Author Archives: Taz

About Taz

Taz is an activist, organizer and writer based in California. She is the founder of South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), curates MutinousMindState.tumblr.com and blogs at TazzyStar.blogspot.com. Follow her at twitter.com/tazzystar

Pass the Mic: Interview with Riz MC

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I was first blown away by Riz Ahmed when I saw him perform on Britz. It was only afterwords that I realized that Riz wasn’t just an actor – he’s also known as Riz MC. Straight out of the U.K., his lyrics are dynamic and controversial and his sound dances on the edge of gritty hip hop and electro sci fi. Amardeep’s written about Riz MC’s controversial lyrics in the past. I had the chance to sit down virtually with the infamous Riz. Here’s what he said.

Taz: Though you’ve been MCing for a few years, MICroscope is your debut album. Why did you wait so long to release your first album?

Riz: I guess you could say it was because I was busy filming. But in reality, I also wanted to take the time to find my sound and set out a unique style of music and lyrics – dense lyrical ideas with bold simple electronic or totally acoustic sounds. This album took 18 months to make.

T: On your website you say that “the album is coupled with a groundbreaking live show and a trans-media online experience.” What exactly does that mean?

R: There’s a live show that goes with the album. It’s a gig or concert but it also has a story line in which the audience is involved in moving forward. It’s pretty unique as a concept and in the way it’s performed. There’s a short film that ties in with it too. Both the website for the album and live shows are cutting edge digital interactive. So it’s an album, show, film, and website all set at different points in the same story world. Continue reading →

She Just Pulled a Kaavya

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Hey Karmacy, I think some girl in India pulled a Kaavya Viswanathan on your lyrics (h/t Deepa).

Evidence 1 (skip to 4:35 to see her “rap”):

The original Karmacy video of Blood Brothers:

If I knew Final Cut Pro, I would have edited the videos next to each others, but I think you get the idea. Okay, fine. I do realize that these American/Indian/Wherever Idols are an elaborate form of karaoke and no one ever sings original material. But, is it just me, or does she claim the lyrics as her own? (And who is this Patel rap referred to by the judges?)

She auditioned with the same Karmacy song. Audition video below the jump. Continue reading →

“Isn’t All Crime Hateful?”

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Hate Crime.jpgBangladeshi-American Kamal Uddin was taking a lunch break from his construction job when he was brutally attacked by four young men.

Police are searching for whoever was behind the brutal beating of a man in broad daylight on Saturday in Brooklyn. Cops are investigating whether the man, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was the victim of a hate crime.

Family members of Kamal Uddin, 57, say that he was wearing a prayer hat when some people, possibly teenagers, jumped him from behind inside the grounds of a public housing project in East New York. [fox]

But detectives are not approaching this as a hate crime.

Detectives claim that an eyewitness did not hear any racist language during the assault, so at this point they’re not treating it as a bias crime.[abc]

Did you get that? The guys that beat Uddin up, according to the victim’s nephew, said “The mother bleeping Muslim, go back to you country.” AND the perpetrators did not take his money, wallet, cell phone or watch. Despite this, because the detectives did not have any outside witnesses that heard anything, they are not treating it as a bias crime. Mind you, the crime happened in the projects where the rules of the street prevail. Continue reading →

Music Monday for the Mutiny

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Mutineers, it’s been a minute since I’ve blogged here – I’ve been traveling and collecting stories from the motherland for a project (which I’ll catch you up on a little later). Since I’ve been back, I’ve been downloading new music with a frenzy and it seems that quite a few musical friends of The Mutiny have been busy while I’ve been gone. Chee Malabar dropped a free EP (The Burning Tire Artisan) and the ENTIRE Das Racist album Shut Up, Dude (including the infamous Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) is downloadable for free off of their Myspace. Sub Swara remixed a Balkan Beat Box song, also downloadable for free. All songs are in heavy rotation on the ipod. Riz MC is streaming his new album MICroscope in it’s entirety for a limited time and tonight Arthi Meera‘s band Fair and Kind is uStreaming a live show tonight at 6pm PST. Not to mention M.I.A.’s latest XXXO is my greatest jam, no thanks to Lady Gaga.

Since it’s “Music Monday” I thought, I’d share some finds and see what you think.

The above video comes from Koom the Ripper, a new kid outta Southern California with a first album dropping some time this year. I heard of him through the guys of Slant, (who also are the back up dancers in this video) and I gotta admit, the song sounds like it belongs at a college Asian American talent show competition. But I thought the video was cool and Koom has definite potential. You can download his entire LP American Muscle for free here.

I’ve been loving the new Das Racist album Shut Up, Dude – the hooks are catchy and Heems drops lyrical references to V.S. Naipul, Dinesh DeSouza, and John Abraham. Though sometimes the lyrics are coded in subtext atop subtext. I’m completely mesmerized by the above video to Fake Patois. Continue reading →

FreeFahad

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SAMAR Magazine just dropped their latest issue and highlighted a campaign I knew little about – the FreeFahad Campaign.

On February 10, 2010, SAMAR in collaboration with THAW (Theaters Against War) put out a call for letters to be sent to Fahad Hashmi at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC). Fahad has been held in pre-trial detention at the MCC for over 850 days in severe solitary confinement. He has been detained over 1,350 days in all (more about Fahad’s case: freefahad.com). [samarmagazine]

The following mini-documentary enlightens us more on the who Fahad is and the situation he finds himself in.

It’s a horrible situation, and the charges against him are reflective of a civil rights injustice that continues to establish how Desis, 2nd-generation immigrants, and Muslims are not given equal rights provided to the “other” Americans. At nine years after 9/11, this case is clearly evidence that the South Asian American community is still feeling the repercussions of the Patriot Act, at least in the legal system.

