India's first all-female hip-hop collective is flipping the rap game in India

"Turning the tables, this is girl power, can't you see?

Taking over this town

This is a Game Flip, a Game Flip, yeah."

The song, Game Flip, by Wild Wild Women encapsulates the collective’s empowering spirit as they challenge the status quo and usher in a new era of inclusivity in the present rap world.

Believed to be India’s first all-female hip-hop collective, which formed in 2020, Wild Wild Women has five rappers―HashtagPreeti (Preeti N Sutar), Krantinaari (Ashwini Hiremath), MC Mahila (Shruti Raut), JQueen (Jacqulin Lucas), and Pratika (Pratika E. Prabhune). They released their first song, I Do It For Hip Hop, in 2021.

It also has two break-dancers—FlowRaw (Deepa Singh) and MGK (Mugdha Mangaonkar)—and artist Gauri Dabholkar, who does graffiti and live art during shows.

Wild Wild Women is defying conventions with their music flow, multilingualism, and themes exploring mental health, women empowerment, and patriarchal prejudices. Some of their songs are—Doing Okay, Living Waves, Game Flip, and more.

“We are women who face all these issues daily, so why not make music that resonates with the other women out there,” says member Preeti Sutar, adding, “By putting our voices out there, we are trying to amplify women's voices to leave a larger impact on society.”

The beginning

Pratika Prabhune, a member of the collective, found her passion for music in school as part of the choir. At just 12 years, she discovered her true calling when she got her hands on a bass guitar and joined a heavy metal band. 

“Music has been my only constant from childhood. It is an emotion that transcends beyond terrestrial concepts like language,” she says.

Resonating a similar story, Sutar adds that she was confused and clueless five years back and had no idea what she was doing. While music had been an integral part of her life, she never thought of taking it up as a profession.

After college, she started working with her father in the family business, and on the first day, she was struck with the idea to write her first song. And, there has been no looking back for her.

These women’s—coming from different walks of life—paths crossed at a cypher in 2021, organised by rappers HashtagPreeti and Krantinaari, who wanted to create a space for female rappers and beat-boxers in India.

Their shared passion for music and a strong desire to challenge stereotypes and break barriers in the male-dominated hip-hop scene made them form the Wild Wild Women.

However, their journeys were never short of challenges. A big struggle for the rappers was to explain to their families what they were doing. Sutar recalls her family believed music cannot be a profession.

“Initially, my family was very sceptical about my decision. They wanted me to get a stable job, but once I started earning money, things became better. I think my parents will take some time to accept my choice, but they surely will,” she says.

Despite Prabhune’s musical pursuits, her father—with a classical music background—disapproved of her chosen genre, leading to a decade-long struggle for acceptance. Her primary aim was to let her family know she could make a life out of music. For that, she managed a day job in marketing and social media and worked at music events during the night. 

“My father did not agree with the kind of music I made back then because he didn't understand it. It was a culture shock for him but now with hip hop, he boasts about my success to his friends,” she adds.

Jacqulin Lucas’ parents urged her to consider rapping as a hobby rather than a full-time career, pushing her to pursue a regular nine-to-five job. 

However, her sister’s wedding was a turning point in her life, when the Wild Wild Women crew performed at the wedding. As they started rapping, the audience was captivated, and soon, everyone was dancing along. From that night onwards, Lucas has been pursuing music full-time.

Despite making progress with their families, the collective also faces hurdles in establishing its presence within the Indian hip-hop and rap community. Sutar recalls recording a song with a producer, who ghosted her on the final day of recording.

“He was taking it all casually to just talk to me. He thought I am a girl rapper, so I am not serious about my work,” she says.

Lucas also shares her past struggles as the only woman in an all-male crew, where she wasn’t allowed to connect with the audience much and was discouraged to take a solo deal with Hungama.

She now believes she has found a home in the Wild Wild Women crew. Agreeing, Sutar says, “I used to be less motivated and scared, but after joining the collective, I have become fierce and bold.”

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Music for change

“Hip hop as a genre is a strong instrument to talk about socio-political issues and make the world listen. Additionally, we do street-style hip hop, which also shows a lot about our journey from the streets to what we are today,” says Prabhune.

As a rap lover, Sutar never resonated with other artists' work. “I personally never resonated with the content of other artists’. So we, as a collective, decided to speak on topics our audience could relate to.”

Their song, Game Flip, addresses the typical idea that women aren't as capable and skilled as men. It wants people to know that women are more than what they believe them to be. Another song, Uddu Azad, speaks of women being free from the expectations and clutches of society.

During their creative process, the Wild Wild Women crew engages in collaborative brainstorming sessions and collectively explore topics for their songs. Each member contributes their own unique lyrics and blends Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and English within their songs.

The crew also arrange cyphers to encourage other young girls and women to come forward and showcase their talent. They have also helped in distributing 500 sanitary pads across rural Mumbai. 

“We have singers, instrument players, and rappers coming to these cyphers to showcase their skills,” Sutar adds.

The crew strongly believes the rap industry—dominated by men for a long time—has many rap songs often objectifying women. However, they believe female artists are changing the narrative now.

In the same vein, the crew recalls an instance where a lady came to them with tears in her eyes and told the band reminds her of what all she could have been.

“When these young women look up to us with expectations and love, we feel good about our work,” Prabhune says.

The crew is planning to release its next three songs in the next few months.