MUMBAI: Mumbai based socially-conscious Hip-Hop group have dropped their nine-track debut album – Chetavni! Swadesi believes in ‘music with a cause’ and go by a sound that is traditional yet global. With their unsparing lyrical content intertwined with folk and bass music, Swadesi has created a unique sound and brand of its own in the Indian music landscape.
Chetavni arrives at a pivotal moment in Indian history, with class-inequality and sectarian violence seemingly being seeped into the legal and social fabric of Indian society.
Five years after the release of the seminal ‘Laaj Watte Kai’, the multi-lingual hip-hop group that has come to represent the socio-political conscience of the city’s youth and nurtured the kind of brotherhood and creative energy previously seen in pioneering collectives such as Boy Better Know (UK), Wu-Tang Clan (US), Odd Future (US) and Brockhampton (US).
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MC Mawali, Tod Fod, 100RBH, Maharya, and BamBoy pull no punches in their critique of the Indian state, delivering scathing indictments of the ruling elite that come packaged in witty, blink and you might miss them, punchlines. In 2019, they released The Warli Revolt, a collaborative piece with Adivasi tribal chieftain Prakash Bhoir that became an anthem for the Save Aarey movement. Album highlights such as Aatank, Bhoy, Kranti Havi, and Khabardaar are poised to become the same.
Featuring production by BamBoy, Naar, Raakshas and Dr. Das, Chetavni explores a glacial, minimalistic soundscape, relying on guttural basslines and scattered Indian samples to drive the songs forward and paying homage to the crew’s inspirations from the UK’s grime and dub scenes.
Watch the music video for the first single off of the album – ‘Kranti Havi’ featuring Delhi Sultanate:
Chetavni is streaming on all streaming platforms and the Swadesi unit is all set to take it on tour in the coming months starting with Bangalore this Thursday!
