Ever since the world shut down & quarantining began, Desi Hip Hop has been going LIVE on every social media platform available. One of the shows that came out of these live events was the #UNFLTRD Video Podcast, hosted by DJayRaf. Since its inception, the show has garnered thousands of views & showcased over 45 artists from all walks of life, in numerous countries.
“UNFLTRD Video Podcast Saw 45 guests from 8 Countries in 16 weeks”
Even though it has been a quarantine hit, the idea for the show was initially hatched by DJayRaf a couple of years ago. The show’s pilot episodes were shot & recorded in 2018, however, when the novel coronavirus impacted the world, it became the perfect opportunity to bring artists together online.
“When the world shut down & millions of people were impacted, we wanted to do our best to spread positive energy,” said DJayRaf, “the trick was in figuring out how we could bring together the collective energies from artists around the world in a fun & positive way.” With that thought, the team at DesiHipHop cooked up a plan to invite multiple guests in each episode & play games together, thereby getting to know each other in a fun & entertaining way.
Episode one was streamed live on May 6th, with BBC Asian Network’s DJ Limelight, who took the opportunity to spin some of the latest Desi Hip Hop music around the world right now. The following episode saw an all female line up with Xefer (from Bangladesh), Nisha (USA), Dee MC (India), and Tracy De Sa (France).
As the show started gaining steam, it saw representation from 8 nations and 45 artists including Master D, Black Zang, Cizzy, Shaikhspeare, Nasty Ninja, Mumzy Stranger, Lazarus, Taizu, Karan Kanchan, Aakash Ravikrishnan, Haji Springer, MC Heam, The Spindoctor, DJ Sharad, Spitfire, Slow Cheeta, Liquid Silva, among others.
Each episode is laced with entertainment, positive gems of “knowledge bombs”, and countless moments of camaraderie during difficult times.
Each episode is laced with entertainment, positive gems of “knowledge bombs”, and countless moments of camaraderie during difficult times. Directed & produced by Miranda Ullah, each episode goes through multiple segments and games – games which are designed to bring out stories and anecdotes from the guests in an organic way.
“You just gotta keep working your craft, and your music will find ears as long as you keep pushing”, said Haji Springer in Episode 8. His thoughts were mirrored by Mumzy Stranger in Episode 4 when he gave 3 major keys for artists to succeed.
Master D focused on the community and mentioned that, “Just like the latin market doesn’t need anyone else to succeed, we, too, can succeed together, if we really start supporting each other in a major way.” His thoughts were reflected by Sathish Bala, CEO of Applaus & DESIFEST, in Episode 12 when he mentioned that “building strong communities that are there for each other can empower others to be successful.”
“building strong communities that are there for each other can empower others to be successful.”
Sathish went on to say that “Happiness is Success” and that we should all be chasing happiness instead of money. Interestingly enough, Sathish’s statement in Episode 12 was directly mirrored by Spitfire from IncInk Records in Episode 14, where he advised the young generation to stop chasing things. “Just stop chasing everything. Money, fame, clout, just stop it. I want everyone to just be happy.”
No matter what generation or countries or backgrounds the guests come from, they all shared multiple similarities between them. Which brings us to wonder, how different are we really? In a world where we are all individually unique, the common threads that bring us together truly makes us stronger as human beings. With that in mind, the team at the UNFLTRD Podcast moves forward with the goal to bring people together one episode at a time.
Next week will see Canadian-Desi sisters, Cartel Madras, on Episode 16 of the UNFLTRD Podcast, hosted by DJayRaf.