Yungsta and Hadi’s ‘Ulte Seedhe Gaane’ Reimagines the Desi Hip-Hop Aesthetic

Seldom the type to fit into ‘-type beats,’ New Delhi rapper Yungsta linked up with U.K.-based, Indian-origin producer Hadi to deliver deliciously dextrous flows against the morbid monotony of desi hip-hop. With the release of the duo’s latest collaborative EP, USG aka Ulte Seedhe Gaane, the artists have found a rare synergy of vision — one that presents itself as a blatant disregard for most current conventions in the craft. Setting a precedent abundantly clear from the jump, the EP kicks off with “The Prelude,” setting the thematic tone for the project’s consequent rebellion against the ‘collapse of the imagination.’

Fearing nothing but fear itself, the EP meanders off the introspective anchor to a more retrospective narrative presented by Yungsta. In “Generational Act,” the second track on the EP, Yungi takes a monkey-bar approach to swinging down memory lane, recounting fond memories of grandparents, drawing parallels to him weaving the fabric of desi hip-hop into something he can don with pride.

Speaking of being a generational act and acknowledging the generational gap that sets his vision ahead of conditioned imagination, the rapper himself had a challenging time approaching the unconventional syncopatedness of the beat – a true compliment to Hadi’s capability as a producer. Chopping chenda samples (true to Hadi’s Kerala roots) running through bandpass filters reminiscent of the Nineties sampling methodology, Hadi fuses the old-school, worn-out texture of a time passed with the modernity and brain-tickle of granulation and glitch.

Yungsta says, “It was a different process writing to this beat, because I had to arrange the demo beat (in the DAW) to get a sense of the pockets…realizing that the beat catches you off guard, making you feel it has a weird time signature, when it’s actually just 4/4!” He adds, “But it was hella fun, because it was like putting a puzzle together — which I feel was well put together, now that I listen to it back in its entirety.”

Certainly enough, the charm of this puzzle is not lost on the listener as we row further downstream. On “It’s Crazy,” the duo enlist the talents of the London-based rapper Somecallmewale, who according to Yungsta, “formed the centerpiece of this track.” Constructed around Somecallmewale’s verse, the track features heavily syncopated sonic structures marked by unconventional drum breaks, inspiring Yungsta to talk about his experiences of being undermined by the industry, and yet staying true to his expectations both as an artist and a fan of the culture.

The EP’s “Crosshair” forays suddenly into a hyper-pop and synth-laden territory, lush with LFO movements and grooves reminiscent of UK garage and drill. Yungsta and Hadi surprise listeners by on-boarding Mumbai rapper Yashraj‘s experimental vocal delivery on the track. With emotive vocal modulations down to a tee, potentially inspired by the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem, Yashraj goes bar-for-bar with Yungsta — who unflinchingly doles out a bar-fest back with the absolute confidence of a lyrical veteran.

Segueing effectively off the placement of “The Interlude” and “USG,” the EP finds its crescendo with the highly emotive, almost delirious, “Rachayita.” Meditating on the meaning behind the word ‘the creator,’ Yungsta delivers an anguish-filled verse reaffirming his uncompromising position on rap lyricism and his disgust with the lack of experimentation. Oscillating between the ambiguous “karega tu kya,” Yungi goes back and forth between unabashed self-confidence and self-doubt — it’s a challenge every legacy-seeking artist must encounter as a rite of passage into public memory. Ultimately, the rapper signs off with the reassurance that these experiments will continue to see the light of day; that these Ulte Seedhe Gaane will continue being made.

Overall, the project comes together as an impressive cohesive whole; from its unique monochrome-and-a-dash-of-color packaging aesthetic (courtesy of Amartya, Aakanksha and Sandra from Design Cube), to Hadi’s scatterbrain sonics and Yungsta’s (insightfully visual) storytelling proclivities. The project is an inspiring and fresh step in the direction of more experimentation within the current scope of hip-hop in India: fusing the familiar with the imaginative, and the collective with the individual — making the project palatable, albeit with an unencountered zing.