In a tragic incident that occurred recently, Indian music scene lost one of its avid supporters and advocates. Qyuki cofounder Samir Bangara passed away in a tragic road accident last week. Along with being the cofounder of Qyuki, Samir was also the cofounder of the only hip hop school in Mumbai based in Dharavi.
The incident occurred on last Sunday when he left alone for a bike ride to Dahanu. He was later rushed to a hospital in Manor where he was declared dead before admission. A lot of industry veterans including Qyuki cofounder AR Rahman expressed their grief over Samir’s passing. “We lost our friend, visionary commander in chief and a super good human being… RIP”, Rahman tweeted.
The hip-hop community also felt the loss very heavily with artists like MC Heam, Tony Psyko, Big Deal and Poetik Justis expressing their grief over Samir’s demise. Many of the aforementioned emcees have been a part of The Dharavi Dream Project, either as teachers/mentors to the young artists learning at the school, or as organisers of different events held at the school.
Tony Sebastian aka Stony Psyko from Dopeadelicz shared a deep-hearted message. “Samir was a Friend, Brother, Advisor, more than an Boss. He has helped so many youngsters in Dharavi and around India to achieve their dreams in the right way. He has supported us from Day 1 when a lot of places rejected us for our content. Its hard for me and a lot of artists to believe that He is no more with us. I’m Totally Broken. My prayers and condolences to his family and Qyuki.”
Co-founder of The Dharavi Dream Project, Dolly Rateshwar shared an emotional tribute video along with a motivating message. “Here’s to the LEGACY you have created together with everyone around and to all the lives you have impacted so beautifully to make it even more better!
To Mothership QYUKI! To one of your many passion ‘The Dharavi Dream Project’!”
As a part of the hip hop revolution in India, Desi Hip Hop acknowledges the selfless advocation by Samir Bangara, supporting hip hop acts over the years out of sheer passion. Condolences to his family and may his soul rest in peace.