Pakka local, and unapologetically so — Asura and his Nawab Gang are changing the narrative about how people perceive regional rap. Their sound is Hyderabadi, a mix of Telugu and Dakhni, an amalgamation of the lived experiences of the rappers in the city of Nizams. Right now, the collective is flying high on the positive response they received for their song ‘Jagratha’ in the movie Subham, which was produced by Samantha Prabhu.
“Singing ‘Jagratha’ was an absolute blast! I got a call, completely out of the blue, for a Telugu rap song for a film. I jumped right into it. Recording was a blast, and it was only after all was said and done that, we realized the producer was none other than Clinton Cerejo! I’m a massive fan of his work, especially ‘Madari’, so that was a truly pleasant surprise. Feeling super grateful for that experience,” says Pramod Seshi Roy, aka Asura.
The collective is a group of 16 people, including rappers, producers, and beatboxers, whose sole ambition is put Hyderabad hip-hop on the map. Describing their sound, Asura says that they are into conscious rap, socio-political hip-hop, and alternative hip-hop music.
Their story begins in 2019, when Pramod returned to Hyderabad after graduating from Bangalore, with a keen desire to become a rapper. Talking about his releases so far, Asura says: “My journey includes the release of ‘AstrA’ in 2020, which holds the distinction of being the first-ever Telugu Rap album. Beyond that, I’ve dropped five individual singles, with ‘Nenu Puttanu’ being a standout, boasting 7,000 reels and an astounding 43 million views across social media. As a collective, with the team, we’ve contributed to well over 100 tracks.” Does he see fair representation of Hyderabadi languages in the country’s music scene? “‘Fair representation’ for Hyderabadi languages in the national music scene? Nah, not quite yet. For too long, our Dakhni was either ignored or just used for laughs. But now? We, the artists from Hyderabad — Nawab Gang, DharmiK from 500012, Fariya Abdullah, and other amazing talents — we are changing that narrative. We are on the grind, pushing our authentic sound and our unique stories. We are showing the world what Hyderabad truly brings. We have still got miles to go, but trust me, we are coming,” promises Asura.
