Rap is about rebellion, not daaru botal and ladkiyan

She raps for the Bhopal gas victims, she raps about mercury poisoning in Kodaikanal, she raps about Islam... in fact, she raps about everything. Sofia Ashraf, the Kodaikanal Won’t rapper, also writes songs, shoots videos, sketches and when she isn’t doing all of this, she is busy working on her children’s book. In the city for a Manthan talk, the spunky 29-year-old, takes some time out for a free-wheeling chat on future projects, pet causes and her views on everything from rap to religion.
Kodaikanal Won’t made you a star overnight...
I had been wrongly painted as the sole crusader of the Kodaikanal struggle. I was just an artist who wrote and documented the song. But that’s all I did. People had been fighting this for 15 years. It was a collaboration between Vetiver Collective, a Chennai-based voluntary organisation and Kodaikanal Workers Association. It was an achievement for all those the people who felt for the cause — volunteers, activists, environmentalists, college students, and even the tribals. Hindustan Unilever had to compensate 591 employees; not directly because of that video, but as an indirect call for action in that video.
So, what are the other issues that have caught your attention?
We are working on a campaign trying to bring justice to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy. Don’t Work for DOW is a rap battle about it. As a result one of the IITs even boycotted the chemical company when it came for recruitment. I recently also released a video about consent. And I observed it had started a dialogue about consent among people which wasn’t there a few years ago. I also try to talk about the identities of South Indian women who are scarcely represented in media due to lack of women writers. Earlier it was only pretty tall babes who were on videos, I am hoping to promote a positive body image by making my videos in everyday clothes with no make-up. These are baby steps but change is happening.
Your latest video shows a bit of a departure from rap. Are you looking to explore other modes of expression...
I am currently in that transition phase where I have a mind to give up rapping for writing. I am doing a lot of things right now. I am directing, producing, writing, rapping and also doing environmental NGO work. I feel if you do too many things, you won’t do justice to any of them. Quitting rap has been on my mind for quite some time, but I have got so much love from the people that it’s really difficult. Moreover, rap is all about lyrical prose. It is a creative outlet for all my frustrations. So I am in a dilemma. Let’s see what future has in store for me.
From being nicknamed ‘Burkha Rapper’ to renouncing religion — how did that happen?
In my teens, Islam defined me and burkha was my identity. After 9/11, the attitude of people towards Muslims changed. Feeling the need to defend my religion, I started an Islamic youth organisation called Muslim Youth Culture. It was at a concert in Chennai, when I rapped about Islam wearing a burkha that I was nicknamed ‘Burkha Rapper’. But with time, old values started degrading. While studying philosophy and history in college I was doing my own research on Islam. Gradually I stopped looking at Islam from a religious point of view and started looking at it from a theological and historical point of view. I got a very different perspective. Islam seemed like a very patriarchal religion. At 22, I decided to renounce my religion and burkha. My mother was hurt beyond words; she had so much faith in me. She even pleaded with me to change my decision. But I was adamant. I decided to move out of Chennai and settle in Mumbai. Now I meet them occasionally. I have realised that for my mom and my sister, religion gives peace in some way. they are still trying to come in terms with my decision and we are trying make peace with who we are.
It is said that charity begins at home, but your parents are the toughest people to change because you don’t dare to stand up to them and tell them something. You can stand up to anyone in the society, but not your parents. So leaving home and denouncing my religion might have been an easier task for me.
But I have been applauded by my brothers (cousins) who are very devout Muslims — fully bearded, with wives in naqaab. They came up to me and said: “You are more Muslim than the rest of us because you a doing a lot of (good) work. We are very proud of you.”
You are unlike popular rappers in India who sing about parties and chilling out...
Rap has become synonymous with daaru, botal, ladki — courtesy Delhi rap scene. Honey Singh actually started off rapping about Bhagat Singh. But the audience refused to accept it. So these guys went on to write about alcohol and women. But with the popularity of Kodaikanal Won’t, I guess the audience has started accepting that rap needn’t just be a misogynistic medium. I am hoping that entertainment industry also pays heed to this and realise that rap doesn’t need to be branded as the art form it is today. It can go back to its original roots where was rap was a medium for rebellion.