Have you heard Roshan Jamrock’s latest track, DPKT? Don’t be surprised if you’re wondering what DPKT stands for, as the Malaysian rapper explains, it’s a short form of ‘Dappankuttu.’ There are only a few ways to spell it, so he devised something easier to remember and spell.
Dappankuttu is more than just a folk dance or a music genre popular among South Indians; it has a deeper meaning. For Roshan, it means honouring and emphasising the sounds of his lineage.
There is no doubt that the rapper has been emphasising the sound of his roots in tracks like ‘Give em the ughh,’ ‘NFL,’ and ‘Tamilan Anthem’ over the years.
Even when he is the track’s master, he tends to lay low as a rapper;
“It’s also me as an artist but focusing on producing/composing/arranging and writing the main melody and chorus but taking a back seat as a rapper. Think of Steve Aoki, Skrillex, Diplo- it’s their song but they don’t sing on it. Same approach.
His DPKT includes artists not only from Malaysia, but also from India and the United Kingdom. Yunohoo, our country’s female rapper, Chico, a young rapper from the power trio “sicarios,” and Young Ruff, a Gila Monstraz group mate from Kajang and Roshan’s schoolmate, are among those who have been featured in the local track.
Dopeadelicz, the rapper duo Tony Sebastian aka Stony Psyko and Rajesh Radhakrishnan aka Dope Daddy from India, were featured. DPKT also includes MC Sai, who has been flying the Tamil Rap flag high in the UK hip hop scene.
“Basically featuring artists who I admire as well as bringing people together through my production. Newer artists, OG artists, Triple OG Artists, Malaysian Artists and Artists overseas. That’s the goal. I would love to merge Legends with Young Bloods and it’s not an easy feat to be honest as too many things come into play. But I will keep trying. And keep in mind all this is done independently.
The DPKT music video, on the other hand, had a very different plan at first, but Roshan had to come up with something else because we were hit by a global lockdown.
“So this was my idea for an SOP compliant music video. The concept is IG stories. Nothing new and it’s been done before in different forms.
“However, this version covers most of what you’d usually see on IG stories. I made sure that all scenes would not be similar in any way to give it an authentic feel of being posted by different people.
“If you really pay attention there are so many hidden gems in the music video as well. I also tried to include all the Malaysian cultures in the clip and make it as colourful as possible.
“Organising, planning and executing this would not have been possible without all the amazing people involved and playing their part beautifully.
The amazing Yugein from @dopeculturemy edited this video! Roshan applauds him for delivering exactly what he envisioned.
On that note, Roshan also said that the response to the song and music video has been wonderful, and that a challenge called #DPKT #DPKTCHALLENGE is currently making its rounds on Tik Tok and Instagram. So, if you’re on any of these platforms, show him what you’ve got!
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