Dee MC releases a new EP, MMM, about an alter-ego exploring her dark side

Dee MC at a performance

Darkness, greed and freedom - Deepa Unnikrishnan aka Dee MC is chasing radically different ideas in music this year. The hip-hop star's four-track EP, MMM-Money Made Maniac, which releases today, captures a new direction to her songwriting and singing career.

"The EP is about an alter-ego," the Mumbai-based rapper admits, adding, "The idea spawned from my producer Bellabio's suggestion to build a story around a robbery. It inspired me to create an alter ego for the tracks. Whatever I am doing or talking about is not something I would do as Dee MC," she points out.

Telling the story of a girl's journey from heartbreak to power and the need to fill an absence, it sounds like the script of a short film. Indeed, it might have been one. The 28-year-old reveals, "I originally wanted to make a 15-minute short film, pre-pandemic. Then, the pandemic happened and things changed. I still wanted to stick with the thought, and hence, the focus of the EP is the story."

The pick of the lot are What am I to you? and Look at me now that have free-flowing verses with a touch of melancholia. The rapper is right in claiming the EP is a new direction. The opening track of What am I to you? veers away from rap rhythms till the following tracks chase it with energy, staccato and rhythmic verse play. MMM is well-produced and an exultation to end the story in the EP.

Dee MC puts the story down to her writing style. "Hip-hop is storytelling with a picture in your head. I just work in reverse. I write in a way that you can visualise the story," she says, adding that she remains a very visual artiste.

The release also entails several collaborations including with Sahir, Hakim and her first collaboration with fellow rapper Meba Ofilia. "We have been close friends since we connected for the Rani Cypher last year," the musician says. The collaboration resulted in a subtle track about female empowerment. Dee MC says, "It was a song for me and my girlfriends." It is also the way to the future.

"The year 2023 will be all about collaborating with different producers and labels and expanding my listener base," she says, adding,
"I am willing to work with people who are taking initiatives to get the songs out there."

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Rapping the charts

Meba Ofilia: The Shillong-based rapper is one of the breakthroughs of Indian hip-hop in the last five years. Her first single, Done Talking, earned her the Best Indian Act award at the 2018 MTV European Music Awards.

Trichia Grace-Ann: The Mumbai-based artiste, songwriter and rapper is also a pianist which explains her flair and rhythm in compositions like Goldlust and Nachle. Tune in to her song writing skill and verseplay in Show stoppa for a better sample.

Tribemama Marykali: With her multi-cultural roots from Australia, Kerala and Nigeria, this hip-hopper uses her distinctive song writing skills to speak out against oppression, individual identity and the struggles of a woman of colour.