{"id":10995,"date":"2017-04-25T08:51:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T08:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2017\/04\/25\/a-new-generation-of-kashmir-rappers-vents-its-rage-in-the-valley\/"},"modified":"2017-04-25T08:51:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T08:51:00","slug":"a-new-generation-of-kashmir-rappers-vents-its-rage-in-the-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/a-new-generation-of-kashmir-rappers-vents-its-rage-in-the-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Generation Of Kashmir Rappers Vents Its Rage In The Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Julie McCarthy<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\n
Enlarge this image<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Guitarist Ali Saifudin (right) collaborates with local rapper Mu’Azzam Bhat.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Syed Shahriyar<\/p>\n

<\/b>hide caption<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

toggle caption<\/b><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Syed Shahriyar<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rap music has found an outlet in Kashmir, the border state between India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n

The Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley, tucked in the Himalayas, might not seem the most likely venue for this music. But Roushan Illahi, Kashmir’s leading rapper, says the guns, soldiers and protracted conflict provide the “street reality” that hip-hop is meant to capture.<\/p>\n

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the territory, which bristles with Indian security forces. For months, Kashmiris have come out in the thousands, shedding their fear of batons and bullets. The simmering anger that has burst to the surface has also been expressed in music.<\/p>\n

The song “Dead Eyes<\/a>” addresses the eye injuries that thousands of Kashmiris sustained in the past year, when security patrols fired pellet guns during anti-military demonstrations:<\/p>\n

\n
\n

In the broad daylight I got blind<\/em>
To light darkness, I will abide<\/em>
I will pelt stones against innocent felony<\/em>
Yeah, I lost my eyes while fighting tyranny<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Aamir Ame, 23, co-wrote the track with two other budding rappers. He says it was his “first political song, an example of survival.” Released Jan. 26 on the occasion of India’s 68th Republic Day, it went viral.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
Enlarge this image<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Aamir Ame co-wrote the viral hit “Dead Eye,” a tribute to Kashmiris whose eyesight was damaged by pellet guns used by security forces to quell demonstrations. He calls it his first “political” song.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Syed Shahriyar<\/p>\n

<\/b>hide caption<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

toggle caption<\/b><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Syed Shahriyar<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Illahi, whose stage name is MC Kash, understands the appeal. At 27, this brooding son of a poet is credited with ushering rap into the Valley with the song “I Protest,” which pulsates with defiance:<\/p>\n

\n
\n

I protest!
<\/em>Against the things you’ve done
<\/em>I protest!
<\/em>For a mother who lost her son
<\/em>I protest!
<\/em>I will throw stones and never run
<\/em>I protest!
<\/em>Until my freedom has come
<\/em>I protest!
<\/em>For my brother who’s dead
<\/em>I protest!
<\/em>Against the bullet in his head<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n