Sindh maan ahyaan

Pinky Maidasani in a still from her upcoming folk single

Folk singer and rapper Pinky Maidasani can sing in 16 languages, including Odiya, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati and Kashmiri. But, it's Sindhi that has a special corner in her heart. "I hail from the community, and over the years, I have performed at numerous community events and weddings. I realised that we are woefully lacking when it comes to songs with a funky, groovy vibe." This was her cue to create more original music in her mother tongue. For this, India's first female folk rapper has teamed up with creative partner Sandy Taneja, who has also directed her videos and penned the lyrics for her songs. Her two upcoming singles are titled Shaadi Ji Raat, and Ring.

While the first Sindhi single is a wedding sangeet song, written from the bride's point of view, the other is centred around a ring ceremony. "The music has a South Indian touch to it, but the song is in Sindhi - a peppy dance number. This is probably the first time that a song has been composed specially for a ring ceremony at a Sindhi wedding."

Maidasani started her career in singing at the young age of eight. She was a finalist at Indian Idol 3 and went on to feature in music shows such as Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega. More recently, she also sung Turn It Up for the webshow, Four More Shots Please. "It [Turn It Up] has a lot of rap elements and is again written by Taneja and Natania Lalwani and composed by Mikey McCleary. When mainstream shows endorse a genre like rap, it lends it legitimacy," she thinks.

When Maidasani came to the city in 2001, she was one of countless singing enthusiasts looking to make a mark. "I wasn't getting enough work because the market is so competitive. That's when I thought, why not rap in regional languages? I am a Sindhi and I had to make money," she jokes. Work hasn't dried up since. In 2016, she worked as the official singer for IPL team Chennai Super Kings for two years and has also sung jingles for Raymonds, Havell's Fans, Amul and Skoda. "Rapping in regional languages has helped me connect with the audience. Since my father worked in the Railways, we travelled a lot and in the process I ended up getting exposed to new languages." Although the path is full of challenges, Maisadani thinks the time is ripe to be a folk rapper. "See, on one hand, it is difficult because there are very few songs written and composed for a Hindi folk rapper, but it is also an opportunity to do something new in the market. I guess our time has come."

What: Shaadi Ji Raat, and Ring.
Where: https://www.youtube.com/c/FutureWings MusicChannel