It’s a wonder that the Nepali rap scene has made it as far as it has, given the generally unfavorable impression that outsiders tend to have upon the artform. Artists like Yama Buddha successfully managed to create the impression of a ‘Nephop’ scene in Nepal that was respectable, full of artistry, and very supportive of up and coming talent.
Top rap artists leading the scene at the moment continue to try their hardest to advance the artform, while maintaining its favorable image. It does get difficult at times — singers like VTen, despite their enormous talent, manage to become the headlines for the rap genre to outsiders who aren’t up-to-date with the intricacies of rap music.
But the fact remains that their scandals are often the result of great personal turmoil, and not the outcome of dubious personal choices. In other words, no Nepali rap artist who has earned any kind of fame has tried to deliberately sabotage the platform and the reputation of the ‘Nephop’ genre till date.
All of this has changed in one shocking video that’s been raising eyebrows on social media. The song in question is titled Boka Mero Para. The original video is nowhere to be found on the internet, and so little information is to be had about the young rapper seen in the video except that he is from Nuwakot.
The video in itself is too explicit to be even shared. The two-minute music video is less of a song and more of a porn film with an irreverent rap song dubbed over it. The video cuts between scenes of the very young singer gesticulating to the lyrics in a public square, and a bedroom where he himself is engaging in sexual acts with a scantily clad young woman — whose face has been put on full view throughout the video.
The most shocking part is right around midway through the two-minute video. While the vitals are blurred out, it’s quite obvious that the young man actually committed his sexual acts to video and put them to use in a music video.
The lyrics used in the song are also extremely problematic. The entire song is full of vivid descriptions of sexual acts with an extremely vulgar tinge. All of that can be relegated to an artist’s personal preference; but at one point, he inserts the line “Jabarjasti garne ma balatkari” with equal nonchalance. It appears that the complete lack of self-awareness demonstrated by the singer stretches itself to points of the most serious moral transgressions as well.
The Nepal Brahmin Samaaj, meanwhile, had a whole another issue with the video. An odd detail in the video was how the singer left his janai thread on promiscuous display during the explicit scenes. The Brahmin society has published a formal denouncement of an unnamed music video, which is clearly aimed at this very song. And with no mention of the exact point of offense to Brahmins in the video, we can only assume its the display of the janai thread that brought forth this formal denouncement.
The internet has been a great boon for talented artists who could escape the gatekeeping of a label-driven music industry and publish their music independently. But the opportunity also gives rise to content such as this, which has no redeeming quality to it and can only bring disrepute to every name or community associated with it.
While the Brahmin Society was quick to denounce the video for mere display of the janai, the rap music community at large might not get off scott-free from gaining some undue associations with this bizarre outlier. It must be extremely frustrating for any of the established and well-respected rap artists to be associated with a bizarre and pointless outburst such as this one in the eyes of the lay public.
With a full NSFW warning, if you’re still curious about seeing what’s in the video, you can check it out below. Just be sure to watch it when you’re alone!
