RAP IT UP | DEANE SEQUEIRA, RAPPER

Who says Eminem, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj don’t make good role models for teenagers? Deane Sequeira mapped out an entire career path in rap music because of them, and successfully so. “When I wrote my first rap song, my father made me work hard on it. And on my birthday, he told me he was taking me shopping but instead, as a surprise, took me to a studio to record it,” says the 17-year-old. That was her first single, Random, after which she was approached by several music producers from Bollywood to rap to their tunes. An arts student at St. Andrews College in Mumbai, Sequeira plans to complete her education and then take up music professionally. She also dreams of attending the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts or Trinity College in London one day and is determined to become a rap sensation globally. Locally, she feels there is a stigma associated with rappers and they are assumed to be “abusive”. “But I don’t abuse in my songs and I don’t think it should be practised,” Sequeira, who lent her voice to the title track of Bollywood hit Dhoom 3, says. While profanity in lyrics makes most women hesitant about entering the profession, she feels being one of the few female rappers in the country has its advantages. The rapper says the “huge demand and limited supply” dynamic works strongly in her favour. With hopes of releasing her own album in the near future, the young and spunky Sequeira is pursuing her passion with great fervour and it isn’t going to be a wrap for her anytime soon.