In a blue saree, bindhi, traditional gold jewellery and sunglasses, 25-year-old Rubini Gopinath raps: "Yen sollisai ketka vandha makkalukku vanakkam/ Ennoda kadha romba pengalukkum porundhum/Adi mela adipattu vandhu irukkum ponnunga/Vaazhakayoda karuththa romba surukamaga solluren" (Welcome to all who have come to listen to my music/My story is applicable to many women/We have come despite being beaten down/I will tell you life's meaning in brief). The video, which premiered on YouTube channel Neelam Social, is part of Street Studio, an effort to trace the journey of protest music.
Rubini, who goes by the name of Mrs Go, never intended on becoming a rapper. It was when she was a student of Ethiraj College in Chennai that she got introduced to the art form. "After I finished college, my first track 'En Kathai' was released in 2018. It came out on the YouTube channel, Tamil Bloodz. The rappers were Vc Rapper, 'Jorthaale' singer Asal Kolaar, and me," she says.
Watch: En Kathai by Vc Rapper, Asal Kolaar and Mrs Go
She chose the name Mrs Go because she's a huge fan of rapper Mc Go, whom she eventually married. The couple has a nine-month-old baby together.
"I used to think in school that I could become a lyricist because I liked writing. I studied BA Tourism and Travel Management because I thought it was a unique course. When I came across rapping, I discovered that female rappers were unique and that's what made me determined to become one," she says.
In her college days, her writing was focused on the themes of love and money. "It was a friend who introduced me to hip hop. I just tried it out, singing a song twice or thrice faster than the beat. Suddenly everyone around me clapped, and I discovered that people liked what I was doing. I started it casually but it became my passion," she says.
Mrs Go with her husband rapper Mc Go
Wherever she performed, Rubini found that people were surprised. "My voice came as a surprise to them, and they said they never expected me to sound so powerful. They'd ask me if I wrote the rap by myself,” she says. Her parents were skeptical about her performing hip hop music, and she gave it up briefly after her first track 'En Kathai' came out. It was only after she got married in February 2019 that she began to make more music.
This year, Mrs Go and Mc Go together released their new track 'Bethel Nagar' which is about the eviction of thousands of families from the area. In 2019, the court had ruled that all residents from the marshland should be evicted. The DMK had promised pattas to the people before elections but took a U-turn after it formed the government. As of now, the Madras High Court has given the people time till April to move from the marshland. 'Bethel Nagar' highlights the plight of the families who have been living in the area for years. The song, Rubini says, has not endeared them to politicians.
Watch: Bethel Nagar by Mc Go and Mrs Go
Ask Rubini if she views hip hop as primarily being a form of protest music and she is quick to say no. "You can sing whatever you want in hip hop. I see it as a medium," she says, to sing about anything including love and sex. However, she adds that if someone listens to a pop genre love song in hip hop, they may not like it because they are used to it being on another tune. "But if it's something fresh in hip hop, there's a good chance that it will appeal to you," she explains. Similarly, the subject of rap and who's singing it can also change. “Why is it that only men should sing about sex? Why can't a woman do it?” she questions.
Rubini, who identifies as a feminist, says that her writing is influenced by women's needs, their dreams and struggles. "We keep hearing about the problems that women face at home, and much of this is taken lightly. But when we start recognising it for what it is, it strikes home," she says.
When she composes a song, she first takes a beat at random, puts together the lyrics and later develops the beat further. Rubini prefers rapping in a saree, be it videos or events because it makes the experience all the more memorable for her audience. “Nobody has seen a woman rap in a saree, and that makes me stand out. I like being unique,” she says, underlining the adjective again.
Rap is also led Rubini to meet her husband. "Around the same time as my first track was released, he also came out with a track called 'Dab'. He had dreadlocks, the flow of his rap was different from what I’d heard before. I started following his music, and incidentally a mutual friend of ours introduced the two of us. We got talking and fell in love," she says.
It hasn't been easy for a woman rapper in Tamil to find platforms. Rubini says that when she goes for events, people often tend to let male rappers perform before her. "I've even returned from events without performing because of this," she notes.
Struggling to make herself heard in a patriarchal world, this indie artist believes that her career is just about taking off. "I'm looking forward to making more music. I think there is space for people like me to reach the people if we find the right platforms."