Street Academics’ ‘Loop’ is a Malayalam hip hop album worthy of adoration
The central paradox of hip hop’s ascension to global popularity has got to do with language.
It was nothing short of amazing to watch the genre- carried mostly on the shoulders of American rappers spitting verses in English- being embraced by a global community which included those for whom the English language was not all that familiar, at least not enough to understand the lyrics of the songs which we loved, all the way through.
We often resorted to online lyrics sites to understand what a particular song was all about, and even when we didn’t, we really didn’t mind the lack of understanding of the thematic and emotional content conveyed in the lyrics, thrilled as we were by the music and the peculiar cadences and rapping styles of individual artists.
In a genre which is-rightly- praised for its penmanship, we reveled in the musical quality- the speed of the rapping enthralling us with the musicality of the verses than their meaning. Propelled by this love that literally broke the barriers of language, the genre that originated in some of the poorest inner ghettos of America became a global phenomenon.
Malayalam is a language spoken by some 3 crore people in a Southern Indian state. It is considered a tough language to master even by native speakers of other South Indian languages like Tamil. However, even if you don’t understand a word of the language(I do, as I am a Malayali), you are bound to enjoy the 2019 album ‘Loop’ by the Kerala rap group Street Academics.
For the music that shapes the 9 tracks on the album is filled with rhythmic variations and surprising instrumentations that are rare, if not hitherto unimagined in global hip hop; you easily get swept away in its currents. The rapping coming across as part of the music itself rather than what music is supposed to support in a ‘proper’ rap album.
That’s not to say that the album is lacking in philosophical depth which only words can provide.
Sans the intro and outro, the seven tracks in the album speak about the seven deadly sins as they are played out in the contemporary socio-political climate of Kerala, which would find a worldwide resonance nonetheless- owing to the fact that such ‘sins’ form part of the fabric of life just about anywhere humans are found.
While the ambitious concept album justifies its heady theme with angry beats where they are demanded and invoking the goodness humans lose in the name of progress when that’s relevant, the philosophical mettle is not evenly bolstered by lyrical technique.
Sure, there are tracks- or passages in tracks- where the rhyming schemes are intriguing and the words fall next to each other to paint a powerful picture of contemporary existence. But there also are moments when the verbal dexterity is limited and the inventiveness of the music doesn’t get reflected in the words. (This is true also in those moments- brief though they are- when the lyrics are in English.)
However, that still only comes across as a pardonable glitch in an otherwise wonderfully crafted album, which is one of the- if not the- first albums from Kerala’s rap scene that’s truly worthy of adoration.
