BENGALURU : During the second half of 2019, when a ban on live music came into effect for a short period, a graffiti artist left a message on a wall on Church Street. It read: F*** the live music ban. During that time in the city, many artists had raised their voices against the ban and among them was a collective of hip-hop artists who decided to hold a cypher session opposite that defiant wall. The beat was laid out on the streets for all to hear and the rappers took turns to express their thoughts in a way that agreed with the beat. “The authorities erased the word “f***” without addressing the issue. That angered us and we did a protest cypher there,” says rapper Pasha Bhai.
Cyphers have been a predominant aspect of hip-hop culture in cities in the world that had a hip-hop scene. “A cypher is a jamming session where hip-hop artists come together and showcase their skills. The artists can be rappers, beatboxers, producers, and B-Boys, who breakdance. It is open to anybody wanting to perform and happens in public spaces,” says rapper AgaahiRaahi.
In Bengaluru, one of the major platforms hosting cyphers, goes by the name Wanandaf, the city’s longest-running hip-hop movement. While many collectives had started cyphers in the last few years, the Wanandaf cyphers were the only ones that stood the test of time and brought the hip-hop community together. Some cyphers had as many as 250 participants. In 2019, rapper AKX, after observing the evolution of the hip-hop scene in Delhi and Mumbai, organised a rap event, Wanandaf’s inaugural cypher, to bring the artistes together. Since then, the group consistently held cyphers almost every week on a Sunday until the 2020 pandemic. Much of these cyphers were held in open spaces like Lalbagh, Cubbon Park and the Indiranagar Basketball Club.
However, as the cyphers picked up steam, the pandemic struck. Like most global communities, the Bengaluru hip-hop scene was also adversely affected, and cyphers ceased to exist. But as of August ’22, the Wanandaf cyphers are back with their most recent cypher held on Sunday. “Before we started hosting cyphers regularly, we implemented a few rules. You weren’t allowed to use the ‘N-word’ and other casteist or racial slurs. Secondly, there is no language barrier,” says AKX.
The idea behind it, according to AgaahiRaahi is to replicate the inclusivity of Bengaluru. “A very diverse group of people reside in this city and multiple languages are spoken. People from all parts of the country stay here and we wanted everyone to feel welcome,”he says.
Circle Tone, a music producer, feels making beats for a cypher varies from studio work. “I feel there are elements of showboating in a cypher. You want to impress the people there but also not make the beat too tough to rap on,” says Circle Tone.
The Wanandaf cyphers have been instrumental in developing the skill set of many rappers in this city. Some rappers who were regulars in the 2019 cyphers have now gone on to release music professionally. One such rapper is Wolf Cryman. After releasing music independently, he has over 7,000 monthly
listeners on Spotify. “I had never performed rap before I went for the cypher. I had been writing music and
my verses for many years at this point. I found out about the cypher on their Instagram account,” says Cryman.