Gully Boy: Influence Of Hip-Hop Growing Up In The 90s In India

I still get goosebumps listening to Loose Yourself by Eminem sometimes. It was the first to win an oscar and had me hooked to the lyrics growing up as a teenager.

Cable TV was relatively new so was MTV. However, music exposed us to a world outside of small town things. Things went on hyperdrive with penetration of Internet cafes, personal computers and dial-up internet connection at home.

In the late 90s some of us kids were busy meddling with computers, taking it apart, coding, hacking shit up even as our peers were busy figuring out the difference between "enter" on the keyboard from "escape" button with their nose deep in books rest of the time.

Using a 56.6 kbps dial-up internet line we downloaded music from Napster, Kazaa, Limewire and listened to in the quiet of the night on cheap Chinese headphones. The world was out there and a couple of my friends and I discovered a part of it through music.

Music is subjective and everyone likes different artists and track. One could debate on which is the best rap song ever, but for me it is my favourite from a whole list of tracks from that era. A bunch of us teens would try our hand at rapping during our school breaks and I can karaoke this track even to this day verbatim.

Funny as it may seem now, my buddy and I even wrote some rhymes back in the day. But there's isn't enough time to get into the details!

In the past few years Desi hip-hop or Indian hip-hop rap scene has grown tremendously. I listen to a few artists on a regular basis in my leisure time even as I listen to practically every major genre out there.

Today as I watched the Gully Boy trailer I couldn't help but feel nostalgic about my growing up years and how this genre of music positively influenced me as an individual.

20 years later, I continue listening to hip-hop and rap music at regular intervals. The lyrics of many hip-hop artists gave me hope and inspiration apart from being so much fun to listen to. Especially back in the day when hip-hop and rap were great not like some of the trash we hear today in the name of hip-hop.

If you've watched 8-mile and you are likely draw parallels after watching the Gully Boy trailer, setting a rather high expectation for the movie. You will notice similarities.

Let's face it, life in Detroit is different to the life in Mumbai and yet they are very very similar. The struggle you face following your dreams, when your convictions are tested beyond limits is all the same, no matter where you are born. Success finds you when you push your boundaries and never give up.

Nearly 17 years after it was released, anytime I need to pump up my self-motivation and feel inspired, I put on Loose Yourself on loop and magically I always find the solutions I need to go forward in my life.

Today, Ranveer Singh has proven himself as a versatile actor and I say this because rarely do I find myself writing about movies let alone discussing Bollywood movies anywhere in-depth. But I can't wait to watch this movie, which is supposedly inspired by the lives of Indian rappers Divine and Naezy. Perhaps it's their conviction and perseverance I identify with.

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime you better
You can do anything you set your mind to, man - Eminem

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