The emergence of hip hop in the 1970s and 1980s in inner city America represented not just the formation of a new sub culture but also of a political community rooted in earlier social and cultural movements like the civil rights movement and black nationalism. This is exemplified not only in the lyrical and musical content of the work being created, but also by the formation of political and social organisations within the hip-hop community, including Russell Simmons’ Hip-hop Summit Action Network and Afrika Bambaata’s Universal Zulu Nation, which aim to direct hip-hop’s cultural power towards avenues that result in tangible social and political change. Similarly, in early 20th century India, the Ambedkari jalsas played an important role in pulling together so-called untouchable castes across the country into a collective political community that could organise and agitate for social and political rights. This discussion will look at how music can help create political communities and how these communities intersect with pre-existing notions of identity, class and political power. Can music help us find new ways of organising ourselves socially and politically that challenge the divisive hierarchies of social orthodoxy? Especially relevant here is how genres and cultures can enable the formation of music communities that go beyond borders - both national and cultural - and whether that ability creates new possibilities for political theory and practice.
This episode features musicians and organisers Taru Dalmia (New Delhi) and Behrooz Moosavi (Tehran/Berlin)

Episode 6: Alternative Communities

Music Producer born in Tehran, based in Berlin
Curator at @tcs-berlin
Curator at Borderless Berlin

M.A.P. // A.M.P. is a not-for-profit project initiated by the Goethe-Institut to look at the intersections of music, activism and protest in the context of South Asia.