These bachchas can hip-hop too

Mere baaton mein hai dumkalam mein syaahiShaant sa toofanMain macha dunga tabaahirsquo These direct powerful verses are an example of the skill and raw talent that defines Ayush Begar AKA Kavikaar and Saniya Mistry AKA Saniya MQrsquos latest collaboration Bachha kisko bol raha hai The sixtrack EP by the music label Tiger Baby Records produced by Harshit Mishra AKA Hashbass with Ankur Tewari as creative producer marks the second release focused on the younger demographicWhile it is the medium of the oppressed hiphop has often been dominated by the adults ldquoThe idea was to create something for the youth It sounded interesting when Ankur Tewari suggested So I decided to take it uprdquo says producer Harshit MishraFrom left Ayush and Saniya with Hashbass at the school studioThe two talents that emerged from The Dharavi Dream Project were Saniya and Ayush One listen to the EP and you understand why The duo is confident direct and carry a brash attitude that reflects their youthful ambitionsIncidentally both began to rap in their early teens For Saniya 18 it was a random challenge by her classmates while Ayush 19 was inspired by his elder brother ldquoWe might belong to different neighbourhoods but we have experienced similar things What takes time for people to realise as adults we have seen alreadyrdquo Saniya states matteroffactly They also share the common thread of the curation of The Dharavi Dream ProjectFor the duo hiphop is not just play It is work Ayush remarks how he would write and work on his rhymes while Saniya recalls doing homework on wordplay and rhythm Tracks such as Super mom Antakshri Vibe de and Ek hi baat hai showcase the finesse while being fun groovy and relatable Mishra says ldquoThe relatability and flair in their verses impressed me Their delivery and articulation are on point As a producer my objective was to simply sculpt what they deliverrdquoWhile the duo came up with the verses and ideas Mishra says he worked on introducing them to chorus overlays and simple additions ldquoHis beats are crazy He got our vibe instantly That made it easyrdquo says AyushYet such confidence cannot be faked ldquoI learnt very early on that if I have to survive I cannot have selfdoubt Even if I did everything right people will find a way to criticise me We have worked on this art made mistakes and learned Thatrsquos where our confidence comes fromrdquo replies Saniya Currently in her first year of Bachelors of Mass Media at NG Acharya College in Chembur the Govandiresident aims to blend her education with her hiphop career ldquoTo stay in the industry I need to understand how it worksrdquo she quipsRegard them as children at your own peril The eponymous title track is proof of that It rips into the patronising attitude that anyone might hold towards two teens blazing their way through verses ldquoWe keep hearing such comments like lsquoYou are so young and already rapping so wellrsquo So we made that into a hookrdquo chuckles SaniyaIt is hard not to feel inspired by such cleverness Another brilliant work Ayushrsquos Maths mera dushman felt like an articulation of unsaid childhood trauma for this writer ldquoMy toughest subject is mathematicsrdquo the Dharaviresident laughs ldquoNo matter how many times I would do the sums they would remain unsolved I would always be the last in the grouprdquo Ergo a rap that outlines the journey of an artiste struggling with societyrsquos demand that an intelligent student must be good in cracking numbersldquoHiphop was meant to spread its wings I want to speak about my experiences and my people to as many as I can I also want to evolve as a rapper this yearrdquo he explains For Mishra working on the EP was revealing ldquoIt was so inspiring watching them There is nothing childish or simple about their rap although it comes from the perspective of young mindsrdquo he concludesLog on to Baccha kisko bol raha hai on Spotify Apple