A hip hop band from Kerala had their concert in Bengaluru this weekend stopped midway after a handful of members in the crowd objected to them singing in Malayalam.
Members of the band, Street Academics, allege that the venue managers of Foxtrot in Marathahalli turned off the sound system during their performance.
The band, comprising members from various parts of Kerala, was earlier signed up to play along with Mumbai-based band Swadesi at the venue on Saturday. Quite a sizeable crowd had gathered to catch their performance, says Vivek Radhakrishnan, music producer and composer of the band.
“The venue manager cut off the sound without even informing us, while we were in the middle of a song. A handful of people had objected to us singing in Malayalam, and demanded that we sing either in English or in Kannada, since it was Bengaluru. The rest of the crowd was enjoying the show. We sing only our own original songs, and nowhere does it happen that a band is asked to sing songs other than their own,” says Vivek.
Apology
Facing criticism from independent musicians and bands, the venue owners posted an apology on their Facebook page.
“The team at Foxtrot acknowledges the incident last night that arose as some guests responded in an unexpected manner. We respect the artists and their work and have programmed multi-lingual acts ever since we ventured into live performances; however to de-escalate the issue, safeguard our guests, artists and staff and to avoid a security lapse, we took necessary decisions to pause the show briefly,” said the post.
According to Vivek, the band and their promoters, 4/4 Experiences and Azadi Records, decided to raise the issue since they did not want such incidents to repeat.
“If you are a good listener, you can enjoy music in any language. Also, if independent music in India has to grow, things have to happen in regional languages,” he says.
Pioneers
Street Academics, who play their own unique brand of alternative hip hop in Malayalam, English and Tamil, is one of the pioneers of the genre in Kerala, having started more than a decade ago.
Though they have been composing songs for sometime, their first studio album ‘Loop’ was released earlier this year in Spotify and other platforms. Based on the theme of ‘seven deadly sins’, the album has been noted for its wacky lyrics and for its groovy music, with influences from multiple genres.
“When we started out, there was no hip-hop scene in the state. Now, with more artistes coming up, and the music being featured in some movies too, it is slowly gaining a following,” says Vivek.
