Dharmesh Parmar sings about cows, supports the beef ban and idolises the late social activist Rajiv Dixit, who rallied for a Swadeshi India. Just one caveat: Parmar performs under the stage name MC Todfod, and he uses the music of hip hop to rap about social issues in Gujarati.
In this video clip, he explains the struggles of living in bustling Mumbai, and also takes a dig at people who think hip hop is Honey Singh and four bottles of vodka. Is anybody listening?
Parmar lives in BDD Chawl in Worli in South Mumbai with his family, who are slowly beginning to warm up to his talent. His father, Naresh Parmar, thinks his son’s words are revolutionary. His mother, Rekha Parmar, is of the opinion that he should pay attention to his studies.
There is no stopping the young rapper, who features in the web series Hip Hop Homeland, launched by the youth portal 101India.com, which focuses on content tailor-made for the urban Indian youth.
Hip Hop Homeland is a web series profiling young men and women who express themselves through dance, music, and visual art. Hip hop, graffiti and b-boying artists showcase their skills in the episodes, their names as colourful as their personalities: TodFod, Mawwali, Voctronica, Kinga Rhymes, BobKat, Ace, Zake (graffiti artist) Beast Mode (the crew), Shawty Pink, Flying Machine ( Arif), and DMC.
The series was premiered online on January 20, and will include artists from Mumbai, Kashmir, Shillong, Punjab, Kolkata and South India in the coming months.
In one episode, one-time Bollywood lyricist Nawab Arzoo’s son Sahir Nawab goes by the name of Kinga Rhymes aka Cynical Phantom (he certainly does not get it from his father). He raps for social awareness and highlights the dangers of drug use, street fights and bad company, all of which he says he was vulnerable to.
“I chose to channel my energy into something more positive,” he says in this video, giving voice to the liberty with which the artists in this web series perform.
