“You raise the flag of progress
I raise the flag of nature with pride!”
Grey skies pregnant with rains. Hills laden with lush green forests. Mud huts lined with Warli art on their walls. And a young, fierce woman narrating the legacies of her ancestors amidst it all. “Jungle cha Raja” by Mahi G, an Adivasi rapper from Maharashtra, is taking social media by storm. With her power-packed videos—ranging from rap songs on her Adivasi identity, environmental justice and Babasaheb to self-assertion of trans-people and protests against sexual violence—Mahi, a twenty-something software engineer, is painting the Indian rap scene in lively new colours.
Her latest song, “Heatwave”—made in collaboration with Greenpeace India—is a hard-hitting appeal that demands primary protection for daily wage workers and farmers from the soaring temperatures. Her rap is a scathing critique of destructive development and its impact on the environment, while highlighting the harsh consequences faced by those who are forced to toil in the open every day. Writing poetry across the lines of class, caste and gender, Mahi doesn’t skip a beat with her succinct articulation. Without mincing words, she uses rap to take on social issues with a refreshing swagger.
On World Environment Day, 카지노’s Apeksha Priyadarshini spoke to Mahi G about what powers her pen. Edited excerpts:
1. When and how did you discover your passion for rapping?
I started rapping in 2021. Before that, in college, poetry was my preferred form of writing. It was during the Kisan Protests in 2021 that I first wrote around ten-twelve lines of rap. I was curious as to why people my age don’t seem interested in such issues. I wanted people below 25 to pay attention to what is happening in our country because they constitute nearly half of our population. I know that youngsters are attracted to hip hop and rap so I wanted to do something that will have an impact on this section of the society, because for any kind of effective social change, it is important that the youth are part of the initiative. Thus, “Jungle cha Raja” came into being. It was written by me and Rap Boss, a rapper and music producer, helped visualise it and composed the music for it.
You have rapped on various social issues, which include talking about your identity and advocating for environmental justice. What is the inspiration behind these choices?
There is a diverse range of issues that I have explored through my rap songs. I’ve done a song on the Hijra community and another one on rape protests. But yes, I do write frequently on environmental justice because it is a pressing issue. I have done “Jungle cha Raja” and “Hasdeo ki Kahani” because we are surrounded by destructive development and it is necessary to address it. Recently, Greenpeace India approached me to do a rap song on the rising temperatures in our country and I made “Heatwave”, which is my latest release.
The videos of your songs such as “Jungle cha Raja” have gone viral on various social media platforms. What is the creative process behind making these videos?
The visuals for “Jungle cha Raja” were my idea mostly. I wanted the video to represent my identity and show my community—how we dress and live. So, it was shot in my village and the costumes were inspired from what my Dadi (grandmother) wears. The making of videos is a collective process. The thought of the producer and the composer also goes behind the visual design. However, the germ of the ideas comes from the rapper, because it is the rapper who writes the songs and knows what kind of imagination goes behind the lyrics.
You have also written rap songs on Babasaheb Ambedkar. Do you believe that environmental justice is closely tied to social justice?
Yes, I do believe that environmental justice is tied closely to social justice. Whatever is changing around us impacts us directly. I wrote the song on Babasaheb when I was invited to perform at JNU, New Delhi on Ambedkar Jayanti couple of years back. I believe that his intervention has benefited everyone in some form or the other. Everyone may not be aware of what they have received from his contributions to our country, but that doesn’t diminish his significance. That is why I chose to write a song on him.
Do you believe that your art can be separated from activism?
I think I am an artist and I believe that every artist must be responsible in what they create. Artists are followed by many and their work influences a lot of people. May be what I rap about comes across as activism, but actually, talking about these issues is the duty of every responsible citizen. If everyone addressed the problems of our society from whichever professional space they are in, then activists wouldn’t need to do activism and artists would not come across as activists.
How did your family and your community react to your choice of medium?
They have been extremely appreciative and supportive. I live with my family in a small town called Kalyan near Mumbai. My father is a bus conductor and my grandparents live in the village. Whenever I go to meet them, members of our community delightfully say, “Dekho singer aa gaya” (See, the singer has arrived). There are no restrictions on what I do from my parents, perhaps because I write on issues that represent us and that don’t harm anyone. Yes, there are all kinds of rappers out there, like those who participate in diss culture. But my parents have always maintained that as long as I am financially independent and don’t depend on them to sponsor my art, I can perform wherever I want. They want that apart from rapping, I also make use of my engineering degree. That’s when I decided to start taking care of my own expenses. Up until some time ago, I was working as a software engineer.
Do you think art and poetry have the power to change the existing social realities of climate change and of communities on the margins?
Yes, definitely. Art and poetry can initiate a lot of social change. We can direct as much sentiment and emotion into our art as we do in a war or a conflict. It is as fierce and it is as meaningful.
There is increasing censorship in our country today and we see how even comedians are being targeted for making a joke. Do you ever feel the fear that this censorship will reach you someday?
No, I have never felt this while writing or singing. I don’t really know why. It’s true that if anyone writes something critical against the government, it outrages them. And when it does, they go after artists and writers. But as we saw with the comedians, even though they were targeted, they continued to make their jokes, right? That’s why I think that artists should chill and continue doing what they are doing. If they are saying the correct things, they shouldn’t care whether it outrages anyone or not.
