Page 35 - Rolling Stone - India (December 2019)

1. A MÉLANGE OF
AESTHETICALLY
PLEASING ART, VIBES AND
ACTIVATIONS
When walking into Mumbai’s Famous Studios last
month for Haq Se Hindustan, you couldn’t miss
the activation zone filled with some stellar art de-
signed by graffiti artist Prathmesh Gurav aka Zake.
The art on display were like snapshots of the mood
for the evening — neon paint and sharp designs.
The zone turned into a prime spot for photo ops,
catching up with folks and talking about all things
hip-hop as well as a place where some known
figures such as music journalist Amit Gurbaxani,
musician Sidd Coutto, comedian Abish Mathew
and more gave their thoughts on the event.
2. ALL FOR ONE AND ONE
FOR ALL
Host for the evening, RJ Rohini Ramnathan,
brought to light the fact that the Haq Se Hindustan
concert ticked all the boxes of hip-hop — rapping,
Host RJ Rohini
Ramnathan b-boying, beatboxing, DJing and graffiti. Not only
addressing the were all the bases covered but there was also plenty
crowd at Haq of diversity within the broad categories on show,
Se Hindustan.
with a lineup that featured artists from seven cities
spitting bars in nine languages. Several rappers on
the bill also spoke about how hip-hop and music
have no language barriers and that it brings people
together no matter where they come from.
3. THE DHARAVI DREAM
PROJECT BROUGHT THEIR
A-GAME
One of the best representatives of how multicul-
tural and binding hip-hop can be, The Dharavi
Dream Project made an unforgettable mark at
Haq Se Hindustan. As the performers opening the
concert, rappers, beatboxers and DJs showed off
their recently honed skills with total passion, with
MCs Younglord, Siddhu and Sky changing the
mood instantly with their “Haq Se Anthem” about
the need for women empowerment. The grassroots
showcase spilled over to the rest of the night, with
their dance crews – from under 10s to teens –
Artists from The matching moves to everyone on the lineup.
Dharavi Dream
Project performing 4. GUBBI AND HEAM SHARE
at Haq Se Hindustan.
THEIR SPOTLIGHT WITH
NEW TALENT
Repping Karnataka at Haq Se Hindustan was
Bengaluru’s seasoned voice Gubbi, who put
forward old and new material during his set in
English and Kannada. The rapper took some time
to warm up but the crowd was on the same page
throughout, chanting along Kannada and English
hooks at his Mumbai debut. Meanwhile, MC
Heam aka Hemant Dhyani was hyping the Dhar-
avi Dream Project’s opening set and unleashed
a whole new beast version of himself during his
performance, taking aim at TikTok rappers and
uncles and aunties alike.
Both rappers were keen to use their stage time
to highlight new talent – Gubbi (joined by DJ
Panic) had his latest collaborator, rapper-singer
Madhura Gowda aka MG join and even sing her
own song, while Heam shared space with rapper
Void and even called back the Dharavi Dream Pro-
Bengaluru
rapper Gubbi ject B-boys for his unreleased song “Hardcore.”
spitting bars
at Haq Se.
December 2019 | Rolling Stone India | 37