the room, addressing the rise
of female professionals in the
music business and how in-
tersections allow for everyone
to thrive.
Film critic Rajeev Masand’s
fireside chat with rapper and
producer Raftaar was an
insightful exchange where the
latter revealed how he made
it big by making the best out
of what he had, stressing
self-sufficiency for artists.
Raftaar taught himself how
to make, produce and release
music, leveraging platforms
such as online audio distri-
bution platform Soundcloud
and musician collaborative
social network ReverbNation.
On the threat of Bollywood
usurping the sound of hip-
hop, Raftaar said, “Bollywood
is an industry, not a style or
genre of music. Stop looking
at it as be-all and end-all.” He
went on to talk about how
collaborations only bring
about a new sound and not
the eclipsing of a genre.
We then headed to the
‘Toss X Insider Workshop’
on women’s leadership led by
leadership coach, author and
marketing consultant Aparna
Jain who through varied
activities and interactions
reinstructed the women
present in the room (from
different sections of the
music industry) in how to
assert and reintroduce them-
selves. The attendees took
away valuable lessons and
insights on how to value their
contributions and achieve-
ments at the workplace
and cite those using hard
statistics and numbers. The
workshop also delved into
non-verbal communication
and mapping of mentors and
sponsors to navigate the way
ahead for women looking to
rise in their careers.
Post lunch, we beelined
to the artist showcase which
featured Mumbai-based sing-
er-songwriter Tejas Menon
who performed “Make It
Happen” off his debut LP
with the same title and an
unreleased acoustic track
“Lead.” The singer-song-
writer peppered his set with
pertinent commentary,
reminding listeners that
while they’ve been hearing
of the independent music
scene blowing up in India
year after year, in reality, “we
(independent artists) are not
bombs,” and that the inde-
pendent music industry is
going to need more watering
before it truly realizes its
glory.
The second fireside
chat for the day took place
between Rolling Stone
India Executive Editor
Nirmika Singh and VJ/DJ
and music curator Nikhil
Chinapa, delving into the
rise of the electronic music
landscape in India as both a
profitable and cult venture.
Having co-founded music
festival Sunburn and then
moved on to the role of
festival curator and partner
at VH1 Supersonic, it’s safe
to say that Chinapa has been
instrumental in popular-
izing EDM in the country.
But he still sees potential to
be realized which he linked
to an absence of curators.
“We need to work on the
spectrum of discoverability
and on convincing people to
come to the event,” he says,
commenting on how technol-
ogy, particularly streaming
services, have further helped
to bridge this gap and that
companies investing in their
talent could rapidly progress
the current state of the scene.
He cheekily added that
there should also be a fan
present on every panel as a
representative of the music
community’s listeners.
The final panel for the day
was moderated by Home-
grown co-founder Varsha
Patra and focused on how a
sustainable ecosystem could
be built for the country’s
nascent but dominant hip-
hop scene. Panelists BBoy
Vikram (Breaking Instructor,
The Dharavi School), AnkitKhanna (Founder, DNH
Artists and AK Projects),
Arjun Sankalia (Sr. Director,
International Music and
Publishing at Sony Music)
and hip-hop artist Brodha V
confronted the harsh reality of
funding and how social media
numbers don’t always convert
into money. They expressed a
need for strategic investment
and mindful nurturing to
enable a future for hip-hop in
India. BBoy Vikram under-
lined the fact that hip-hop
consists of four elements
which deserve to be known,
appreciated and respected
as he took to the stage and
turned it into a dance cypher
with Mumbai hip-hop star
Divine rapping and Brodha V
providing the beat.
The high point of the two-
day conference was the exclu-
sive screening of the upcom-
ing documentary Gully Life- The Story of Divine which
traces the rise of the hip-hop
artist. Singh engaged in a
fireside chat with Divine post
the screening.
“Gully (the street) is
passion, inspiration to me,”
said the rapper, encapsulat-
ing the phenomenon that
has consumed the word
now synonymous with his
artistry. With growing access
to internet data and mobile
phones packing a punch at
a smaller price point, Divine
encouraged those who feel an
affinity towards hip-hop to at
least try and release music.
In order for hip-hop to retain
its form, he stressed sincerity
towards the genre, saying,
“Isko kharaab mat karo. Yeh
dil se nikla hai aur zaroori hai
ki we keep it like this (Don’t
ruin hip-hop. It comes from
the heart and it’s necessary
that we keep it as is.”) With
the conference drawing to a
close, it only made sense to
ask Divine where he sees In-
dian hip-hop heading and the
rapper called no shots: “We
don’t want any beef here. Just
want to make good music.”
JESSICA XALXO
Nirmika Singh chats with Nikhil Chinapa about building the electronic music landscape in IndiaRajeev Masand (right) in conversation with Raftaar about the hip-hop artist’s journeyNirmika Singh in conversation with Divine post the screening of ‘Gully Life - The Story of Divine.)Manav Dhanda and Mandar Thakur during the ‘How to Grow Your Business in Music Industry’ panel.42 | Rolling Stone | July 2019