KD Playlist 015: Bollyhood Babes
For this round of playlists, we wanted to feature some of our favorite South Asian Diaspora female artists making a name for themselves in RnB & hip-hop. Hit play and you’re bound to feel on top of the world with these badass tunes. Check out our playlist here:
Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Cartel Madras is a hip hop duo consisting of sisters Bhagya “Eboshi” Ramesh and Priya “Contra” Ramesh. The sisters immigrated from Chennai, India, and categorize their music as “Goonda Rap” deriving inspiration from hip hop, house, punk, electronic, and South Indian music. Goonda Gold is a forever banger and always makes us feel powerful.
Priya Ragu was born to Sri Lankan Tamil Parents in Switzerland. Priya’s parents fled Sri Lanka during the civil war in the 1980s - and made it a point to make Priya aware of her Tamil heritage since she was young. Growing up, Priya was the singer in her father’s small band, and they often performed popular Kollywood songs together alongside her brother. Priya rose to fame in 2020 for her single “Good Love 2.0.” You may know her now for her beautiful single, “Unakkul Naane”.
Kiran Gandhi, or Madame Gandhi, is an American Indian electronic music producer, drummer, artist, and activist. Madame Gandhi has drummed for M.I.A’s tours after recording a live drums set accompanying the M.I.A track “Bad Girls.” Additionally, Madame Gandhi has also been a touring drummer for artists Kehlani and Thievery Corporation.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, Aishwarya Shah - ASHWARYA - is a singer songwriter inspired by Rihanna, Kanye West, Travis Scott, SZA, Sufijan Stevens, and Tyler the Creator. She signed to Jarrad Rogers' label Noize Recordings and subsequently released her debut single "Psycho Hole" on 2 July 2020. Her debut extended play, Nocturnal Hours, was released on 8 July 2021.
Shreea Kaul is an Indian American singer-songwriter who mixes South Asian sounds with modern R&B. She grew up in the US, influenced by soul, funk, and Bollywood. Despite not feeling supported to pursue her artistic passions, she joined choir and theatre in high school and continued exploring music in college. She wanted to blend her cultural background into her music but found it hard to fuse different styles smoothly. Her latest project, "The Seven Deadly Sins," explores the beauty and malice of each sin while blending her roots' sounds and languages. The LP has almost one million streams since its 2020 debut.
Pallavi aka Fijiana is an Indo-Fijian rapper, singer, and creative director born and raised in the Bay Area. When Pallavi was in high school, her friend and her watched a movie called Colombiana - and talked about how the name Fijiana would be a cool superhero name. Since then, it started sticking. She started making music and the name stuck.
Siri Narayan is one of the few female rappers in India, renowned for her ability to rap fluently in multiple languages such as Kannada, Telugu, English, and Hindi. Her journey into the world of rapping began when she was inspired by Nicki Minaj's "B.o.B". Initially, she performed at college events, and her first rap performance still holds a special place in her heart as it fueled her passion to create more music.
Supriya is an 18-year-old artist from Fiji, now living in West London. She blends her South Asian roots, western upbringing and diverse influences to create a trendsetting sound. Supriya is a drill artist and rapper who delivers timeless hits worldwide with melodic vocals and hard bars. She has performed at Wembley Arena with X Factor finalists on tour when she was 15, worked with C Biz and songwriters of Mabel. Her versatility originates from being from Fiji Island, which she combines with her hood vibes in West London.