We spoke to Manipur-based rapper Yelhomie about representing the North East, challenges in making Rap music, the Manipur riots, protest poetry and most importantly his track ‘Is India my home?’. Here is the full interview:
What is it like being a rapper from Manipur? What challenges do you come across generally?
I’d have to say that there was no legit rap scene in Manipur before we came, and it was very challenging for us to introduce a whole new scene with proper rap-rap music. Also, it’s a dry state, we don’t have the liberty of receiving potential sponsors, resulting in a lack of full-fledged festivals in Manipur where everybody’s belly is full and happy. Manipur is a challenging place if you’re an artist, it’s just a box, full of complications so I plan to step outta the box and focus on what’s outside. And I guess with my debut album coming, I’m no longer representing just my state.
Tell us about the riots. What happened around you and have things improved at all?
Ahh, I can go forever with this topic. Sensitive and being a huge conspiracist, I can dictate every little detail of this war which is not on the surface. Can’t get myself into trouble but hey, we are all pawns in this chess game. Tbh, I don’t even know what the media is broadcasting these days, I stopped following them cause I never found a single truth but dramas screened by democrats to favour their political parties. Nothing has improved, people are still dying, shooting between the two communities almost every day, and young naavas taking up arms leaving behind their studies, exams, dreams, and careers to protect their land. Can’t say much but imagine their future, fam. And the people at relief camps? Especially the children? Bro it’s done for.
Tell us about your recent track “Is India My Home?”. Is this your first attempt at protest poetry/conscious rap?
May 3rd, 2024 marks one year of the ongoing war in Manipur and still things are not back to normal. There is chaos in every corner of the state despite the National Media showing otherwise. Fam, I feel like I’m the voice of the people in the East, and this is how the song Is India My Home? came about. Is India My Home? speaks about the systemic oppression that the Northeast people face throughout their lives. It raises questions about how this war was made to be fought between two communities, creating a smokescreen by the orchestrators. It also raises questions about women’s safety in India, Job security in the Northeast, unemployment, and safety for Muslim brethren and sisters and also tells us why the insurgency has grown, why drugs are flooded on the streets to dumb down the voices of the youth and a lot more. Is India My Home? is but a question that is made to ask one’s mind especially the people in Manipur during this conflict who are made to feel less of an Indian by the negligence of the central government.
No. I have had some good releases before this that are politically inclined. Come to think of it, most of my raps are conscious rap. To name a few, Paisa Gee Lamjel, Ei Gandhi Natte, Chapter 2020 and I could say Ei Gandhi Natte was the one that shook the whole state introducing a new revolution of conscious rap music in Manipur.
What do you feel about the representation North-East gets in Hip-Hop? How is the Hip-Hop scene out there?
Man, I’ve got to say it’s not at its best right now but I guarantee, it will come about just fine in a year with all the states contributing to the culture and also that I’m dropping my album which is going to be crazy. Some artists are doing pretty good but kid you not bro, the album will shake the whole rap scene in the Northeast and the nation.
You have a very diverse catalogue, from different sounds to different perspectives, there are a lot of aspects to your artistry. Tell us about your creative process.
I like Yelhomie when he spits bro. And it’s cool some of my songs are mellow and all but I just can’t stand it. I feel like I should be spitting and spitting only. This might hurt some listeners of mine but songs like ‘You Never Know’ are wow corny and I don’t want a mixture of listeners of different tastes in music for my catalogue.
My songwriting or creative process is not only a process of building a whole song, it’s more of an emotion. I don’t force my studio sessions. If the ideas or the words are forced, that’s not really a song, I feel like that’s a violation of art. That’s the problem with most rappers tryna finish a song by searching for good vocabs or even rhymes on Google. Personally, I stay very much involved in my studio sessions and I cancel the outside out while I’m in there. So, most of my recent songs are just the emotions that I felt while I was in the studio recording these songs.
What influences do you have as an artist? What inspired you to get into rap?
Confidence can sometimes be mistaken as being cocky but I believe that I have a good fan following that really listens to the rhymes I write. I believe I’ve been vocal about my environment in my songs embedded with the voices of voiceless people and I choose to stay the same.
I have a cousin whose songs are critically acclaimed to be the first raps in Manipur and everybody used to bump it, well, they still do. Being from the same bloodline, I can’t lie I didn’t wanna put out my rhymes as well. Then came my discovery of rap music, bought mixtapes, and CDs, studied some rappers and yeah that’s the surface of it. As I started recording my songs since a young, my fondness for music kinda turned into an obsession and became a part of my routine. But to be professional and take this as a career, it’s a different story. I had a rough childhood and got lots of secrets that I couldn’t keep to myself so music kinda became an outlet for these secrets on top of that being brought up by a single parent, I can’t just wait to get a 9-5 in my state where people have to bribe for jobs. I needed that fast money and rap gave me that opportunity.
Tell us about your future plans. Anything you wanna convey to our artists?
From a small town of Imphal in a small state of Manipur which is again oppressed in many ways, I know this might sound funny but I see myself sitting where the greats have sat. I will be one of the biggest rap artists globally and that’s on my death pops. The album will be out ASAP and trust me, it’s something you have never heard before.
Nothing much but to my listeners, please have faith in me. I will be what I say I will be. And to my fellow rappers, love y’all but I’m coming for everybody and everything. “We hungry!”
Listen to Yelhomie’s latest track on Spotify:
