First, I want to thank those who commented on my first post and to those who did not -piss off. Secondly, as for the content of this blog, there are no boundaries. So please let me know if there is a specific topic (track, video, news) you would like to discuss. However, please be cautious of the title of my blog, “Urban Desi, under review”. We will cover anything and everything urban desi that I feel is worthy of being talked about. Do not come on here posting Jay’s new track (but have you people heard “When the money goes?" Dope track, peep it)
Like many of my readers, when I woke up this morning I grabbed a bowl of cereal, turned on the tube and started watching the Super Bowl pre-game show. My mind drifted back to this same time last year. Surely, you remember the “Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Challenge”. Okay, maybe not, let me refresh your memory. Doritos held a contest leading up to the Super Bowl, which allowed undiscovered artists to submit videos and win a chance to perform their song on a Doritos commercial (and a record deal, I believe).
Well, it just so happens one of the finalists was an urban desi artist. I mentioned his name in my first post, Nivla. He’s an east coast rapper and you can tell. He has that NY swag- typical hardass demeanor, rockin’ that blue Yankee fitted, spittin’ with an accent. Personally, I think he’s one of the heavyweights in the game today (clearly, I have good taste; he made it to the finals). The song submitted was “Koi Na (Be Easy)” featuring P. Oberoi. Just think, one of our very own artists had the chance to make it mainstream! That would have been huge for the scene - too bad it didn’t happen - he lost. Anyways, fuck Doritos and let us be the judges.
Although I think Nivla is a real contender in the game, I give this track 3 out of 5 stars. Now, if I was at a "desi party" (street team, what up) and had drank about a half a fifth of black label, I can picture myself breakin' it down on the dance floor. But would I add this to my iPod playlist? Probably not, and this is my knock on most of these artists. Why does every desi rapper feel as if they have to "commercialize" their music? Clearly, you can tell Nivla did not make this track to earn street cred, rather his first mainstream attempt is a club banger. All good, but don't you think you need to earn that street cred if you want people to respect you as an artist?
Let's switch genres and go to hip-hop for a second. Jay-Z came out with a plethora of tracks to earn street cred (Reasonable Doubt) before he made "Big Pimpin'" (club banger) and 50 cent came out with "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" (arguably one of the best hip-hop albums in the past decade) before he started singing love songs. My point is, they got on the mic, proved they had a serious flow, and then went on to sell out shows at
Honestly, I wouldn't be wasting my time saying this if I didn't think Nivla had the potential to drop some dope lyrics. If you listen to "Be Easy" it’s not hard to notice that he has a pretty solid flow and even better delivery. It's the lack of lyrical creativity that holds me back from adding it to my playlist. I don't want to hear about bahama mamas, pina coladas, and droppin' panties until I think you are cool (earn that street cred homie!). I would've still liked to see you win the contest though, I voted for you! That’s my two cents, what are your thoughts?
Check out the link to his track "Koi Na (Be Easy)". (I tried to find a better version but couldn't)
for someone who doesnt understand punjabi or hindi, regardless of how good the song is, the hook disrupts the flow of the song. It's not like 'arab money' where you want to sing along with the hook even though you have no idea what that guy is saying.
ReplyDeleteI think the comparison between how "Mainstream" artists become successful is different from how "Urban Desi" artists can make it in the scene. The target demographics differ from primarily South Asians to the rest of the world. In today’s day & age, artists aren't getting signed to labels under the typical deals that used to take place years ago. The mentality that Urban desi hip hop artists can make it into the mainstream market by keeping their material marketable to that audience and selling mix tapes out of your trunk is not happening. Urban Desi artists have to make their music suitable for their target audience (people who love a fusion of eastern & western influences in their music). The substance & quality of music has to be at a certain level to turn a regular person into a fan and that’s where I believe the “street cred” of the Urban Desi Market lies. Nivla’s record deal was based through I-Tunes & Interscope Records where a certain amount of unique sales had to happen for Nivla through I-tunes in order to keep the deal, which essentially failed. As far as the track goes, personally not a fan of it but I do respect Alvin, oops I meant “Nivla” for the flow and delivery of his work. The originality & versatility of this artist is what I question for the future….
ReplyDeleteTo elaborate on comment number 1, I'd rather listen to the Arab Money Remix Pt.3 with JD on it, that's how much that crap sucks above!
ReplyDeleteI agree the fusion of east and west influences is what makes the genre, “urban desi". And I think you make a great point when you say, "The substance & quality of music has to be at a certain level to turn a regular person into a fan and that’s where I believe the “street cred” of the Urban Desi Market lies."
ReplyDeleteI think this is the biggest problem amongst the artists. Most of the shit I hear is pointless and has no substance. Therefore, it is hard for a regular person to become a fan. This ultimately results in the lack of embrace by the South Asian community.
Id only listen to the Nivla song if it was playing in the club, def not one that I would go out of my way to DL or put on my ipod. But give me an artist that has a great track record and Ill prob dl every song they release, regardless of how good the songs may be. You cant have fans based on one song, people base their loyalties depending on the artist and the substace of music they produce. Going mainstream without any street cred seems like a straight shoot to becoming a one-hit wonder, my opinion atleast.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I respect the fact that Nivlo is not trying to develop "street cred" because doing so he would have to try convice people that he is hood (which,considering he is indian, is most likely not the case.) I would agree that his music is not something I would jam to on my ipod but starting with a club banger is not a bad idea if it gets your foot in the door.
ReplyDeleteHahah, just want to clear something up. By "street cred" I do not mean I want to see Nivla catching gun charges like T.I. before I start listening to his music.
ReplyDeleteI would just like to hear quality music before I hear meaningless rhymes with a catchy hook.
And it's NivlA, not NivlO
ReplyDeleteGuys, this is a very interesting blog and I am enjoying reading the comments. The term "street cred" needs to be defined a little bit better. It has many meanings and we can see that it can be taken in many different ways. Therefore for my comment, I am going to define "street cred" as how much the people from the community (streets) are supporting (cred) the artist.
ReplyDeleteUsing that definition, I want to point out that each of these Urban Desi artists has hundreds of thousands of fans throughout the globe, most of them being of South Asian decent. So it's a little hard to say that these artists don't have "street cred" when in reality they have a tremendous amount of it. In fact, in the American hip hop scene just having your "hood" or your "city" represent you is a huge amount of street cred. In the urban desi market we have niche communities across the world.
All that being said, I think if you really look at it, an artist like Jay Sean (recently signed to cash money, has not released a major album in the US) has a lot more "Street Cred" than an artist like 50 Cent did before he released "Get Rich or Die Trying" (his first major album release.) I know it's hard to compare these 2 artists, but just for a base line "Street Cred" comparison this example should suffice.
This is jut my take on it. Feel free to comment back.
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ReplyDeleteTo be quite frank, as stupid as it sounds, I think an individual has established street credit when you search their name on google and a link to wikipedia shows up in the results.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that the post above was simply an attempt to add some humor to this blog.
ReplyDeleteUsing the definition of "street cred" stated above I do understand how these artists would have hundreds if not thousands (I don't know about hundreds OF thousands, haha) of fans throughout the globe. The problem I see is having that same effect here in the states. I think it's safe to say that what succeeds there may not necessarily succeed here; maybe using different approaches for each market might be the solution? Not saying to release multiple albums, but having individual tracks appeal to their respective target demographic.
ReplyDeleteI think the first step is to have your "hood" or your "city" respect you as an artist, rather than the niche markets across the globe cause honestly, no one here in the states cares about what people in India and the U.K. are bumpin’ in their Ipods. Case in point, Jay Sean, he may be a superstar in the U.K. and I hate to be pessimistic, but it's hard for me to believe he will have the same effect on people here.
In my opinion, this all leads back to the quality and substance of their music and how they relate it to the culture here in the U.S. rather than having one universal sound. The fusion of east/west influences can definitely be a huge hit here in the U.S. I’m sure we can all admit we’ve been seen bobbing our heads to tracks like “Beware of the boys” and “Indian flute”.
As for the comment about Wikipedia, I think it's fair to say we should wait till we see a major album release. I did get a good laugh out of it tho...
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