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The untapped potential of Nepali Hip Hop

Uncovering the highs & knowledge gaps in Nep Hop

LiFTED | Sumnima Kangdangwa | 30 Jan 2025


In 2019, the arrest of popular Nepalese rapper Samir Ghising briefly made international news. Better known by his stage name VTen, Ghising was escorted by the Metropolitan Crime Division and placed in seven-day police custody for allegedly using “vulgar and derogatory” language in his 2019 hit song, ‘Hami Yestai Ta Ho Ni Bro.’ Following the arrest, Sahakul Bahadur Thapa, the chief Senior Superintendent of Police told local media that Vten’s songs were too profane for Nepalese society. “He was arrested for using vulgar and derogatory language, promoting the use of the prohibited drug marijuana, and spreading the wrong message in society,” Thapa said at the time.

The arrest of Ghising and the suppression of self-expression was so sensational that it spread throughout the international Nepali diaspora and many independent news outlets around the world. The song in question, ‘Hami Yestai Ta Ho Ni Bro’ was a hit with the Nepali youth and had been viewed around 19 million times in 2019 before it was taken down from streaming platforms on the day of his arrest. In the song, the 28-year-old rapper talks about drugs, sex, and partying. He also says “Danthe haru lai f***-sign” which roughly translates to “To the police I give a F***-sign.” To make matters worse, ‘Danthe’ is a derogatory term for the police. Since the Nepal Communist Party solidified its hold on Nepal’s government in 2018, Ghising’s arrest, accompanied by arrests of other artists and comedians, was a stark example of the declining freedom of speech and self-expression in the landlocked country.

The authorities further made it clear that the authorities would “not hesitate to nab anyone using derogatory words in their songs if people lodge complaints against them with police.” While the themes of drugs, sex, and politics are commonplace in the global Hip Hop narrative, it's important to note that while Hip Hop has roots dating back to the 1970s in the United States, it's a relatively new phenomenon in Nepal making its exploration of ‘taboo’ subjects all the more provocative.

The Introduction of Hip Hop in Nepal

Nepal’s first ever Hip Hop track, ‘Meaningless Rap,’ was released in 1992 by 15-year-old Girish Khatiwada, often hailed as the The Godfather of Nepali Rap. The song was named so because Khatiwada had no grasp of the English slang used in most American Rap songs. He perceived them as mere nonsensical phrases, used solely for the sake of rhyme. Hip Hop, which originated in the marginalized neighborhoods of New York City, was a luxury imported into Nepal primarily by soldiers serving in the British army and by a fortunate few who had the means to live in the United States. According to Kathmandu Post, Khatiwada’s first introduction to Hip Hop and breakdancing was through a cousin whose parents worked in the Nepali embassy in Washington. Now 45 years old, Khatiwada gained recognition after the modest success of his debut track. This led to a record label signing him to produce a full-length album. Teaming up with Pranil Timalsena, the duo became known to local Hip Hop enthusiasts as Girish Pranil, or simply GP.

The country's first Hip-hop album was released by the duo Rappaz Union in 2000, two decades after the American group The Sugarhill Gang debuted with what is widely recognized as the first Hip Hop album.

The Popularization of Hip Hop in Nepal

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Despite Nepal’s growing Hip Hop scene at the time, it had yet to become widespread. Rapper Uniq Poet, whose real name is Utsaha Joshi, recounts that he first learned about the music genre through American artists he saw on TV and then eventually on the internet. “I think the first rapper I stumbled upon was Eminem,” Joshi says. “I also got introduced to the Rap battle scene that was happening in the USA and Canada. I tried to imitate them and that's how I learned because at the time there was no such thing as Hip Hop culture in Nepal. There were a few Nepali artists, but I didn't listen to them.”

Now 30, it has been four years since Joshi decided to take a break from the Nep Hop scene. He still releases a song here and there, but it's hard to balance a music career along with being a software engineer and pursuing a Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence in Austria. A decade ago, he was in a viral rap battle YouTube video as a fresh-faced 19-year-old underground rapper standing in the center of a stirring crowd and about to star in a Rap battle that would herald the rise of Hip Hop in Nepal. Even then, Joshi showed promise as a rising star in Nepal’s Hip Hop scene. His battle with fellow rapper Laure in 2013 is still celebrated as one of the best, and its viral success has resonated across the Nepali diaspora.

Raw Barz, Nepal’s very first rap battle league that positioned Joshi as one of Nepal’s most influential rappers, was founded in 2010. The show featured numerous underground rappers and was pioneered and hosted by the late Yama Buddha. Revered as the ‘King of Nep Hop,’ Yama Buddha was instrumental in bringing Hip Hop to the forefront of Nepal’s music scene. His songs, which addressed the pressing societal issues facing the country, struck a deep chord with the nation’s youth and left a lasting impact on the musical landscape. His untimely passing in 2017 was a loss felt throughout the industry.

“At the time, society had negative perceptions of Hip Hop artists and families wouldn’t support aspiring rappers,” Kolin Rana, the Co-founder of Raw Barz and Yama Buddha’s friend tells me about the start of Raw Barz in 2010. While still in college, Rana, an avid Hip Hop enthusiast, launched his own event management company which led him to cross paths with Yama Buddha, who was already a respected figure in the Hip Hop scene at the time. Together with two other friends, they established Raw Barz. Although he had his dreams of becoming a rapper, circumstances held Rana back. “I wasn’t able to fulfill my dreams of becoming a rapper, but I wanted to create a platform for the younger generation where both Hip Hop and Hip Hop artists could earn respect in Nepal.”

