Malaysian rapper Roshan Jamrock of collective K-town Clan drops “DPKT,” which draws inspiration from the Tamilian folk dance and music genre, Dappan Koothu.
The track is an ode to his South Asian heritage. “I’ve been using these sounds in my music for years, so I wanted to spread the culture and love further,” Roshan Jamrock tells HipHopDX Asia. Listeners can also hear this influence in K-town Clan’s “Give Em The Ugh!!!” and “NFL.”
The uptempo track features South Indian rappers from around the globe, including Malaysia’s Yunohoo, Chico, and Young Ruff; India’s Dopeadelicz; and UK’s MC Sai. The rapper explains that his aim going forward is to feature OG and emerging artists alike through his music production. “I want to hype up artists even if they don’t have a following. As long as I like their music, I will bring them together in a song.” He also says “DPKT” saw him focus more as a producer. “I took a backseat on the rapping with this single, [because] I wanted to concentrate on production elements like composing and arranging melodies and beats,” he added.
The visual concept, helmed by Jamrock himself, came as a result of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions. He says utilizing an Instagram story format was an effective way to cover the artwork, dances, and cheery attitude. The video features the rappers, friends, and fans raising a toast and dancing in Koothu style. Jamrock added, “I wanted to include the Indian cultural elements with a full representation of Malaysia’s different ethnic groups.” At the end of the video, he reminds viewers to have fun but to do so responsibly.
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Roshan Jamrock is a Malaysian rapper of Filipino-Indian descent. The artist is known for being part of Malaysia’s Kajang-based rap trio K-town Clan. As a solo artist, he has featured on the soundtracks of several Tamil movies including, Kabali (2016), Bairavaa (2017), and Kaala (2018).
Watch “DPKT” below:
Original reporting by Anisha Khemlani
