Exploring the art of the alfaaz with Urdu rap artist Saniya MQ

Woh kare baat toh har lafz se khushbu aayeAisi boli wahi bole jise Urdu aayerdquoThe above verse by Ahmed Wasi insists that only those who know Urdu can speak in a way that every word seems to have a fragrance of its own Not even Wasi may have thought that this might apply to the unlikely genre of hip hop But Saniya MQ seems to be a living embodiment of thisFor the rap musician from Govandi the reality of fame hasnrsquot sunk in yet The 18yearold will be performing at Spoken Festrsquos prelude this Sunday and in its upcoming edition in February and has previously worked with Emiway Bantai but to her itrsquos about the art not the fame ldquoArt mere liye zubaan hai azaadi hairdquo she says ldquoItrsquos my way of liferdquoSaniya whorsquos currently a firstyear mass media student first fell in love with her chosen language while studying in an Urdumedium school She recalls trying her hand out at writing her own verses as early as Class XI But it was only in the pandemic when she had just finished her Class X that she started focusing on the whole production process of her art She would write for first three days of of the week record it with the beats on the fourth day shoot the video on the fifth day and edit and upload it over the weekend Her cameraman was her younger brother and she received guidance from MC Heam arap instructorldquoRap music for me is deeply personal It is not just about my problems but about the society and people around merdquo she emphasises Her recent project Shaher was a sixtrack EP released in October last year Each track captures a facet of the issues impacting the nation for example the eponymous title track is about corruption among police and politicians in her neighbourhood Govandi Nalayak is about the angst and identity crisis of studenthood while Mai Ek Shayara Hoon is about the judgement and cynosure that comes with being a female rapperHer ldquodiss tracksrdquo about the state of her hometown have not gone unnoticed Shersquos already had a visit from a local politician who asked what she thinks of herself Wersquore expecting a reference to Mirza Ghalibrsquos Har Ek Baat Pe Kehte Ho Tum Ke Tu Kya Hai but the young upstart has something of her ownldquoI incorporated it into Shaherrsquos title track Wo bole kaafi likhti hohum agli baar se dhyan dengekaam pe bhi aap pe bhichalti hoon mein acchahellipThey said lsquoYou write a lot we will keep an eye on you and your work next timehelliprdquo she tells usAsk her what her art means to her and she doesnrsquot hesitate ldquoWe all close our eyes when we see something wrong but when we see something good being done we find ways to criticise itrdquo she says ldquoThere are lots of stories that people donrsquot want to listen to and which go unsaid Since I know these stories it is my responsibility to tell them I will be the medium I will be the voice of the people who canrsquot tell their own storyrdquoWHAT Spoken 2024 PreludeWHEN January 7 430 PM onwardsWHERE antiSOCIAL Lower ParelPRICE Rs 499 onwardsTO BOOK insiderin