Indonesian hip hop
Encyclopedia
Indonesian hip hop is hip hop music
performed in Indonesia
. Hip hop music began to be produced in Indonesia in the early 1990s, with the first Indonesia artist to release a full-length hip hop album being the emcee Iwa K
, who has released five albums to date. Other Indonesian hip hop groups include Boyz Got No Brain and Neo. Many Indonesian hip hop groups rhyme in the Indonesian language
, but there are also groups that rhyme in English. Variously, songs often combine formal Indonesian with street slang, youth code, regionally colored pronunciations, and even expressions from regional languages (typically Javanese, Sundanese, or Betawi).
One key feature of Indonesian hip hop that is different compared with American hip hop is that the language used in Indonesian hip hop is more polite and does not use vulgar language, and does not often make references to sex and violence. Moreover, American hip hop originated from a group dissatisfied with racial discrimination. Indonesian hip hop arises from a group that is dissatisfied with authoritarian rule. (After the New Order [Orde Baru])
Themes in Indonesian hip hop music mostly pertain to youth culture, such as boredom (Blake "Bosan"), basketball (Iwa K, "Nombok Dong!"), etc. but range to social protest also. Such as themes about the fate of ordinary and poor people, and critiques of middle-class and elite life, as in songs like Sound Da Clan’s ‘‘Anak Gedongan’’ (Rich kid), Black Skin’s "CewekMatre" (Material chick) and "Nyontek Lagi" (Cheating again), or Neo’s "Borju" (Bourgeois). Other themes have also appeared, such as environmental degradation (Iwa-K, ‘‘Bumi Hari Ini’’ [The Earth today]) and condemnations of governmental corruption (Neo,‘‘KKN’’ [Corruption, collusion, nepotism])
Indonesian hip hop music is a youth subculture. It has been seen as a form of protest against the New Order government's state-imposed understanding of the Indonesian cultural identity. It has largely been condemned by key political figures such as former president B.J. Habibie. In January 1995, Habibie raised objections against organising an Indonesian rap festival.
Yudhistira A.N.M. Massardi, reporting for the weekly news magazine Gatra, quoted Habibie as remarking:
The Pesta Rap Indonesian hip hop compilations were influential in the 1990s.
Krakatau
, a jazz-influenced band from Bandung
, West Java
, integrated hip hop into some of its songs.
Indonesian hip hop is often mixed with heavy metal. This is called hip-metal. Groups such as Iwa-K and Denada have music that is of this style.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
performed in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Hip hop music began to be produced in Indonesia in the early 1990s, with the first Indonesia artist to release a full-length hip hop album being the emcee Iwa K
Iwa K
Iwa K is Indonesian rapper, TV presenter, and actor.Kusuma was born in Bandung, West Java Indonesia. He was a pioneer in Indonesian hip hop music and since his successful career in 1990s, he has become an icon of the nation's hip hop music genre. He began his musical career in the late 1980s...
, who has released five albums to date. Other Indonesian hip hop groups include Boyz Got No Brain and Neo. Many Indonesian hip hop groups rhyme in the Indonesian language
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, but there are also groups that rhyme in English. Variously, songs often combine formal Indonesian with street slang, youth code, regionally colored pronunciations, and even expressions from regional languages (typically Javanese, Sundanese, or Betawi).
One key feature of Indonesian hip hop that is different compared with American hip hop is that the language used in Indonesian hip hop is more polite and does not use vulgar language, and does not often make references to sex and violence. Moreover, American hip hop originated from a group dissatisfied with racial discrimination. Indonesian hip hop arises from a group that is dissatisfied with authoritarian rule. (After the New Order [Orde Baru])
Themes in Indonesian hip hop music mostly pertain to youth culture, such as boredom (Blake "Bosan"), basketball (Iwa K, "Nombok Dong!"), etc. but range to social protest also. Such as themes about the fate of ordinary and poor people, and critiques of middle-class and elite life, as in songs like Sound Da Clan’s ‘‘Anak Gedongan’’ (Rich kid), Black Skin’s "CewekMatre" (Material chick) and "Nyontek Lagi" (Cheating again), or Neo’s "Borju" (Bourgeois). Other themes have also appeared, such as environmental degradation (Iwa-K, ‘‘Bumi Hari Ini’’ [The Earth today]) and condemnations of governmental corruption (Neo,‘‘KKN’’ [Corruption, collusion, nepotism])
Indonesian hip hop music is a youth subculture. It has been seen as a form of protest against the New Order government's state-imposed understanding of the Indonesian cultural identity. It has largely been condemned by key political figures such as former president B.J. Habibie. In January 1995, Habibie raised objections against organising an Indonesian rap festival.
Yudhistira A.N.M. Massardi, reporting for the weekly news magazine Gatra, quoted Habibie as remarking:
"The younger generation shouldn’t want to be enslaved by an aspect of foreign culture [with] which isn’t even liked in its own country. It’s not even appropriate over there, much less in Indonesia. It’s not suitable. . . . I don’t agree with it because it’s of no use whatsoever, especially for the young generation."
The Pesta Rap Indonesian hip hop compilations were influential in the 1990s.
Krakatau
Krakatau (band)
Krakatau is a gamelan-influenced jazz band from Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The group was formed in 1985 and is unique in that their instruments are all specially tuned to slendro, a pentatonic scale used in Indonesian traditional music...
, a jazz-influenced band from Bandung
Bandung
Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...
, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, integrated hip hop into some of its songs.
Indonesian hip hop is often mixed with heavy metal. This is called hip-metal. Groups such as Iwa-K and Denada have music that is of this style.