A list of the best Indian music to bring out the revolutionary in you
Will there be singing in the dark times? Yes, there will be singing about the dark times. Right on the heels of republic day, here are 10 songs from across India that catch the mood of the nation right now. From Aamir Aziz, the poet who has suddenly found himself in the center of the spotlight for his evocative words, to Delhi Sultanate X Seedhe Maut’s war cry against the rising Hindutva agenda, to Mejied Thangkhiew who was spotted on the top of a van rapping his song Rise in Meghalaya in December, this music list is a testimony to the fact that whenever times get dark, people turn to music to tide them over.
Acche Din Blues- Aamir Aziz
‘In the noise that surrounds us, we are often unable to hear the screams from the depths and corners of our country. Or more scarily, we don’t want to.’ That’s what ex-Jamia Millia Islamia student Aamir Aziz has to say regarding his 2017 song Acche Din Blues. With Aziz’s poetry and mellow guitaring, the song makes us question the fact on how the ruling government continues to give us acche din, but are we really getting these good days?
Wapas Jao (Bella Ciao cover)- Poojan Sahil
Bella Ciao is a classic Italian song, made popular by the Netflix series La Casa Del Papel. Poojan Sahil’s rendition of this called Wapas Jao is gaining popularity in Delhi’s protests against CAA, and the recent JNU violence. Composed on the guitar, Poojan’s vocals have a soothing yet haunting sound, giving one the optimism that the power of youth is getting stronger but also the dark realities of the state-sponsored violence which is still happening in the country.
Scalp Dem- Delhi Sultanate and Seedhe Maut
Delhi Sultanate aka Tarun Dalmia and his band The Ska Vengers is reputed in the independent music scene for bringing up the oppression of tribals and other communities by the state. However, with verses from Seedhe Maut and elaborate cover art for the single by Mumbai-based artist Priyanka Paul, Scalp Dem gave off the vibe of a necessary war cry. A war cry that would educate more and more privileged post-millennials about the rising wave of Hindutva extremism under the current government.
Xabhodan- J’97
Early on in 2019, Assamese-English rapper J’97 had dropped a song called Xabhodan (the Assamese word roughly translates to ‘beware’) against the NRC and its effects on Assam. This song was released way before the NRC and CAA entered the mainstream news narrative. Hence, J’97’s song came as a warning signal, as a red alert for the days to come in north-east. The song samples Kanye West’s Saint Pablo and has a haunting video featuring the rapper tied-up in a dimly lit room, awaiting torture.
Tukde Tukde Gang- Madara
Madara has been penning satirical anti-government songs for quite some time but his Tukde Tukde Gang which blew up his listener-base (raking up nearly half a million views on his YouTube). In this rap song, Madara contemplates on the phrase Tukde Tukde Gang. It’s commonly used by the government and biased media houses to describe dissenting students who are apparently breaking up the country into pieces. But in his hook, Madara instead puts the sobriquet on the government instead, saying, that they’re the real tukde tukde gang and are carrying on Nathuram Godse’s legacy in the guise of chowkidaars!
Andolan- Naqaab 47 X Shoals
‘I had no plans of being this blunt about political issues in my music but at a time like this, it just happened organically…We just came together to express ourselves the only way we know how to.’ says, Delhi-based Naqaab 47 who released a track called Andolan, produced by electronica duo Shoals. Instead of appropriating the struggles of the ones actually suffering in the saffron regime, Naqaab says that he ‘simply mirrored the sentiments that a lot of people were feeling at the time and are still going through. The song basically wrote itself.’
Kuch Bacche- Ashant Anu
Kuch Bacche by Ashant Anu, a DU student/battle rapper, is an ode to all the protesting students who were detained, or who have faced the brunt of violence by the police or right-wing student collectives. Like many other recent protest songs, its video is made of recorded footage from the protests. ‘Kuch bacche mere desh ke bas padna chahte the. Kuch bacche mere desh ke na ladna jaante the.’ Ashant Anu, croons in the chorus.
Signs of the Times – Mu’Azzam Bhat
Apart from Ahmer, Mu’Azzam Bhat has been a vocal voice from Kashmiri rap. An iconic song representing the struggles of living in Kashmir under lockdowns and curfews, it dropped two years back on October 27 (the date when Kashmir was acceded to India). Mu’Azzam also hopes for a plebiscite for Kashmir in the end. But, we all know how the tables turned later.
Krantikaari- Park Circus
A hip-hop trio from Kolkata, Krantikaari is in the vein of most of the other songs mentioned here with rants of dissent disguised as raps and a protest footage-video. But it’s the sound which sets it apart, as it incorporates a little funk too. What is interesting is that there’s actually a large-scale woman protest happening in Park Circus (the area in Kolkata after which the group is named), similar to the women-led satyagrahas and protests in Assam and Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh.
Rise- Mejied Thangkiew
As the state of Meghalaya rose up to protest in the streets in December, rapper Mejied Thanghkiew was spotted in on the top of a van rapping his song Rise. A Khasi hip-hop tune with influences of reggae, it is a part of Meijed’s upcoming EP Awakening. His lines echo the importance of youth-driven criticisms to biased policy-makers and simply lamenting on injustice isn’t enough.
You can also listen to the complete playlist on Youtube.
Compiled for sbcltr by Dalai Thapa
