Street Academics

Street Academics
Street Academics at The Humming Tree, Bangalore 2017
Background information
Origin Kerala, India
Genres Alternative hip-hop
Instruments Vocals, Sampler, Drum machine, Synthesizer, Turntables.
Years active 1999–present

Street Academics is an Indian alternative hip-hop group from Kerala, known for their songs blending Malayalam, English & Tamil lyrics. The collective of rappers based out of various districts from their home state are noted for emphasizing on contemporary & philosophical themes in their works. The crew focuses on releasing singles with a sociopolitical context to familiarize their audience about hiphop subculture.[1][2][3] They collaborate with the collectives of Mappila Lahala and Palakkadan Dystopia, to release projects that focus on having cultural discussions set in avant-garde backdrops.[4][5][6][7]

History

Street Academics was an idea brought forward by Rjv Ernesto in 1999, as a small group for slam poetry & making pause tapes. Later he was introduced to Haris Saleem through hip-hop communities in Myspace & Orkut. After recording various demo tracks, they brought in Amjad Nadeem, Abhimanyu Raman & Pranav to move forward as a hiphop crew. Keyboardist & music producer Ruthin Thej worked with the group to produce a couple of singles, before leaving to pursue his career as keyboardist for Thaikkudam Bridge. Later Vivek Radhakrishnan joined the group as the DJ/producer providing a bass-oriented sound. They started collaborating with the cultural music collective Mappila Lahala, led by filmmaker Muhsin Parari, to release politically oriented singles which featured veteran actor Mamukkoya & national award-winning composer Bijibal.[8][9][10][11] The group has also formed avant garde hip-hop project Palakkadan Dystopia to release singles and went on to collaborate with experimental theatre acts, performing shows which combined spoken word, theatre, hip-hop music & graffiti.[12][13][14]

Themes and Influences

Members state that they started off through slam poetry before getting introduced to hip-hop music.[15] Their multilingual lyricism usually brings up questions of expression & identity, affirming the place of vernacular rap in Kerala, being one of the first acts to do so.[16][17][18] Street Academics is considered to be one of the earliest independent hip-hop outfits in India.[19] They are noted for pioneering Malayalam rap with serious content & multisyllabic rhyme patterns, against the comical parody image that rap/hip-hop music has had in their region. Even though the production relies on minimal boom bap oriented sampling as the backbone, the collective effort exhibits influences of lo-fi, glitch, folk, ambient, R&B, jazz poetry, grime & funk. Most of the themes are set in an alternate reality or a post-apocalyptic world, often presented from the narrative mode of various alter egos. It is noted that majority of those plots are inter-connected & follow a particular nonlinear storyline throughout the body of their work.[20][21][22][23][24]

Members

  • Rjv Ernesto (Pakarcha Vyadhi) - MC/rapper, lyricist, music producer, graffiti writer
  • Dr. Haris Saleem (Maapla) - MC/rapper, lyricist
  • Amjad Nadeem (Azuran) - MC/rapper, lyricist, vocalist
  • Abhimanyu Raman (Earthgrime) - MC/rapper, lyricist, music producer
  • Vivek Radhakrishnan (V3K) - DJ, music producer, vocalist, record producer

Discography

Albums:-

  • 1. Aathmasphere EP (2013)
  • 2. Chatha Kaakka EP (2016)
  • 3. Narakasabha (2017) (as Palakkadan Dystopia)

Singles:-

  • 1. Rest In Peace (2011)
  • 2. Vandi Puncture (2012)[25]
  • 3. Native Bapa ft. Mappila Lahala (2012)[26]
  • 4. Trapped In Rhymes (2013)[27]
  • 5. Aathmasphere (2013)
  • 6. Angot Onnai (2013)
  • 7. 16 Adiyanthiram (2015)[28]
  • 8. Genthandappa? ft. Palakkadan Dystopia (2016)[29]
  • 9. Funeral of a Native Son ft. Mappila Lahala (2016)[30]
  • 10. Chatha Kaakka (2016)
  • 11. Space Station ft. Space Behind The Yellow Room (2017)[31][32][33][34]
  • 12. Trishanku ft. Palakkadan Dystopia (2017)[35]
  • 13. Kalapila (2017)[36][37]

Mixtapes/Solo Albums:-

  • 1. Rjv Ernesto - Industrial Area (2003, 2006, 2008)
  • 2. Rjv Ernesto - Country Fellow EP: The Clairvoyant Of Alter Egos (2012)
  • 3. Asylum Of Philosophy - A Bottle of Paranoia EP (2012)[38]
  • 4. Earthgrime & Sez - Standalone Complex Vol 1: Paradox EP (2012)
  • 5. Earthgrime - Street Lights In The Sun LP (2013)
  • 6. V3K - Psycle Edukk EP (2013)
  • 7. V3K - The Gateway EP (2013)
  • 8. Street Academics - Rest In Peace (2014)
  • 9. Spank The Queen: The Death of Rjv Ernesto (2015)
  • 10. Molten Wax: The Revenge of Rjv Ernesto (2016)
  • 11. Shrapnels: The Autopsy of Rjv Ernesto (2016)
  • 12. V3K - 240P: Third World Bass EP (2016)
  • 13. Diggin In The Wasteland: The Filth of Rjv Ernesto (2017)
  • 14. V3K - 1010B & The Broken Laptop (2018)
  • 15. Sex And Time Altering Nibs: The Hand of Rjv Ernesto (2018)

