‘Deccani Hai Apni Shaan, Hyderabad Meri Jaan’ is a line from the one of the most popular numbers of DeathRap, a band comprising the rapper duo Abdul Moeed and Moiz Shujaee. The words aptly describe how the two rap the local Hyderabadi lingo to their advantage. It doesn’t matter to them if it’s Moghalpura, Mallepally or Mehdipatnam, the local identity they infuse into their songs with equal emphasis on the music aspects is infectious. The two know Hyderabad in and out, its individuality and also capture its wholesomeness through music, in a way only they can.
When the rappers met through mutual friends in 2010, they realised that they share several common interests. “Our initial intention was to capture the Hyderabadi identity and later we went on to deal with several other themes. In the music we do, there’s enough room for both entertainment and social commentary,” says Moeed. The rapper raps in Deccani, English, Hindi and even Arabic. Some of their interesting videos in the past include ‘Kill Corruption’, ‘Betrayal’,‘Sukoon Ki Talaash’, ‘The Haunted Club’ and ‘Hyderabad Meri Jaan’. The two have even been featured on an MTV episode on independent music.
As Moeed alerts us that their next untitled album will also have a song on the city’s pharmaceutical industry, Moiz informs about a song on the ‘paan’ culture in the city too. They’re happy with the terrific responses they received for their multilingual (Hindi/Urdu/English) album number ‘ Kaala Dhanda ’ that released earlier in the month.
The two not only enjoy performing on stage, but are capable lyricists too. The Deccani dialect though poses enough challenges in ensuring a rhythm and a pattern to the music. “We do have all the vocabulary but Deccani, unlike Hindi or Urdu, isn’t a language. So we’re caught in a funny space and that creates difficulties,” they accept. The inspiration to write comes from their immediate surroundings and the people they meet from different walks of life. An example is their ‘ Jai Bheem ’ video that came right after the Rohit Vemula’s suicide at the University of Hyderabad.
Death Rap may be a genre in itself but the band is open to exploring other forms too. ‘ Kaala Dhanda ’ saw them try a gangster rap, which is an interesting mix of rock and hiphop in an aggressive tone. “We’re music lovers first and rappers next,” they say.
DeathRap band has enough followers to take suggestions from and people within the music industry in their family let them know what aspects they need to improvise on. From imitating the histrionics of hiphop artistes in school, to dressing like them, Moeed is happy to have come a long way in making music his profession. Moiz on the other hand is interested in trying his hand at films (singing) too. For now though, they reveal the need to do odd jobs, sometimes managing two of them at once, including night shifts in call centres, to pursue their passions and sustain themselves financially.
