#HaqSeHindustan Lineup: Dopeadelicz

Born in 2012 from a love for rap and marijuana, the Dopeadelicz crew rose from the gullies of Dharavi to become one of the first major hip-hop crews of Mumbai. Founded by rappers  Tony Sebastian aka Stony Psyko, Rajesh Radhakrishnan aka Dope Daddy and Agnel Avinash Benson aka Ben Z, Dopeadelicz has an ever-rotating roster and its members include film makers and graffiti artists.

In addition to their ongoing battle to “Legalize It”, Dopeadelicz take on various socio-political topics in the their lyrics. The trio often draw on the experience of growing up in Dharavi to address issues around poverty, class disparity and the relatable struggle against the rules of Indian society. They often cite their failure to live up to India’s academic expectations as their reason for turning to hip-hop, considering it a space where they could express their frustration with the country’s eternal pursuit of winning the rate race. In addition to English, members of the crew rap in various regional languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil.

The crew gained viral fame earlier this year with the release of “Aai Shapath Saheb Me Navtho,” a tongue-in-cheek track about the time Stony Psyko got caught by cops for smoking up in public, but then convinced them to let him go by rapping for them. The song lists various serious crimes and offences the cops should be focusing on instead of chasing a couple of college boys who smoked a little pot.

Dopeadelicz will be performing live at Haq Se Hindustan, a concert presented by digital media firm Qyuki and Rolling Stone India on November 14th at Famous Studios in Mumbai. Get tickets here.