Mahek
Highlights
- Mahek the "First Female Rapper and lyricist from Kashmir,"
- Mehak first discovered her love for rap at the age of 12
- Her stage name is 'Menime'
Scrolling through Mehak aka Menime's Instagram profile, she appears to be a regular girl, who loves Kashmir. From sharing beautiful photos of blooming flowers in the valley to serene glimpses of lakes, she has multiple posts which can leave one in awe of Kashmir's beauty. However, Mahek finds "peace and tranquillity,” when she's rapping.
The 21-year-old Mehak first discovered her love for rap at the age of 12 when she came across a song by Eminem. That song search on YouTube made her curious about rap culture and thus she began listening to artists including Nicki Minaj, Drake, and 50 Cent. But Eminem’s music and story resonated the most with her as his songs pushed back on white supremacy and injustice.
2016 protests in Kashmir, when the Valley went under lockdown and schools were shut for months after militant commander Burhan Wani was killed by government forces, Mehak decided to try rapping herself to give voice to the hardships that people around her were suffering from. To honour her inspiration, Eminem, she chose her stage name to be 'Menime', the reverse of Eminem. And, henceforth, she began putting her thoughts out by rapping about gender inequality, political injustice among other prevalent issues.
A year later, in 2017, RJ Sameen, a local radio channel jockey started playing her music, paving way for Mehak to emerge as the new voice in hip-hop from the region. She became the "First Female Rapper and lyricist from Kashmir," as suggested by multiple media reports and her Instagram handle.
But things have not been easy for her. While initially, her parents did not endorse her passion, they understood more about it later and extended their support to her. However, she still faces struggles in male-dominated Kashmiri society. "I still do face a lot of criticism and even abuse on social media by men who consider themselves preachers,” she told the FBomb, adding, “Many Kashmiri men want to see women confined to the four walls of the home and doing household chores.”
Reportedly, Menime has composed 15 songs to date, even though producing and recording songs in Kashmir is expensive. Recording one track in a limited number of functional studios there costs between 4,000-5,000 rupees. While she's unable to earn much from it, rapping gives her "peace and tranquillity.”
Mahek who has currently taken a break to focus on her studies is pursuing Bachelor of Arts from a local women’s college in Srinagar. She aspires to be a pioneer for the upcoming generation of female rappers and wants them to verbalize their experiences through hip-hop music.
