(Clockwise from top) tension'brow, Avinash Ghising, Kiran (Nepsydaz'), Sarad Singh, Gyanon (Nepsydaz'), Manas (Nepsydaz'), Ace and Spadixxx (Jehovah), Sammy Samrat, Aid Ray (The Unity), Apar, DA 69 (The Unity), Nirnaya da' NSK, Rakesh (Madzone), Pranil Timilsina, Bhai (Madzone). Hip-hop in Nepal started with GP's (Girish-Pranil) mainstream rap. "We were different and people liked our songs," says Pranil. Ask any Nepali hip-hop artiste and they'll tell you that they grew up listening to GP. "I was in grade six or seven when I first heard GP. I learnt their songs by heart and rapped at leisure to amuse friends and teachers," says Kiran of Nepsydaz'. GP started in 1993 with Girish as the rapper and Pranil as the melody singer. They would discuss concepts and lyrics. Girish was in class eight and Pranil had just finished ISc. Their debut album in 1994, Meaningless Rap, created quite a stir, selling more than 18,000 copies. In an era when lovey-dovey pop songs were making the rounds, GP were a breath of fresh air with their controversial rap songs about money, social problems, politics, and drugs. "We brought change. Some artistes said we were doing whatever we wanted," says Pranil, "They were right." GP's rap was more in lieu with the non-commercial hip-hop industry. For eight years, they struggled and survived despite family pressure about academics and careers. In 1998 they came out with their second album Meaningless Rap 2: Back Again. By then, the underground Nepali hip-hop scene had taken off. In 2002, GP parted ways. Girish started his own project as Girish and The Unity but soon vanished to the US. Pranil released a solo album called May 18 from music dot com. His collaborations with DA 69 (Aankha bhari naachchau) and Nabin K Bhattarai (Yehi ho ta maya) topped music charts last year. Madzone was inspired by Nirnaya and it's crossover music appealed to the public. Nepsydaz' broke from the underground scene to become a big commercial hit. Their second album, Made in Nepal, is still topping the charts with Chhudaina feating 1974 AD. For DA 69, rap is rhythm and poetry. Aid Ray, DA 69's sidekick is a good lyricist and freestyler. Another hip-hop artiste, Sarad Singh, is a blues bassist turned rapper who raps fearlessly about the political situation. There are chances that songs from his album Prashna, released by Vision Media, might be banned. Then there are artistes like Avinash Ghising, whose compositions such as Sunn ko baala are well-researched. Though TV is selling the fantasy life of hip-hop stars, many are looking to learn from old school hip-hop. This idea of provoking critical thinking was encouraged by WAVE and samudaya.org with The Manifesto Challenge where 9double7 won the Rs 15,000 cash prize. Hip hop's grip on young Nepalis is growing but Nep-hop has not gone without criticism. In Durbar Marg, a mother publicly accused Nirnaya da' NSK of influencing her son's dress sense. A member of a rock band recently stated in a daily that "rap is crap with a silent 'c'." Ananda Karki lambasted Girish and The Unity's Ma esto chhu in an interview in Pokhara two years ago. But Nep-hop has taken it all in it's stride. To see COD, a hip-hop pop band, perform at state-owned NTV's new year celebration last year was a positive sign. And Karki recorded a song featuring Manas of Nepsydaz' with DJ Raju for his recent album. Music award ceremonies have also recognised Nep-hop artistes. Nepsydaz' Hell raiser was nominated for the Best Song in Foreign Language category at Hits FM Music Awards 2060. This year Nirnaya's Ma Nepali won the Best Composition with National Feeling category at the Image Awards The Unity: DA 69 and Aid Ray They sang as Girish and The Unity until Girish went to the States. The Unity has recently released their album Girish and The Unity presents X from music dot com. Their lyrics are powerful and well-written. DA 69 also reads the sports news on Kantipur TV. Madzone One of Nep-hop's most popular groups, Madzone released it's album this year from SAV. The trio is: Rakesh Shrestha, Bhai Krishna Maharjan and Sudip Raj Shara (now in the US). Sarad Singh Vision Media recently released Sarad Singh's debut album Prashna, which also features Nepsydaz', Kranti Ale, Bishwa, Poonam, D'll Postino. The title song is already on the charts. A blues bassist, Singh has switched successfully to hip-hop. Avinash Ghising Ghising has released three albums: Chyangba (2000), Generation NP (2002) and Zero Point (2004). A thangka artist from Solukhumbu, Ghising has a lot of folk influence in his songs. He is currently researching popular folk songs to fuse with rap.