may have been a genre unknown to Kashmir, but not anymore. 20-year-old Roushan Illahi caught the attention of the Kashmiri netizens with his rap song I protest. Though Illahi has been uploading his rap albums to the music website ReverbNation for some time, I Protest, made him a hit, at least among Kashmiris. The song is both a remembrance and a protest statement against the killings of youth during the summer unrest.
I Protest , Against The Things You Done! I Protest , Fo’ A Mother Who Lost Her Son!
I Protest , I’ll Throw Stones An’ Neva Run! I Protest , Until My Freedom Has Come!
Illahi, who uses M C Kash as his rapper name, writes the lyrics himself. He has run into trouble after the song was released by ReverbNation. He doesn’t get any studio to record his songs now.
Illahi says he wants the world to know about Kashmir, and hopes his choice of genre would help achieve that with the Western audiences.
“I chose rap because in this genre you can speak your mind, you can speak the truth,”
And for now, he doesn’t seem to be bogged down by the pulls and pressures, of daring the state with his rebellious lyrics.
“All I am doing is speaking the truth,” says Illahi.
