From L.A. to Karachi: The Rise of Desi Hip Hop

Hip hop began in the 1970s in the South Bronx in New York City as a street culture by Black and Puerto Rican youth. In the ’90s, South Asian immigrants embraced the genre as a way to represent. Today, it can be heard blasting out of dinky shops in rural communities in South Asia. In this episode, we speak to Sammy Chand, a pioneer of Desi Hip Hop, and to Adnan Baloch, an emerging Pakistani rapper.

Time Markers (mins:sec)

• 0:49 – Pakistan has a new rapper in town, Meet Adnan Baloch
• 1:43 – Rap is born in the South Bronx
• 2:46 – The episode is about the birth and rise of Desi Rap as it moved from LA to Karachi
• 3:02 – Hip Hop Desis, South Asian Americans, Blackness and a Global Race Consciousness
• 3:39 – Sammy Chand elaborates on what makes Hip Hop, Desi
• 6:17 – California: Desi Rap’s hometown
• 7:21 – Blood Brothers
• 8:37 – Desi Rap goes global
• 10:28 – Sammy Chand talks about Desi Rap’s “return path”
• 11:01 – Back to the subcontinent
• 12:30 – Freestyling in Malir