Latest news with #HashtagPreeti

New Indian Express

Rap like a girl

Draped in blue saris and sneakers, five women spit verses that tell powerful tales of womanhood, rebellion, and self-liberation. They are Wild Wild Women—India's pioneering all-women hip-hop collective. Based in Mumbai, the group has been a fierce presence in Indian hip-hop since late 2020. Recently, they lit up Delhi's Travancore Palace during 'Empowerment — Art and Feminism', a showcase by Kunstmuseum and Goethe-Institut. The collective is led by five fiery rappers: Ashwini Hiremath (Krantinaari), Preeti Sutar (HashtagPreeti), Shruti Raut (MC Mahila), Jacquilin Lucas (JQueen), and Pratika Prabhune (Pratika). Alongside them are breakdancers FlowRaw (Deepa Singh) and MGK (Mugdha Mangaonkar), skateboarder Shruti Bhosle, and graffiti artist Gauri Dabholkar. It all began in Marol in 2020 when Krantinaari and HashtagPreeti, frustrated by the lack of women in India's hip-hop scene, decided to create the space they couldn't find. 'Wild Wild Women was meant to be an open community, but as we started jamming and sharing, it became personal and brought us closer,' says Krantinaari. Their discography is a fearless critique of patriarchy, tackling everything from PCOS and mental health to gender violence and everyday womanhood. 'Music is like breathing for us. It's how we release anger and emotion,' says JQueen. 'When the listener hears it, they feel it too.' One of the first tracks they performed in Delhi was their cypher 'Uddu Azad'— a song that speaks of breaking free from societal chains and carving space in a world that often limits women. 'In hip hop, there's this pressure to maintain a tough, hardened exterior,' says Pratika. ''Uddu Azad' was the first time we allowed ourselves to feel everything fully. We weren't trying to be 'inspiring' or 'hard.''