Birth name Roushan Illahi Name MC Kash Years active 2009–present | Instruments Vocals Also known as MC Kash | |
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Occupation(s) Rapper, singer, songwriter, student, record producer, activist Similar People BloodRockz, Kailash Mehra Sadhu, Zerobridge, Bhajan Sopori, Pragaash | ||
MC Kash aka Roushan Illahi | #HipHopHomeland | Unique Stories from India
MC Kash - Beneath This Sky (Official video)
Roushan Illahi, known by his stage name MC Kash, is a rapper/emcee from Kashmir. He took his name from his home province, Kashmir. He has been called a street poet.
Contents
- MC Kash aka Roushan Illahi HipHopHomeland Unique Stories from India
- MC Kash Beneath This Sky Official video
- Earlier life
- Interviews
- Police Raid
- Influence Popularity
- Discography
- References
Earlier life
He was born in 1990 in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir. He is the alumni of Burn Hall School. Roushan grew up under the shadow of guns and war and blood, the Kashmiri freedom struggle became his motivation. Illahi published his song "I Protest" in 2010 at the height of a major Indian army crackdown where many civilians were killed in clashes with Indian military security. The song became an "anthem of dissent."
Kash took to hip hop to render a voice to his thoughts and feelings and to paint a picture of his streets and give a voice to his people, both of which have been misrepresented by petty politics and a biased media. True to the roots and original spirit of hip hop, Kash has put himself out on the musical front line as an artist seeking to tap and harness the transformative power of this genre and to unleash its ability to serve in the defense of truth and justice.
Born in 1990, Kash belongs to a generation of Kashmiris that grew up under the shadow of guns, whose childhood memories are that of a war, raged in the streets. It was a battlefield and a playground, and it also handed out education to those who were able and willing to learn. The streets said it all. Right from his first track as a 17-year-old to his single "I Protest" and to his self-produced debut album Rebel RepubliK, MC Kash's underlying principle has been to stay true to his streets and to speak his mind.
MC Kash's music is from the heart and soul of his experiences and radiates from his love and dreams for his people in Kashmir. A bard seeking to fulfill his responsibility as a Kashmiri to reach out to more and more people, Kash strives to tell the untold tale of his land and explore the shape of an ideal and humane society. His words pay homage to the dignity and unsung heroism of everyday people – mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. His poetry has its roots in a universal consciousness and his songs speak of human themes of hope, courage, survival, resilience and persistence and the destined triumph of Truth over falsehood. Through his rap songs, MC Kash seeks to ask questions, to insist on justice, to resist and condemn hate, greed and ignorance, and to awaken and propel reform and positive action in this world. Learning and improving all the while.
Interviews
MC Kash has given several interviews to international media where he mostly spoke of Kashmir and the human rights abuses living under occupation. In an interview, he tells why he choose English language.
In another, he describes of the relation of Gaza and Kashmir:
On other artists, he says he is "proud" of young musicians who "[keep] alive the memories of the Kashmiri people through their music."
Police Raid
Many times the Indian police had raided his studio to search for someone who is backing him. But they found nothing. MC Kash tells in an interview that he is independent: "Nobody is paying me. Nobody told me to go sing about Kashmir."
Influence & Popularity
MC Kash became tip of the tongue and talk of the town by his song "I protest", He also is referred as a person who started Hip Hop Kashmir. Seeing him rose many artists like EssXaar, Shy9 The Preacher, Bhat Rihaan, Sibtain Music, Rfa Faheem Altaf Hip Hop Became a trend in Kashmir only after Kash.