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Mumbai Rapper Deane Sequeira On Working in Bollywood, Hip-Hop in India And More

The artist is currently fine-tuning her own material that she plans on releasing soon

Sep 29, 2020

Mumbai rapper Deane Sequeira. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

When Mumbai rapper Deane Sequeira was recording her parts for the 2013 film ABCD: Anybody Can Dance, she recalls that the sessions were a day before her board exams, she says, “I was there with my books in one hand and my lyrics in another.”

Before the artist was working on Bollywood films such as Student of the Year 2 and Street Dancer amongst others, her earliest memory with music goes back to when she took part in a school singing competition as a 10-year-old and won second place. That laid the foundation for her as an artist and in 2010 when she heard Eminem’s collaboration with Rihanna on the gripping “Love the Way You Lie” she knew that hip-hop was her calling.

Sequeira says, “Back then, rap wasn’t a big deal, it was a genre you wouldn’t usually hear on the radio or the TV or hear anybody speak about it. I fell in love with every bit of the genre. The rhythm, the flow, the beat, the distinctive vocal style, everything made me dive and submerge myself even more into the genre.”

There was no looking back for Sequeira and since then she thrust herself into the Bollywood music scene, picking up multiple projects on the way. Apart from providing her talent for movies, some of the other highlights in her young career include performing at Artist Aloud’s 50 Artists 1 Stage concert (2012) as a teenager, being part of actor Priyanka Chopra’s Social for Good event and sharing the stage with Ram Sampath at Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune. “Performing for an audience of 50,000 was a whole different thrill,” says Sequeira.

With the rise of hip-hop in India over the last few years, there’s no better time to be a rapper in the country. According to Sequeira, she feels that it is the top genre in these parts and that the rise of independent artists pursuing hip-hop is a testament to that. “The demand for more rap in Bollywood songs is accelerating and so is the demand for independent releases in the hip-hop genre. It’s here to stay and is only getting louder,” she says.

Sequeira has been working on her own material and is currently plotting a release strategy. “They’re songs close to my heart,” says the rapper. Apart from that she also plans on collaborating with artists from various genres to add diversity to the music she makes. The artist says, “I’m still on the route to achieving my dreams and goals by embracing every challenge that comes my way.” She adds, “I encourage everyone to explore beyond their comfort zone and awaken the creative geniuses within them.”

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