Only in the Desi Hip Hop scene can you see such a vibrant mix of cultures and sounds combining to make something powerful. One such collaboration is ‘Stay Up All Night’ between Cartel Madras and GWS. The sister duo has been on our Hot 5 of the Week radar since earlier this year and with every tune they do not disappoint!
Click here to Stream ‘stay up all night’ by gws x cartel madras
The undulating tempo of the track makes for an easy listen and the music video oozes of self-empowerment. The confluence of musical stylings of the Kerala-born-now-Los-Angeles-based GWS aka Glen Koshy George and the Goonda rap style of the Tamilian duo from Calgary, Cartel Madras keeps you hooked till the end. On ‘Stay Up All Night’, GWS effortlessly drops Malayalam alongside singing in English and Cartel Madras spit bars in English and Tamil with equal ease. The track has been produced by young Bangalore-based producer Dan Pearson, who frequently collaborates with GWS.
“It’s very important to us to shine a light on South Indian and Tamil talent and be vocal that our ties are to that side of India. We are half Malayali so being able to work with a producer and trap artist who, like us, has roots in Kerala was very meaningful,” says Cartel Madras.
The track was released accompanied by a video that was shot in three different locations – Los Angeles, Toronto and Calgary – during the lockdown in the US and Canada. This powerful sister duo consisting of Priya “Contra” Ramesh and Bhagya “Eboshi” Ramesh has been one of the names in the rising wave of South Asians making hip hop music from overseas. Together they have been an unstoppable force, since the release of their debut mixtape Project Goonda Part 1: Trapistan, in 2018. Another one of their videos you should definitely not miss is ‘WORKING’. The video takes you into its own world of trance with the music by Jide keeping you in tune the whole time.