Nalasopara falls in rhyme

Akshay Poojary aka Gravity

When we talk about the gully rap that characterises hip-hop music in Mumbai, people tend to assume that it's all about kids walking with a swagger and spitting rhymes in the nooks and crannies of Dharavi and Nagpada. But that's only partially correct. It's equally true that over the years, places like Vasai and Nalasopara have also fostered a healthy culture of hip-hop once this genre started taking roots in the city.

Look at Akshay Poojary aka Gravity. One of the co-founders of influential crew Bombay Lokal, Poojary's foray into rap began in earnest only after his family shifted base from Santacruz to Nalasopara around 10 years ago. That's where he deep-dived into the genre after getting his socks knocked off by an Eminem track called Beautiful.

The rapper has now launched a solo album called Walls of Jericho. The six-track record explores diverse lyrical themes that range from personal matters of the heart to more public matters like misgovernance and societal injustice (sample this line from the opening track, Aakrosh: Sarkari haspatal hain bekaar saare log kahe/Neta jaate private mein/Paise poochho kaun bhare). Poojary tells us that before becoming a rapper, he had dreamt of being an author. That innate ability to write creatively reflects in his lyrics.

But the musical side of being an artiste is something he developed over the years in Nalasopara. Poojary says, "I would rate the scene as minus when I first went there. But now, there might be a rapper in every lane in the area. It's beautiful to see kids come up to me and say, ‘I heard your song. I am trying to rap, too.' It's an ever-growing culture, and while it might be 40 years old in the US, it's just the beginning here in India."

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