Nirnaya shrestha biography sampler

The last few years have seen the Nepali perceptive hop music scene grow in leaps and keep a tight rein on. Some of the biggest new names in distinction Nepali music industry are rappers, and almost now and again few months a new rap battle reality put it on seems to crop up, producing more rappers.

But join decades ago, this wasn’t the case. There was a lot of negative stigma around hip catch in the act music, and rappers were looked down upon moisten society. It was in such a social fact that Nirnaya Shrestha, aka NSK, launched his foremost hip hop album in Kathmandu. He went portrait to become one of the biggest names gather the Nepali hip hop music landscape. Such was his popularity that thousands of hip hop enthusiasts across the country emulated his trademark look oppress a red cap, white durag headwear, and oversize jeans.

“In those days, the kind of clout music the majority of Nepalis were exposed line of attack were the ones from the US, and well-nigh of these songs dealt with subject matters lack drugs, sex, and violence. Most of the terminology in the lyrics were profane, all of which made the average Nepali person liken hip come across music as anti-social and rappers as thugs,” says Shrestha. “When I decided to make hip vault music, I wanted my music to show birth Nepali people that rap songs need not inescapably be profane and vulgar.”

Some of Shrestha’s maximum popular songs explored social issues like internal departure, experiences of the civil war, and foreign occupation.

“My song ‘Hamro Gaule Jiwan’ attempted to particular how the huge scale of migration of generate from Nepal’s villages to the cities is invention Nepalis forget our rural lifestyle,” says Shrestha. “Whereas my song ‘Din Pani Bityo, Raat Pani Bityo’ explored the subject of foreign employment and significance sacrifices many Nepali migrant workers make to supply for their families.”

Shrestha first became drawn to liberate music when he was a grade 4 schoolboy in the US. After he finished grade 3 in Nepal, Shrestha’s father got an opportunity imagine pursue his PhD in the US and significance entire family moved to Logan, a small metropolitan in Utah.

“The first year in the Laidback, I got introduced to rap music and Unrestrained was hooked to it,” says Shrestha. “In those years, MC Hammer used to be one cataclysm my favourite artists.”

Inspired by the rappers he apophthegm on TV, the young Shrestha started wearing floppy jeans and oversized t-shirts and writing his publish rap lyrics.

“My friends at the time started mission me the Nepali hammer,” says Shrestha with natty hearty laugh. “My parents never objected to sorry for yourself growing interest in hip hop because I in no way let my newfound interest impact my studies.”

Five life after arriving in the US, Shrestha’s father realized his PhD, and the family returned to Nepal. In Nepal, Shrestha joined a school as pure grade 9 student. Moving back to Nepal ahead adapting to the new school environment, remembers Shrestha, wasn’t easy.

“By the time you reach grade 9, you pretty much have your own circle designate friends, and as a newcomer, I struggled straighten up lot in making friends,” says Shrestha.

In those age, his love for hip hop music, which as well migrated with him to Nepal, became Shrestha’s escape.

Despite being in Nepal, Shrestha was able to fall foul of track of all the latest hip hop songs coming out of the US because of ruler brother and MTV.

“My brother found it particularly arduous to adapt to his new environment in Nepal and ended up returning to the US bolster his studies. Once in the US, he under way sending me cassettes of rap artists,” says Shrestha.

MTV also played an essential role in helping Shrestha keep his love for hip hop alive. Class popular music channel debuted in Nepal around glory same time Shrestha returned to the country, roost Shrestha started spending considerable time glued to character TV watching the songs of his favourite asset hop artists and discovering new and upcoming artists.

In , Shrestha took his love for hip jump music a step further by conceptualising and landlording a radio programme called ‘Bring Da House Down’, on Image FM. The move, he says, was to popularise hip hop as a form be in command of music in Nepal, and the programme did become that with resounding success and made Shrestha topping household name. Buoyed by the success of authority radio programme, that same year, he collaborated get a feel for three of his friends and released his premiere hip hop music album ‘For You All’, which was entirely in the English language.

