The advent of popular social networking Web sites such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook has enabled unsigned artists to share their music with countless others who dwell in the harmony of this cyber utopia for upcoming artists.
One such artist is UR senior Sirish Kondabolu, who is also known to the underground hip-hop world as Numanic.
Numanic, an Indian American who hails from Long Island, NY, began his musical career in high school but did not truly embrace hip-hop culture until he arrived at Rochester.
“My growing love for hip-hop culture was met with encouragement from my roommate, Brett Stark aka Tox,” says Numanic.
For Numanic, writing rap lyrics offers an unparalleled oasis to which he can escape to and organize his thoughts. Numanic’s music, which includes an array of genius punch lines, encompasses a large variety of subject matter.
Though his music has the potential to keep a rowdy crowd busy on the dance floor, his lyrics touch upon many serious social issues.
He addresses the discrimination that individuals of South Asian and Middle Eastern decent continue to face through both verbal and physical assault in the post-9/11 world.
The negative experiences some of Numanic’s friends and family members have endured have inspired him to write lyrics that represent his frustration.
“I feel that this was an important thing to address because there are so many tales of discrimination and hate crimes in this country that will never be known or heard about because they are not ‘important’ enough for mainstream media,” he said.
“Just Chill,” a profoundly emotional song from his demo Numanic Devices, serves as a classic example of the artist’s ability to captivate his multi-cultured audience by instilling a sense of social awareness.
“What Happened to hip-hop?” largely deals with the rapidly withering state of hip-hop music. With respect to the views of other artists, Numanic argues that more emphasis should be placed on conscious rap in the form of meaningful lyrics.
Numanic’s powerful verses define and support his argument: “I don’t care about your chrome and spinning rims/ When there are people out there with no homes and missing limbs.”
“Prime Time” can be categorized as a club banger – Numanic effectively couples his swift rapping skills with a beat that could keep any crowd on their feet. Other notable songs include “N.U.M.A.N.I.C.,” “Pops” and “Outcast.”
Interested in pursuing a hobby or career in music? Numanic can offer great insight and friendly advice to anyone interested in all genres of music. Numanic, who believes an artist’s best material comes straight from the heart, suggests, “You have to bring your own original style and flavor? don’t get discouraged.”
A few of the individuals who have inspired Numanic are his family, friends and rap artists Tupac Shakur, Talib Kweli, Brother Ali, Eminem, Big Pun, Nas, Jay-Z, the Roots, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, Raks One and Tox.
He also would like to recognize the efforts and talent reflected by the Madhatters, the Dirty 130, UR hip-hop and Teddy L from 451 Studios.
For more infromation about Numanic, visit his MySpace at www.MySpace.com/NumanicMusic.
Tase is a member of the class of 2010.
