From ‘revolutionary’ notes of “I protest, I’ll throw stones, Andneva run!…” to “it’s about Abdul Qadeer and him approaching the dark…” Raoushan Illahi popularly know as MC Kash has come a long way in remembering and helping remember contemporary history the Kashmir’s children of conflict.
The 21-year-old tall and lean MC Kash, usually spotted in casuals and wearing a stylish stubble on his face, shot into fame September last year when he protested the killingof teenagers by writing, composing and singing the rap, “I protest”. First of its kind in Kashmir, his rap became a musical-memorial of 2010 summer unrest and RoushanIllahi of
Srinagar, MC Kash emerged as the star rapper from the embattled valley.
MC Kash is studying business administration and hopes to go on for an MBA abroad. Hisfather is a doctor by profession and his mother a teacher. He has never traveled outside Kashmir but speaks excellent English.
One after another the prolific singer-lyricist has produced 12 rap numbers in less than a year. And all of them are in his “strategically chosen” language English and are posted on the music site, reverbnation.com, where he has more than 2000 dedicated fans.
“Kashmiris know how they have suffered – so if I went on to rap about it in Kashmiri, that would be useless,” he was quoted by BBC World
Service as saying.Inayat Khan, one of the 118 people killed last year, was his friend. And “I protest” followed MC Kash’s participation in his funeral.
Some regard his music as inflammatory, anti-Indian – or both, but he insists that he is not anti-Indian. He has been offered a slot performing in Mumbai and he even hopes to collaborate with Indian artists in the future.
However, on July 13—martyrs day—this year, MC Kash came up with ‘13th of July’—the song telling the story the July 13, 1931 when 22 Kashmiris were killed by Dogra forces in protest against the Dogra autocracy.
The song is in, what seems to have become, typical MC Kash style. “Our history will remind us; our history will inspire us; our history will define us; and our history will guide us,” open the verses that sayall about a people’s history. And the song ends with the names of martyrs – remembrance as an act of resistance.
MC Kash has won applauds from common people, especially youngsters.
“Doin a gr8 job…kep 8 up!!!!!” comments MoeedNazki on reverbnation. Some have even expressed the desire to join him in the “good work.”
“Swear upon god u r dng a grt job also I want to join ur band,” writes Kash band.
With more expected of him the Valley’s now famous rapper seems to have already become a household name in Kashmir.
