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Hip hop, at its core, is about self-expression, community, and breaking barriers. It emerged from the Black community in the South Bronx in the 1970s, combining four key elements — turntabling, break dancing, rapping, and graffiti art — to form what is now: one of the world’s most influential creative subcultures. Hip hop wasn’t just about aesthetics or a fun new sound; it was an outlet for a deeply marginalised community, one that gave voice to social, cultural, and political messages that were often overlooked and systematically silenced.
Now, around 50 years later, hip hop and rap music have taken over the world. Yet, in this mass popularisation, some people have forgotten hip hop’s meaningful, socially-rooted origins. In Sydney, Australia, however, three South Asian rappers are carrying forward hip hop’s legacy as a tool for social change.
South Asian-Australian rappers L-FRESH The LION, aywy, and shitrapper recently came together in a performance for The Eighty Showroom. Eighty, which will officially launch on August 8, posted clips from the trio’s cypher on their Instagram to tease their official release. And the public tuned in, struck by the rappers’ frank expression of their diasporic experience and unabashed political messaging. Halfway across the world from New York, and fifty years after the genre’s inception, three South Asians have tapped into the essence of hip hop, wielding its power by injecting it with their own cultural contexts.
The cypher kicks off with Sikh and Punjabi-origin rapper L-FRESH The LION hopping on a beat made with an old Indian sample, produced by Maania Singh. He’s quick to get to his point, calling the public out for keeping silent and turning a blind eye in the face of mass global injustice. L-FRESH goes on to name influential artists and activists, aligning himself with the virtues of speaking the truth and fighting for what’s right through the power of art.
“2025, genocide televised. Pick a side, coloniser or colonised. Silence incentivised, don’t speak, close your eyes.”
L-FRESH The LION in The 80 Showroom, episode 2
The next artist to hop on the track is Aywy, a rapper-producer of Indian descent and member of the Australian South Asian music collective Chor Bazaar. The verse is peppered with Malayalam, Hindi, and Farsi phrases and at one point, shouts out homegrown legends Lata and Usha Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Through cheeky references to Indian culture and stereotypes, Aywy pays homage to his culture while simultaneously dissecting how South Asians have been exploited.
“Once were warriors, junglees, foreigners, who came to the country. Multiplied and built an empire, like Ghazi.”
Aywy in The 80 Showroom, episode 2
The cypher finishes off with Zain, also known as Shitrapper, who, unlike his name suggests, is decidedly not shit at what he does. As the founder of the Palestinian fundraising organisation Zed Vs The World, Shitrapper’s commitment to fighting oppression bleeds through in his rap. His verse switches from a hedonistic, materialistic self-celebration to a direct call to action. He calls out the injustices happening in Palestine, reflects on South Asians’ history of suffering, and defies white supremacist ideologies, all while keeping our heads bobbing along to the beat.
“My brown skin is a product of my family tree, a generation born surviving disease. My wide hips came from centuries of famine and greed, all for the white man to try enlightening me.”
Shitrapper in The 80 Showroom, episode 2
Follow L-FRESH The LION here.
Follow Aywy here.
Follow Shitrapper here.
Follow Eighty here.
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