An all-female Indian rap group is using the power of music to highlight women’s issues in socially conservative India. Through its powerful lyrics and catchy beats, Wild Wild Women is striking a chord with audiences in a country where rap music isn’t considered a woman’s domain.
Believed to be India’s first female rap group, the five-member collective was formed in 2020 and consists of rappers, singers and an artist. They say they want to change how women are perceived in the country and their songs reflect the members’ own struggles with entrenched biases against women.
Despite having no formal musical qualifications, what unites the band is their shared passion for music and activism. “We’ve always encountered prejudices at home and patriarchal mindsets from men dominating the music industry," band member Preeti Sutar, popularly known as Hashtagpreeti, tells The National. "This motivated us to shatter stereotypes about Indian women and female artists in the industry in particular."
The members are from different parts of Mumbai, India’s financial capital, and apart from Sutar, there’s Pratika Prabhune, Jacqulin Lucas (JQueen), Shruti Raut (MC Mahila) and Ashwini Hiremath (Kranti Naari).
Performing in the underground hip-hop scene has helped the band amass a sizeable following over the past three years. The group's music videos have captured viewers' attention and got a nod from peers as well.
The crew leveraged the pandemic to streamline their operations, strengthen their relationships and create meaningful music. Ultimately, though, the band says they are getting respect from people “because our music is creating change".
Nearly all members balance their roles in Wild Wild Women with full-time jobs or as academics. They are also stakeholders in social initiatives, such as tying up with menstrual health non-profit Project Baala for a sustainable period pad distribution and awareness drive around Mumbai.
They also all grew up in conservative households where women are seen through the twin binaries of being a good wife or a doting mother. Lucas says: “We’ve grown up seeing women having no voice, never speaking up or giving an opinion. They are put down and sadly, they too have accepted this domination by men."
Lucas, 24, says she has always rebelled against this social asymmetry and her music reflects that. “While my parents were supportive of my musical career, my aunts and uncles thought I’d fail miserably with my unconventional choice of career as a rap artist,” she recalls. To prove them wrong, she decided to perform at her sister’s wedding in 2021 with her group. “The performance was such a hit that we got a standing ovation from all the guests. My misty-eyed mom came up on stage to hug me.”
These small victories have gradually made the group more confident. However, their main challenge now is to claim some space in the professional Indian hip-hop and rap industry, which is still dominated by male performers.
“As a young girl, wherever I went for musical performances, I could see only men performing," says Lucas. "It was so dispiriting. So, through my lyrics, I wanted to put a message out there that girls who are interested in music should come forward to perform in public with confidence."
Listening to American hip-hop artists such as Nicki Minaj, she adds, “motivated me to give professional music a shot".
Sutar, 26, shares her own story of rebellion, saying she "fought bitterly" with her parents on how she should be treated. “Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I’m inferior. My dad wanted a boy child, but instead he was blessed with two girls. He wasn’t happy with this, so as the younger child I was expected to behave like a boy and take on all responsibilities of a male child.” Sutar said she “tolerated” her father’s attitude, helping him in his business, until her teens. “But now, I’ve told him clearly that he needs to treat me with respect as a girl because that’s who I am.”
Each group member harnesses the power their experiences and writes their own lyrics, highlighting subjects such as culture, social taboos and gender inequality. For instance, one recent song called Raja Beta (Sonny Boy) explores the differences in how male and female children are treated, and how parents should treat both genders with dignity.
Another song — Game Flip — blends elements of breakbeat, funk and Afro percussion to tackle issues such as glass ceilings in rap music and elsewhere, all while challenging the myth that women “can’t be independent and empowered individuals”.
The band believes that being an all-female group imbues their art with a special power. More so because they are also associating themselves with worthy issues. Their song, Uddu Azad (I fly free), for instance, talks about mental health. Another one raises awareness of polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS in the rural villages of Rajasthan.
The group feels their music resonates better with the audience because they sing in several Indian languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada, as well as English, alternating between languages in each song.
It's not all plain sailing, however. “We fight a lot and also have differing viewpoints on various things," says Sutar. "But when we make music, we forget all such dissonances. Making music is a spiritual experience and we become collective stakeholders in producing good art.”
The ladies have performed at leading music festivals across the country — in big cities including Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai — but their eyes are now set on international shores, especially as overseas recognition has been pouring in, with global media taking an interest.
It's their fans' reactions they find the most rewarding, however, says Lucas. “There are many curious girls who message us asking how we do it. We can feel the potential of how limitless this is. There is so much we can do not just for each other, but women in the country and in the world. Today most of our audience comprises women.
"The same aunties who doubted us earlier are applauding us. This is music to my ears," she says, with a laugh.
