Queen of the verse
The independent Tamil rap circuit nds its female voice as young women rappers experiment with strong verses, and quirky concepts
The frame is whimsical. Mrs Go and Debbie Pari, two independent Tamil women rappers, sit on an ornate throne as the beat builds up. Their gaze is erce.
‘Showtime’, their rst single together, is a statement wrapped in snappy beats with a visual language that merits multiple re-watches.
The quirky video shows Mrs Go, her toddler in tow, rapping in a pristine white saree: “Chinna sirupazhagi/ iduppu karuppu nerathazhagi/ echil mutham kodutha thai-ku nan per azhagi”. Aself introduction, perhaps? Debbie Pari joins in with her signature phrase, “I’m the G.O.A.T. Vechiko, Debbie Pari vandha show.” The comment section overows with praise for the women.
The growing Tamil rap circuit now has a powerful feminine voice as more women artistes are making waves with strong writing and unique ideas. While Tamil contemporary rap has seen success more recently with exposure in mainstream cinema, homegrown women artistes are still a minority. However, a new crop of young women are on the rise as music producers welcome their talent with open arms.
“For the longest time, we only heard the man’s point of view. That is de nitely changing,” con rms Navz-47, of ‘Neeye Oli’ fame.
Words that matter
North Chennai has birthed many Tamil hip hop artistes in the past. Rubini Gopinath aka Mrs Go is no dierent. She rapped in 2015 with a poem she had written while studying at Ethiraj College for Women. “I had no idea what rap meant until then,” she says.
In 2018, she collaborated with fellow indie rappers Asal Kolaar and VC Rapper for her rst single ‘En Kathai’, depicting their diering points of view on life in North Chennai.
A few years in, she met MC Go, a rap artiste and later married him. “Only after we got married, did we realise that we are the rst rap couple in India,” she says. In more recent outings, Mrs Go’s USP has been her toddler who often appears in her videos. Donning a silk sari and bright red headphones, child in hand, she often appears behind potti kadais (petty shops). “Bringing my baby into this was not a planned move but I felt it’s important to show that despite being a mother, I am able to pursue my career,” she says.
As far as signatures go, Deborah Sharon aka Debbie Pari who is currently based in Toronto, Canada, puts her feminine identity at the centre of her writing. Debbie attributes her pro ciency of the language to the time spent in parish choir groups as a child.
Though Blaaze was a sure inspiration, the artistes that really shook her — in class VIII — were Yogi B and Natchatra. “I used to adlib with the boys in class!” she says. “Being a literature student, women’s writing took a hold of me while in college, especially Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman. These texts pushed me towards thinking about getting our own voices out,” says Debbie. That is when she started listening to hip hop. “My outlook towards the world changed. Why do we get an education if the expectation is to remain boxed in as women? This was a central question.”
In 2018, when she was oered an opportunity to rap a ghost-written verse, she turned it down and decided to write her own. Her rst song followed in 2018. Her rst extended play (EP) will be released this month.
It is not news that self expression forms the cornerstone of this medium. Sabreen Salahudeen, a fairly new entrant in the scene, credits the genre’s instant draw to its scope for individual expression. A 23-year-old single mother, Sabreen nds the format, and the writing process deeply cathartic. For instance, her track ‘Thaai’ taps into the nitty-gritties of the subconscious guilt that a young mother carries.
Despite being a Malayali who was born and raised in
Chennai, she nds comfort in writing and rapping in Tamil. “Coming from a middle-class family, I always thought I wasn’t privileged enough until I saw the other side of the majority. The realisation that I am in fact very privileged pushed me to write about the socio-political realities around me as an individual,” she says. Sabreen admits that her political awareness has always been half-cooked. “Not just mine, but my friends’ too. We never cared enough to try and understand what’s happening around us. But we need to change that, we are the ones who need to question, right?” says the rapper.
A sense of belonging
For the Tamil diaspora spread across the country, a personal medium like rap, is also about nding a reliable community in unfamiliar soil. After every club performance, Navz-47 aka Naveeni Athanasius Philips’s inbox is lled with messages from young girls.
“Lot of Tamil girls in their 30s come to my show and most often, that’s their rst time clubbing. In the diaspora Tamil community, a lot of women were taught to suppress in terms of the way they dress or conduct themselves. Many girls were hence suppressing their feelings,” says Navz. They call her
akka, she says.
While most seek advice on how to enter the foreign rap circuit as a young South Asian woman, many are pleasantly surprised at the popularity that a Tamil, female voice has gained on a global level.
British-Tamil musician M.I.A did it rst, Navz reminds us. “My brother told me to tap into Tupac, Diggy [Simmons] and Nas and when I discovered M.I.A, it all started making sense to me. Because, growing up, I didn’t see women like me in the mainstream. To see M.I.A owning up to her identity and craft really inspired me.”
Born in Sri Lanka, Navz moved to Canada with her family to escape the Civil War, and what followed was a rude culture shock. “I started mourning the loss of my identity. Music came in as a form of a savior in my teenage years,” she says. In 2017, she released her rst song with AMU. Her new album titled Fresh o the Boat documenting the journey of a ‘FOB’, a derogatory term often used to refer to immigrants, is dropping this June.
Back home, Mrs Go has been spearheading a quieter community through her social media by inviting novice women rappers to join hands for an upcoming project. “If we host a rap battle now, easily 200 male rappers would show up.
That’s sadly not the case for women,” she adds. “A lot of women have been reaching out via social media, especially since 2021.
Almost all of them want to start but don’t know how.” While speci c details are not chalked out as yet, the idea is to foster a physical community that Chennai currently lacks.
This would mean events, ciphers and regular community meet-ups. “When they start seeing the sheer interest the format has, they will be more con dent. A lot of them are scared of what others would say,” adds Mrs Go.
And so, it only makes sense that women choose the medium of rap to make a statement out of this fear. There is nothing a beat, metre and verse can’t do.
In the diaspora Tamil community, a lot of women were taught to suppress in terms of the way they dress or conduct themselves. Many girls were hence suppressing their feelings
NAVZ-47, RAPPER