Rap for awareness

It might be a case of biting the hand that feeds you in admitting this, but journalists seem to be getting a bad rep these days. There is an increasing view that certain sections of the media act in a partisan manner. It's not our case here to argue the merits of this vilification. But the fact remains that the blind trust that people placed on reporters and editors from a bygone era is now entrusted with a pinch of salt.

That's where protest poetry comes in to save the day, feels EPR Iyer, the front man of Underground Authority, one of the country's best-known rap-rock acts. He's released a new album in a solo avatar. It's got a simple title, Protest Rap, but deals with complex issues such as the need to uphold the values of a democracy. There's one track called Abki baar kaun, for example, that asks searching questions about the alleged tampering of electronic voting machines and the perceived loss of the CBI's independence.

Iyer tells us, "We are living in an age when [the powers that be] are planting magic bullets in everyone's head and making them go to war against each other. But protest rap gives a chance for the poets of the street to give a voice to the voiceless." It's a noble thought, and something that seemingly biased journalists should remind themselves of, since that is their essential function.

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