The FreeFahad campaign is asking for people to write a letter to Fahad in prison. Though the chances of Fahad receiving the letter is slim, the campaign hopes the act of writing the letters will “offer a simple and necessary challenge to the inhuman conditions of Fahad’s detention and help send a message to Fahad’s jailers, the U.S. Government and Attorney General Holder, that the world at large cares for Fahad and is outraged at the violations of his civil and human rights.” Continue reading →

Always The Sidekick

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Prime Time Desis.jpgIt’s not that it’s a bad thing that there are South Asians on prime time television. It’s just that it seems that they are always playing the sidekick character. Fine, maybe not “sidekick” as much as “part of ensemble cast but definitely not lead actor” role. NBC Thursday night is a perfect example. You have Danny Pudi playing Abed on Community, Aziz Ansari as Tom on Parks and Recreation, Mindy Kaling as Kelly on The Office, and Maulik Pancholy as Jonathan on 30 Rock.

Not since Margaret Cho’s 1994 TV-series All-American Girl has there been an ensemble cast entirely of Asian Americans on prime time television. The show infamously imploded as cast and execs clashed and Cho has not been quiet about it. That was sixteen years ago.

Since then, we have seen the rise of Desi ensemble casting but…in other countries. You have the Kumars at No. 42 from the BBC network; Brazil’s Indian themed soap opera Caminho das India; and yes, I’m even counting Canada’s CBC sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie. Well, it looks like network U.S. network execs are finally jumping on the bandwagon.

They are the two comeback stories of this pilot season, projects developed years ago that have been resurrected and have landed orders at the broadcast networks…The two comedies — “Nirvana” at Fox and “Outsourced” at NBC — have something else in common: They both are ensemble shows about Indians and Indian Americans.

> A third project, a U.S. version of popular British comedy “The Kumars at No. 42,” about an immigrant Indian family, also is poised for revival. Eight years after NBC took a stab at the format, the show’s British producers are shopping it to U.S. networks, including FX. [[thr](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i7da84139be87c4e229c0d88cbc815b1f)] Continue reading →

Slumdog-mania is Officially Over

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As I watched last night’s Academy Award presentation, I couldn’t help but think back to the 2009 awards nostalgically, a time where Slumdog mania was in full force, Bollywood stars were taking the stage, and saris were seen on the red carpet. At last night’s ceremony, though the one shoulder dress was the trend, not a sari was to be seen. Nor a desi person in the crowd. Who woulda thought – there actually was an end to the Slumdog Millionaire madness.

But there was one film. I hadn’t heard of it till last night, but as I saw the nominees scroll for short films, I saw Kavi scroll by. Though the film did not win last night, I was still curious to see what it was all about.

‘Kavi’, American director Gregg Helvey’s short film about an Indian slave boy has lost out the Oscar in the Best Short Film (Live Action) category to the Danish entry ‘The New Tenants’…The 19-minute-long fictional film in Hindi, was the only India connection at this year’s Oscars, as opposed to last year when the Mumbai based potboiler ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ bagged eight golden trophies. [ptinews]

I’m not usually a fan of shorts, but I may have to check Kavi out. I do find some of the language on the movie’s website slightly problematic though, and I wonder if the film has a similar undertone. Has anyone out there seen the movie? Also, thoughts on last night’s Academy Awards in this post Slumdog era? Continue reading →

Intimate with Aziz

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Aziz Ansari.jpg

Not really new news, but new to me news – In January, comedian Aziz Ansari premiered his Comedy Central stand up special: “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening.” We’ve talked about Aziz plenty of times on Sepia Mutiny in the past as the latest up and coming funny man. He can also be seen on Parks on Recreation on NBC Thursday nights, otherwise known as ‘every show has a Desi sidekick’ night. The clips from his Comedy Central special are up [NSFW] and I wanted to share. (h/t Channel APA)

Russel Peters is the only other Desi person I know to have had a Comedy Central special, though I could be wrong on this one. What I do find interesting though, is how different Peters and Ansari’s comedy styles are from one another. I could be snarky and say style differences reflect a Canada vs. U.S.A. thing, but that could just be the residual Olympic effect speaking. In reality, it seems that Peters relies on his Desi background for his jokes, and Ansari has moved away from that, using Desi references more as seasoning than crutch. But maybe, that really is reflective of a Canada vs. U.S.A. thing.

More from an ‘Intimate Moment for a Sensual Evening’ after the jump. Continue reading →

Caption This: Carnival Style

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Over at the Boston Globe there is a beautiful array of images on this year’s Carnival. Image number 31 is the following (h/t Yoga Fire):

Rio Float.jpg

I wish the image had audio – I would have loved to hear what I can only imagine as Samba-bhangra-fication. I’m guessing it’s like Chutney music, but with more sashay, if that is possible. So have at it, Mutineers. How would you caption this image? Continue reading →

Bollywood on Ice

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If you have been following the Winter Olympics than you probably know that tonight starts the ice dancing competition. Competing will be UMich grads, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who have a “unique Indian-themed original dance” that may or may not be performed at the competitions.

“It’s very cool,” Davis said. “Charlie and I have always been excited about being different and embracing what we could bring to the sport. It’s really exciting to expand the fan base, and expand the fan base to parts of the world that haven’t really experienced it before.” [ap]

Alright, okay. I’ll take that. Respectably not as orientalist as it could have been said. But why did they choose Bollywood?

[C]horeographer Marina Zoueva wanted something that would really make Davis and White stand out. When she spotted an Hermes scarf with brilliant colors and Indian dancers last spring, she knew she’d found the answer. [ap]

A Hermes scarf?!? Continue reading →