HYDERABAD: There has been no dearth of entertainment online while we all stayed locked up in our homes. To add to the list is a new music video released on June 3 by Hyderabad-based Rahul Allam a.k.a Kid Move and UK underground Hip Hop artist, McSolomon. Both have come together for a cross-continental Telugu rap/Drum and Bass single ‘Maskuleysukuntaru’. The foot-tapping, heavy-duty beat, turn-up-your-volume independent song which is a good over six minutes long, is both in Telugu and English.
‘Maskuleysukuntaru, gola gola chestaru’ (they wear masks, and make a fuss about it) is a satirical commentary on human hypocrisy and apathy while dealing with issues involving climate change. Rahul explains, “The song contests the authenticity of human virtue by showing examples of our habits and practices that display our double standards describing them as the many ‘masks’ we wear, with a little nudge towards introspection at the end of the song.”
The song was also featured by Bobby Friction on his show ‘New Global Desi Beats’ on BBC Asian Network & BBC Sounds, where he called it: “One of the most glorious and weirdest hip hop/rap tunes I’ve ever played on my show. Don’t believe me?, let this infect your brain, I promise you, you will be moved.”
Rahul reckons the song is “groundbreaking”, as, “It is a first-of-its-kind multilingual collaboration that blends elements of Telugu rap and UK hip hop, with heavy bass genres like drum and bass/jungle and Indian instruments.”
Rahul, 33, who is an MA in music production from Leeds College Of Music and is a popular DJ has written, produced music, and sung the Telugu portions of the song, while MCSolomon wrote and performed the English part in the UK. On the collaboration, Rahul says, “I love collabs, which led me to decide to involve someone amazing alongside my vocals. We knew what we were going for right from the beginning. We finished the lyrics in two hours and I then constructed the beat. It was definitely challenging maintaining balance between western beats and Telugu vocals, and still make sense.”
The song was recorded in Akshaya Recording Studios in October last year and the video was ready in February. Conceptualised and produced before the pandemic, “the coincidence of our new normal (wearing masks), the gas leaks in Vizag and Assam, the recent animal cruelty incidents, are some of the events spoken of in the song,” says he. Rahul adds, “I mean ‘Maskuleysukuntaru’ is what everyone is doing right now. It’s not only about making songs but releasing them at the right time is crucial.”
The portions of the pragmatic video shot in Hyderabad is directed by Amarmitra and cinematography is by Vamshidhar. “We set up a room with animal heads to show how people kill animals and use their body parts as decorative pieces, then a plastic wrap on a girl’s face to depict how people are suffocating with plastic, and masks to show different faces of people,” says Vamshidhar.
As the song becomes popular, Rahul all geared up to release two more singles says, “It’s overwhelming. It pushes the idea of nonconforming audio/video content to mainstream audiences showcasing new age Telugu sounds to the international underground music community.”
— Tamanna S Mehdi
tamanna@newindianexpress.com @tamannamehdi