Sitting in the Desi Hits! war room (aka international Skype conference calls and the middle space between the cubicles in the office) our staff deliberated long and hard on the subject of: Who is the top 5 Rap MCs of Desi descent in the game today?  After shouting matches that nearly came to blows and police knocking on our doors due to noise complaints, the dust settled and the following criteria and artists were chosen:

Artistry: level of lyricism, stage showmanship and raw talent

Commercial Appeal: radio play, video play, distribution deal, record sales

Star Power: media exposure, fan fanaticism and overall imaging

Touring: caliber, regions and volume of shows

Our Top 5.....

1. Hard Kaur: 

On an artistry level, we all agreed that she wasn’t the best lyricist out of the bunch.  Her verse on Sona Family’s ‘Glassy’ is probably the most well known, but her current album ‘Supawoman’ had mediocre lyrical delivery despite great production.  Commercial appeal saw intensive radio play and video play for single after single in the UK and India.  SaReGaMa distributed ‘Supawoman’ in the UK and India becoming the top 5 album in India.  She’s written 5 records for upcoming Bollywood films to be named shortly.  Winning the Best Female Act at the UK AMAs coupled with a performance at the MTV India Style Awards gives her massive checks in the box for Star Power.  Not to mention Indian coffee chain Café Coffee Daily named a drink after her: the Hard Kaur Hip Hop Combo. Styling herself has proved to win as she’s become a darling in the Bollywood industry with future film projects in the works including a biography on her life.  She’s toured all over India and the UK giving her at least a tie in the level of most shows performed at on this list.  In 3 out of 4 categories, she trumps her male counterparts.

 
2. Riz MC:

Lyrically, he takes the cake from everyone on this list.  His record ‘Post 911 Blues’ met a controversial tone yet received massive exposure in the UK, Pakistan and India via internet portals and certain media outlets.  Attacking more conscious elements of the scene, his lyrics paint a picture of the reflection of our community right now.  He’s battled some mean MCs on the UK show ‘Jumpoff’ holding his own and representing our community.  The lyrical accolades continue on and on.  In addition to artistry, he might be the most well traveled artist in the Desi Game today.  Do some research and if you got a few pages – copy and paste his calendar.  Star power wise, he’s crossed over into acting with roles in critically the acclaimed ‘Britz’ and ‘The Road To Guantanamo’ with rumors that he’s signed on to star in some Hollywood movies in the near future.  While movies and television don’t count for the reason he’s a dope MC in the top 5, it shows the star power that he’s been able to create with his raw talent and artistry.  Where he lacks is in the Commercial Appeal category.  Radio play has been decent, but that and consistent video play are important, along with album sales and distribution.  He has an EP on the way in May, so let’s see if he can make it to number 1, by making up in this category and stepping beyond HK in Star Power.

3. Blitzkrieg:

This Toronto native not having done as many shows as Hard Kaur or Riz MC, Blitz took it upon himself to promote his album “The Rhyme Book” in October 07 and came to the UK and hit the road touring the Universities.  By the end of the tour every girl in the audience was singing the hook to ‘Juliet or Heer’.  Lyrically he doesn’t surpass Riz MC or Nivla, but his showmanship and energy on stage gives him massive points in the artistry section. He’s had several records from his album in the top 10 charts at Asian radio in the UK and his video has received massive play via internet and select television portals.  In addition, his album was released through VIP Urban Records and has seen more sales than most other rappers in the game today could wish for.  In the Star Power category he lacks a bit.  His imaging needs to step up – he needs to look like a star.  He’s had press exposure and interviews in Canada and the UK but the real thing to note is he was the only non-Brit Asian to be nominated for a UK AMA at this past years awards show. 

4. Kidd Skilly:

Skilly, The Detroit native, coming off of one of the most massive collaborations in a while for the Desi community took the industry by storm when the Ni Sohniye record featuring Akon dropped in December. Rumorville says that a record with Snoop Dogg may be in the works.  His star power rocketed as a result of these collabos as an instant intrigue into the Kidd Skilly camp ensued from press and fans.  Lyrically he holds his own, but isn’t the best MC in the game.  He can tell a story, but he needs to work on his hooks.  His stage presence is one of the best we’ve seen as his command over the crowd is something to be witnessed.  But commercial appeal lacked with radio play and video play.  We personally thought his records could have received more spins, but why didn’t they?  The Bhangra Chick video received a lot of hype and internet spins, but what happened to TV? No album release date announced, and no distribution deal, but he did spend sometime in the UK doing a few performances.  Need to step the commercial appeal and touring up to match the star power he portrays.

5. Nivla:

Reached massive star power from the Doritos Crash the SuperBowl contest for which he made the top 3 finalists this past January.  The contest brought with it phenomenal PR exposure including a performance on Fox 5 Good Day NY.  Fans across the US voted religiously to see Nivla make it, but unfortunately, the top spot went to someone else.  His record ‘Be Easy (Koi Naa)’ feat. P. Oberoi has been released through Interscope Records and a deal is being discussed.  He portrays himself as a star in public.  Lyrically, he’s up there with the best in the game.  His verbal ability is remarkable.  The passion that flows from his rhymes bring you into the record and make you feel exactly what his motivation is one word at a time.  But in the commercial appeal and touring categories he fails miserably.  Radio spins for his records came and went, and we’re still waiting for direction on which single is next to put into rotation.  Has the video gone past the internet yet?  It was a professionally produced video, but where has it gone?  The album ‘Child of God’ is a collection of hot records across the board, but where’s the distribution on it? In the touring category, he’s done fewer shows than we could imagine especially with the hype of the Superbowl/Interscope competition behind him.  Nivla barely made the list this go round, need to step your game up in commercial appeal and touring as well.
 
There you have our top 5, but what about others like AG Dolla, the 1Shanti, Raja Wilco, Lost Souljah, Menis, Bohemia, S-Endz from Swami, Swami Baracus, Vee (Mr. Rap Singer) or even Dee from the Panjabi Hit Squad… should they have made the list?  Who’s your top 5?  Drop us a comment and let us know!!!