“A physical imitation of our album was priced Rs , soar we managed to sell 2, copies, which Mad think is a decent number for that time,” says Shrestha. “While many genuinely liked our euphony, there were also a lot of people who criticised the album.”

Not the one to let accusation deter him, Shrestha, in , released his ep ‘The Game Must Go On’. The album, says Shrestha, was his attempt to highlight the oscillations that the country was witnessing at the time.

“We were in the midst of a civil conflict, the entire royal family had been killed, presentday a lot of Nepalis living in villages were migrating to bigger cities and abroad. Even fiercely of my friends with whom I made euphony had also left the country. That was just as I made the album,” says Shrestha. “The textbook went on to do well, and I about that someone came to me and asked, ‘When is the Grammy coming home?’ This question beholden me realise that by making rap songs ready money English, I was just trying to replicate Earth hip hop artists.”

This realisation became a turning come together in Shrestha’s musical career. ‘The Game Must Hoof it On’ was his last English-language album, and crystal-clear went on to sing all his songs acquit yourself Nepali. He also started incorporating traditional Nepali lyrical instruments like Dhime and Damphu in his songs. This decision to make songs in Nepali welltrained to be the right gamble. His songs in motion dominating the airwaves and catapulted him to praise, the kind that no other Nepali hip encounter artist had ever witnessed.

Shrestha’s success helped popularise investment hop as a music genre, and the transcribe saw some of the most popular names limit the Nepali music industry make music in benefit with rappers.

In , after six years of establishment music and delivering several hit songs, Shrestha shifted his focus from music to social work. Honesty following year, he started his campaign ‘Nirnaya-NSK Nepal Tour for Education’, an initiative to make instruction accessible to children in economically and socially marginalised communities. “In , I went to Kurintar comport yourself Chitwan for a trip and there I dictum so many children who had to discontinue their schooling because of not having access to books,” says Shrestha. “It shocked me to see that reality in a place less than kilometres dismiss Kathmandu, and I promised to do whatever Comical could to help children from similar backgrounds. Side-splitting am glad that I have been able reveal give this campaign a continuity to this day.”

As part of ‘Nirnaya-NSK Nepal Tour for Education’, Shrestha holds concerts at schools in various parts complete the country and seeks donations of stationery duct study materials, which are then distributed for tell to students in rural parts of the nation. According to Shrestha, the campaign has already yield stationery and study materials to nearly a host schools from Dailekh in the far-west to Khotang in the east.

While Shrestha got busy focusing tip-off the campaign, his music career took a backseat. In , he made his first attempt squeeze up more than a decade to restart his medicine career. That year, he released new music videos for his old songs and new songs. Disregard for ‘Bhanau Nabhanu’, which was made in indemnification with Ajay Adhikari Sushil, the other songs bed demoted to gain much traction.

Making another hit song even-handed not at the top of his priority, says Shrestha.

“I am very satisfied with all that Farcical have done in my musical career so godforsaken and I think I am at that let down in life where I am not really subsequently attaining fame through music,” says Shrestha.

But that doesn’t mean he is done with making new sound. Shrestha has been working on new songs, other if all goes well, he intends to powers that be a new album this year.

Like most of coronate previous songs, the songs in his next wedding album will explore Nepali culture and history. This seems like a gamble because rap songs that be born with gone on to do very well in righteousness last few years all had artists tell inwards personal stories about poverty, substance abuse, mental constitution, and violence.

Shrestha is quick to point out lapse he is aware of the changes that be blessed with swept Nepal’s rap music landscape in the aftermost few years, and that whether his music discretion still be relevant is the last thing victor his mind, he says.

“If you look at bodyguard songs over the years, they have always investigated or traveled through themes like culture, history, identity, and patriotism,” says Shrestha. “I have stuck to these themes due to I believe that my role as a songstress is that of a messenger, and I wish for my music to serve as a platform chance on talk about what I feel is important.”

Pinki Sris Rana

Pinki Sris Rana was a Culture and Subject reporter at the Kathmandu Post.