Raw Barz quickly became an overnight sensation, introducing many of Nepal's finest rappers, including Sacar and Laure, among others. The league has also hosted Rap battles in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia over the years, solidifying its international presence. However, despite the genre's burgeoning popularity—thanks in large part to Raw Barz and the emergence of prominent artists—challenges still remain. The arrest of rapper VTen in 2019 highlighted the reality that the genre, deemed vulgar by many in culturally conservative Nepal, had yet to gain acceptance in a society still grappling with the implications of its liberal and provocative nature.

The Shortcomings of Nepal’s Hip Hop Scene

Like in any budding industry, Nepal’s Hip Hop scene is not without its shortcomings, or so Aasis Giri tells me. “There is a lack of professionalism here,” Giri explains. “International artists are represented by record labels and management companies. Everything is contract-based and there are proper systems in place to protect producers and artists which Nepal is lacking,” At 28 years old, Giri is Nepal’s very first Billboard charting, multi-platinum producer.

Professionally known as Aasis Beats, Giri created a loop several years ago that would later find its way into UK rapper Central Cee’s 2024 hit track with LIL BABY, “BAND4BAND.” Initially uploaded to the music licensing platform Beatstars, Giri had nearly forgotten about the loop when it was unexpectedly picked up by Central Cee’s producers. The song went on to make waves, landing at No.18 on the Billboard Hot 100. The young producer also recently produced the track ‘All of My Problems Always Involve Me’ on the American Hip Hop duo $uicideboy$ 2024 album New World Depression. The album charted Number 1 on Billboard’s top R&B/ Hip-hop albums.

Before Giri became a producer, he was an aspiring rapper in Nepal, but it was the lack of quality production and scarcity of producers that led him to learn how to make his own beats and eventually fall in love with producing. With two Billboard-charting hits under his belt, Giri tells me that he wants to put Nepal on the map and work more closely with local artists, but emphasizes the need for established recording labels to step in and address the amateur approach to business that currently exists in the country.

Can record labels fix the holes in Nepal’s Hip Hop industry? Hong Kong-born, Belgium-based Nepali rapper Amazumi certainly thinks so. “If you look at Belgium’s music industry, they have very important systems in place that Nepal doesn't. For example, the royalty copyright issues are pretty much unexplored here, especially in Hip Hop even though there is a Music Royalty Collection Society.

Amazumi, whose real name is Sumnima Setling, is perhaps one of the most recognized female rappers of Nepal. Getting her start in the music industry in 2017 after coming in eighth place at Belgium’s national music competition De Nieuwe Lichting, Setling’s Nu-Metal Rap musical style is a niche she’s carved for herself in Nepal. Together with her partner, Subash Rajopadhyay, who fronts Nepal’s Rap Metal band Tumbleweed Inc. and founded his own record label Skathi Entertainment in 2017, Settling is working to tackle the shortcomings of Nepal’s music industry.

“I think it's the knowledge gap in the industry. There are a lot of knowledge gaps regarding how you can make a music industry thrive,” Settling tells me, sharing that there is a clear lack of professionalism in Nepal. “Venues will always try to haggle over prices to book artists, payments are never made on time, and it’s hard for artists to start making money here because there are no proper support systems in place to protect them."

But Setling is hopeful that she and the team at Skathi Records can make a difference by providing a legitimate platform for artists. “Nepal has an untapped potential. There's so much that can be explored here. Anything is possible. It is hard to get through legislation and to stimulate the cultural sector here. But we can start somewhere and that's the work that I'm doing right now in Nepal with my partner.”

Settling has undeniably made strides in amplifying the visibility of Hip Hop in Nepal. In October 2024 Skathi Records hosted GOD IS A WOMAN, the country's very first all-female Hip Hop festival. This event not only highlighted the talent that female rappers have to offer but also created a space for Hip Hop fans and newcomers to gather and celebrate the genre.

In addition to Settling's efforts, Rana’s Raw Barz has been a steadfast supporter of underground female rappers, providing them with a platform to hone their skills and build an audience since 2013. Initiatives such as these are helping to reshape the narrative around Hip Hop as well as female rappers in Nepal.

A Unique Identity for Nepali Hip Hop

In the late 1990s, the duo Girish & Pranil pioneered a fusion of traditional Nepali folk music and Hip-hop for their song which they named ‘Lok-Hop.’ The track title is taken from Nepali Folk songs called Lok Geet. This blend created a distinctly Nepali sound within the country’s Hip Hop landscape.

However, the style didn’t take, and American-influenced Rap styles are more prevalent in most Nepali Hop tracks today. “In the UK, you have Drill, then you have Trap, and all these other sub-genres that emerged because UK rappers made something of their own.” Settling says, arguing that Nep Hop should encapsulate a unique cultural essence. While artists like OMG SPARK have made strides by incorporating traditional Nepali sounds and instruments into their Rap tracks, Lok Hop as a sub-genre has struggled to gain significant traction in a music industry dominated by American influences. Despite some big gains in the past decade, the challenge still remains for Nepal’s Hip Hop scene to carve out its own identity.

The Future Looks Bright for Nep Hop

Public sentiment seems to be evolving on Nep Hop. VTen recently released his latest single “Jyo Jyo” on January 1, consisting of the same drugs, drinking, and language that had him arrested six years ago. The video has amassed over a million views within just a week of its release, solidifying Ghising's status as one of the most celebrated musical artists in Nepal. It helps that in 2022, former rapper Balendra Shah was elected as the 15th Mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city. This seems to have somewhat changed the negative public perception of Rap artists, signaling a gradual acceptance of the genre in a society that has historically been wary of its controversial elements.