![]() The lyrics of such songs often tend to remind Tibetans not to forget 1959, the year Tibet was invaded by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and promise to take the Dalai Lama back to the Potala Palace in Lhasa one day. Talking about freedom and human rights in songs has naturally become a crucial responsibility for most Tibetan singers and songwriters in India, with many producing at least one or two songs as a wake-up call to the exiled members of the community. Probably because, as described by Tsering Woeser, author of Notes on Tibet, “anyone hearing them could not fail to be moved”. These cultural figures dared to sing despite China’s blanket ban on making or even downloading and listening to such songs. Many such musicians in Tibet were detained for at least two years by Chinese authorities for writing songs about their exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, demanding his return to the country and calling for Tibet’s independence. Music has always been a medium for Tibetans to express anger and frustration against the authoritarian Chinese government in Tibet. “I also wanted to address the issues faced by my community through my music”, he added. From soldiers in Indian army to young kids in the lanes of Majnu Ka Tilla, Tnammy seems to have carved his own niche audience within the exile community. Tnammy’s makeshift studio in Majnu Ka Tilla | Credits: Tenzin Zompa | ThePrint “Tupac used music as a platform to explore issues plaguing his community, whether it be racial inequality, social justice or war on drugs”. Tnammy grew up listening to the American rapper since he was a sixth-grade student in a boarding school in Dharamshala. Inside Tnammy’s red-walled room is a bunch of photo frames safeguarding one man: Tupac Shakur. “This is where the magic happens,” says 24-year-old Tnammy, as he unlocks the tiny room on the roof of his house situated in one of the many narrow lanes of Majnu Ka Tilla. “WIT” (Who Is Tnammy) by Tenzin Namsel aka Tnammy and “Midnight Vibes” by Sangpo aka Sangpoispo are up for pre-save on streaming platforms like Apple and Spotify. From releasing short songs on YouTube to performing at small gigs, young Tibetan rappers such as Tnammy and Sangpo have done it all. Now, these artists who claimed to have introduced the tiny Tibetan community to hip hop, are coming up with their new albums this February. Very few believed in them when they first started off making rap songs in their tiny bedrooms in Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tilla, a locality in North Delhi that has been the home for thousands of Tibetan refugees in India since the 1950s. The young rappers want to introduce their community to hip-hop, they are done with ‘feel good’ songs. They are unafraid of speaking their minds in rap songs with explicit content in a bid to represent the buried voices and emotions of the youngsters in the Tibetan community. The songs are not just about Tibet anymore, they cover everything from why Indians shouldn’t think they are from the Northeast, their own vulnerabilities, problems with their dads, and ‘bad karma’. From a tool of resistance in Tibet beginning with 14 “singing nuns” or Drapchi 14 who protested against China’s oppression by making “forbidden” pro-independence songs while in prison in the 1990s, music has now become a medium of self-expression for a rising number of young Tibetan refugees in India.
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