References

  1. ↑ Mathew, Mathew Joy (2016-10-16). "This gang of five will 'rap-spire' you". New Indian Express. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  2. ↑ Chandy, Susanna (2014-07-11). "Hip Hop goes 'South' with our rappers". New Indian Express. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  3. ↑ News Bureau, The Retail Times (2018-02-23). "Radio City's Indie Revolution Enthralls Bangalore with 'Radio City Freedom Awards 5.0'". The Retail Times. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  4. ↑ Abhishek, Abhishek (2018-05-18). "Decoding desi Hip-Hop: Street Academics". MusicPlus. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  5. ↑ Gujubhai, IQ (2013-01-16). "Hip Hop in Kerala! "Native Bapa" by Mappila Lahala". DesiHiphop. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  6. ↑ Jha, Lata (2013-06-14). "A Rap Group That Condemns Violence And Discusses Religion". Youth Ki Awaaz. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  7. ↑ K, Anjana (2017-11-21). "Street art goes on to a whole new level with Kalapila from Street Academics". WtzupCity. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  8. ↑ Radio City, Team (2018-02-20). "Know Your Band - Street Academics". Radio City. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  9. ↑ Karunanidhi, Karthi (2017-01-17). "Street Academics: A Legion of Kerala Rappers". Dystopsy. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  10. ↑ Menon, Bindu (2014-07-06). "Modern Media & Kerala's Rap Music". Navamalayali. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  11. ↑ Basith, Abdul (2013-01-07). "Native Bapa: A hip-hop song from Kerala challenges narrative on terrorism". TwoCircles. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  12. ↑ Abhishek, Abhishek (2018-05-18). "Decoding desi Hip-Hop: Street Academics". MusicPlus. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  13. ↑ Karunanidhi, Karthi (2017-01-29). "Wasteland Chronicles: The Beginning of Palakkadan Dystopia". Dystopsy. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  14. ↑ T, Sreejith (2014-10-25). "An Insolence Combining Graffiti, Hip-hop & DJ". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  15. ↑ Chandy, Susanna (2014-07-11). "Hip Hop goes 'South' with our rappers". New Indian Express. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  16. ↑ Network, Asian (28 March 2018). "Straight Outta Mumbai". BBC (Podcast). BBC. Event occurs at 08:20. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  17. ↑ Menon, Bindu (2014-02-19). "The Blazon Call Of HipHop - Lyrical Storms In Kerala's Music Culture". Sage Publications. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  18. ↑ Chris, Chris (2016-06-03). "Street Academics: Haris Saleem". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  19. ↑ Radio City, Team (2018-02-22). "Know Your Band - Street Academics". Radio City. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  20. ↑ Abhishek, Abhishek (2018-05-18). "Decoding desi Hip-Hop: Street Academics". MusicPlus. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  21. ↑ Radio City, Team (2018-02-20). "Know Your Band - Street Academics". Radio City. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  22. ↑ K, Anjana (2017-11-21). "Street art goes on to a whole new level with Kalapila from Street Academics". WtzupCity. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  23. ↑ Karunanidhi, Karthi (2017-01-17). "Street Academics: A Legion of Kerala Rappers". Dystopsy. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  24. ↑ Justis, Poetik (2017-12-02). "An Ode To The Producers In Indian Hip-Hop". DesiHipHop. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  25. ↑ News Song "Vandi Puncture" by Street Academics. Asianet News. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
  26. ↑ Chakrabarti, Ajachi (2013-10-16). "What Rhymes with Self-Respect?". Tehelka. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  27. ↑ Gujubhai, IQ (2013-01-31). "Street Academics – "Trapped In Rhymes"". DesiHiphop. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  28. ↑ Bobkat, Enkore (2015-06-15). "Street Academics Return with a Fire Single". Voice Of Tha People. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  29. ↑ Nithin, Nithin (2016-01-25). "Genthandappa? featuring Palakkadan Dystopia". Filmelon. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  30. ↑ Sebastian Edmond, Deepu (2016-06-30). "Distilling Dissent". The Hindu. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  31. ↑ Fernandes, Denver (2017-09-19). "Exclusive: Watch videos from The Clash EP - Edition One". RedBull. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  32. ↑ Fernandes, Denver (2017-11-09). "Exclusive: Stream The Clash EP -Edition One". RedBull. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  33. ↑ Britto, David (2017-11-27). "Hear India's Rap, Rock and Metal Worlds Collide on 'The Clash' Compilation". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  34. ↑ Unnikrishnan, Deepa (2017-12-05). "The Clash - One Of A Kind EP Where Hip Hop Meets Other Genres". DesiHipHop. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  35. ↑ Justis, Poetik (2017-11-23). "RJV Ernesto - The Next Rapper/Producer On the Rise Straight Out Of Kerala". DesiHipHop. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  36. ↑ Justis, Poetik (2017-11-09). "Exclusive Interview - Street Academics' "Kalapila" Just Changed The Game". DesiHipHop. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  37. ↑ Srinivasan, Karthik (2017-12-08). "Milliblog Annual Music round-up 2017". Milliblog. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  38. ↑ Bobkat, Enkore (2015-05-18). "Episode 12 – The VOTP Show (Podcast)". Voice Of Tha People. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
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