People We Lost in 2022: Swadesi’s MC Tod Fod

Earlier this year, India’s music community and the country’s hip-hop scene in particular lost one of its most prominent and outwardly spoken artists, MC Tod Fod aka Dharmesh Parmar (24), from Mumbai’s multilingual hip-hop group Swadesi.  

Shortly after Tod Fod’s passing in March, Swadesi said in a statement, “Our brother Dharmesh Parmar aka MC Tod Fod passed away on 20th of March in the afternoon. He died due to a heart attack while playing hackey sack. Post-mortem reports have stated that he died because of high blood pressure that caused the attack. He had a heart problem in the past that happened around November last year.” 

When Swadesi formed in 2013, the group quickly grew in prominence with their brand of socially and politically conscious hip-hop music. With Swadesi, Tod Fod shone bright as he stood up for environmental and human rights issues, amongst other important topics. Tod Fod would go on to release a number of singles including the impactful “The Warli Revolt” in 2019 and the full-length 10-track Chetavni in 2020 with Swadesi. His collaboration with DJ Chromaderma and rapper MC Solomon on “Truth & Bass” was his final release before his passing in March 2022.  

Apart from Swadesi, Tod Fod was heavily sought-after and involved with other projects too. He worked with the likes of artists such as Bandish Projekt, Viveick Rajagopalan and metallers  Providence, and even contributed to the visceral track “India 91” that was part of the soundtrack for the Zoya Akhtar-directed Bollywood film Gully Boy.  

Tributes for the rapper poured in from a number of individuals after his passing. Akhtar said, “You have gone way too soon. I can only be grateful our paths crossed.” Equality Labs, a Dalit civil-rights organization, said, “We offer love and strength to his family, members of the Swadesi Movement and everybody grieving the loss of this young artist.” Rapper Prabh Deep said, “Rest in power brother man. See you on the other side. I remember meeting you at shows and [was] always awestruck with your voice. This was unfair.” 

This past June, Swadesi put together a crowdfunding campaign as well as two shows to honor the late artist. The first show was an open jam and took place at Interim Space in Mumbai. This was followed by a gig at Mumbai’s antiSOCIAL that included sets by Swadesi, Boombay Djembe Folas, Ta Dhom Project, Many Roots Ensemble and DJ Uri. The crowdfunding campaign yielded a profit of ₹3,15,353, with the funds being split between Tod Fod’s family, an environmental conservation program and a digital museum created to keep the late rapper’s legacy alive.   

In October, Swadesi put up Tod Fod T-shirts for sale for fans, and last month posthumously released the track “Yam”, which features Tod Fod at his fiery best. It is clear that although Tod Fod is sadly no longer with us, his work and legacy will continue to shine bright, no matter what.