogg 50 Cent and ilk And this was even before the calendar had turned to 2010Dopeadelicz in performanceBut lets be clear about the term hiphop first Yes its a genre of music More than that though its a lifestyle that its practitioners embody which finds a voice not just in the tracks they create but also in the streetstyle clothes they wear and wedontgivearatsaabouttheauthorities swagger they carry Take the example of Legalize It Its a track that Dopeadelicz released a video for in 2012 to announce their arrival in the scene And part of the lyrics are So Im dopin And I dont sniff cocaine THC is much safer than nicotine Clearly it was meant partly to cock a snook at the Mumbai Police the video too involves a cop chase where a pandu falls face first on the ground while the crew members give him the slipDIVINE at a showBut it was a song we made in 2014 that made us understand how influential rapping in Marathi can be because of the way it went viral among the community Its called Ai Shapath Saheb and deals with a policeman hauling a pot smoker up on the streets There have in fact been times in real life when some guys have rapped the lyrics before constables and been let off for exactly what the song addresses getting caught for smoking weed says Karan Amin who manages Dopeadelicz and is part of a panel discussion this weekend on the rise of gully rap which will follow a screening of Kya Bolta Bantai a new documentary directed by Naman Saraiya that traces the roots of the citys hiphop evolutionDharavis crews come together for a photo PicNaman SaraiyaStaying with 2014 it was also the year that corporate entities first discovered DIVINE and Naezy and things were never the same again DIVINE had actually been one of the earlier contemporaries of Dopeadelicz as part of a different crew called Mumbais Finest But then he collaborated individually with Naezy for a track named Mere Gully Mein And the game changed almost immediately I would say that one of the pivotal points in the rise of Indian hiphop was when DIVINE and Naezy were opening for Broda V a Bengalurubased rapper for a show in the city Broda V was signed on to Sony Music at the time and there were some executives from the label at the gig Saraiya tells us adding that when these suits saw the frenzy around them as the duo performed their breakthrough track they realised that they had hit the sort of hiphop jackpot that would give their profits a fillipNaman Saraiya PicKeegan CrastoNow things have come to a place where even Bollywood that ultimate barometer of mainstream culture in the country is coopting gully rap to suit its purpose Dopeadelicz were part of the recent Rajinikanth starrer Kaala based in the slums of Dharavi And early next year Zoya Akhtar will release Gully Boy a film that revolves entirely on the rise and rise of hiphop in Mumbai What does that mean for the evolution of the genre in this country People say that 2018 was the year that hiphop found serious legitimacy in India Id say wait for 2019 Saraiya suggestsKaran AminBut amidst that note of anticipation he also adds a word of caution Hiphop lets never forget is a lifestyle And the allure of corporate riches can sully the very ethos on which it was built So it needs the right sort of handholding We need the right producers to work in tandem with the rappers to create a truly international feel he says meaning in other words that the world is out there And for Mumbais rappers to find their place under the sun its time they started thinking beyond their gulliesON July 6 530 pmAT Godrej India Culture Lab Pirojshanagar Vikhroli EastCALL 25188010