India –
Dharavi has borne all sorts of notorious titles since the heydays of Mumbai city, but never did one imagine that a “Hip-Hop” movement will take birth here. DopeadelicZ, a documentary on the rise of the rappers Tony ‘Psycho’ Sebastien, Rajesh ‘Rac’ Radhakrishnan and Avinash ‘BenZ’ Benson, takes a dive into the labyrinths of Dharavi and digs out a a cross-cultural movement that promises to shake things up. On one hand you will find the typical ‘bambaiya tapori’ attitude being spouted out by most folks, but on the other hand, you have these hip-dressing, swag-carrying, pot-smoking, old-school hip-hoppers, huddled up in shady corners, spitting venom and wisdom alike with their freestyle cyphers.
Their presence is limited but their influence is growing day by day. Children are singing their tracks and hounding them fanatically, like one would expect with celebrities. Locals are singing their more popularly appeasing tracks like ‘Ganpati Bappa Moriyanu Sollu’ and ‘Aai Shapat Saaheb, Me Navhto’ which reflect the changing tastes and times of what was once the underbelly of the city. They may be shacked up in matchbox houses, but their intent and desire is so enormous that their music is now attracting listeners outside of Dharavi.
“If Honey Singh can make a track on four bottles of Vodka, then why can;t we drop a track – Four Joints a Day?” quips Psycho Tony. The desire to legalize marijuana is on top of their list of ‘things to rap about’. They detest drugs and alcohol, having seen its ill-effects in the society around them while growing up. Their belief is that marijuana is peaceful in comparison to any other intoxicant and recommend its usage over others (if one needs to use anything at all). But more than anything, it is their style and energy that is bringing them out on the forefront of the real ‘Indie’ scene.
