23: Anatomy of Rap with SIRI

Today we have a multilingual Kannada rapper SIRI with us on Audiogyan. She is re-enforcing the beauty of being part of a country, that is home to vareity of, different dailects and tunes. SIRI's music has already earned her a significant fan following down south of India. Having impressive flow in rap with English and Kannada, she has also experimented with Hindi and Telugu. SIRI writes, directs, produces and edits her music videos. She is from Bangalore. Today we are here to try and understand anatomy of "rap" as an artform and some insights into the world of Indian Rap community.

Thank you SIRI for giving your time and it's a real pleasure to have you on Audiogyan.

Before we being, i wish to tell the 2 things to my listeners.

This episode is on the backdrop of SIRI and Sez On The Beat’s new track "My Jam" with Artist Originals, JioSaavn’s independent label for South Asian artists.

Second, excuse me for my limited knowdlege on Rap and any naive questions in the flow. My exposure to Rap has been Baba Sehgal, Apache Indian and most recetntly Gully Boy. So bare with it.

Can you start by telling us about contruction of a rap song? Meter, Lyrics, tune, 4 beat, 6 or 8 beat cycle? theme, series, individual track etc...? How are these written, composed and produced?

What is Proto rap? are there any other sub genre and more forms within rap?

Can you share any insights about why there is so much influecne of hiphop on rap. What could be the reasons? Hiphop is about beats and rythm. Was poetry missing in the same vibe which lead to origin of Rap?

How long or short, can be a rap song? What is this format linked to? For eg: Jazz was the song of the oppressed and etc...

Is this form of music / poetry / lyrics seems to be impromptu? How does it qualify to be a form of literature if it's so volatile and made on-the-spot?

Do you have any mukhda kind of a thing in original rap? Something which keeps repeating in intervals? What is the reason for it? If you can share some examples. For a lay man like me, "My Jam" is the maximum exposure. :)

Whats the scene of Rap in South India? Any patterns / observations? With growing supression in India and rest of the world do you think Rap is on it's rising cycle?