Patio Unplugged: Tadpatri Talkies give gully rap a brand new satirical twist

Editor’s note: Patio Unplugged — a platform for indie artistes and a Lazy Patio Films production — is bringing over 30 musicians from Mumbai in its first season, to audiophiles. Born out of a love for acoustic music and a passion for film-making, Patio Unplugged not only provides a stage to artists but also a chance to record their music, and shoot two music videos. What sets this programme apart, is that artistes from across genres recreate their music in an unplugged format. Each artist/band featured on the show will perform two original songs. The Habitat Comedy and Music Café is the audio partner for the show. The Habitat also records, mixes and masters the tracks for Patio Unplugged and hosts the artistes every Saturday as an event called ‘The Listening Room Sessions’. We’re featuring each of the artistes from season 1, on Firstpost. ***

Tadpatri Talkies, a Mumbai based hip-hop group, have brought the spotlight upon them with a unique style of tongue-in-cheek humour. Using sketch comedy, parody and the art of satire, Tadpatri Talkies have reinvigorated the local hip-hop scene, or what is better known as Gully Rap.

Rap music has always reflected the cultural identities of the downtrodden and the oppressed. More often than not, those who have lived a life of hardship, witnessed violence on the streets, and struggled through poverty are usually the ones who make compelling rap music; everything else is considered poseur. Much of Tadpatri Talkies’ music deals with the unfortunate condition millions of humans find themselves in: poverty. The hip-hip outfit celebrate a life of constant personal battles by employing humour while laughing at their own fate.

[caption id=“attachment_4266249” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Tadpatri Talkies’ Sidharth Raveendran and Anmol Gawand. YouTube screengrab[/caption]

Tadpatri Talkies perform their two singles ‘Gari-B Ki Kahaani’ and ‘A.B.T. (Aankh Bandh Tapli)’ on this week’s Patio Unplugged.

Tadpatri Talkies’ playful sense of humour takes a more serious turn on the track ‘Gari-B Ki Kahaani’. The hip-hop group creates a character called Gari-B, a parody of rappers who chose cool monikers for themselves. They rap about what really goes on ‘mere gully mein’. Gari-B, someone with few expectations and fewer desires from life, is caricatured in a way to let people know what life on Indian streets is really like. We get to know about where Gari-B bathes, what he wants, and what he eats (lots of bhel).

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Aaj khane mein hai bhel

Nashte mein hai bhel

Bhandare mein hai bhel

Prasadi mein hai bhel

Starter mein hai bhel

Dessert mein hai bhel

Three course meal mein

Sab kuch hai ye bhel

Sab kuch hai ye bhel

Three course meal mein

Sab kuch hai ye bhel

Rap music is identified with cockiness, bravado and exhibitionism. Guns, cars, butcher knives, bazookas; there’s nothing a rapper won’t rap about to make himself look cool and leagues ahead of his competitors. But what is it that sets Gari-B apart? Well, he has the A.B.T. That’s the concept behind Tadpatri Talkies’ second song ‘A.B.T. (Aankh Bandh Tapli)’. With a minimalistic and catchy beat, ‘A.B.T. (Aankh Bandh Tapli)’ is a funny, well-written track that showcases the group’s ability to satirise modern rap trends.

With such artists, the local hip-hop scene in Mumbai will continue to grow, and Tadpatri Talkies are proving to be a worthy addition.