Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Kufiyas in Hard Kaur's "Desi Dance"

Hard Kaur is the UK's first Asian female rap artist, according to the BBC.

"Desi Dance," recorded with Detroit's D12 (Eminem's group), is the first single from her second, forthcoming album (which was announced awhile back but is yet to appear). I am unable to claim that this is a great song. But the vid is interesting, because:

It appears that a "desi dance" requires lots of kufiyas.

There is this, Hard Kaur's quite fabulous head wrap. I'd love to see Amy Winehouse done up in one of these.

And then there are the dancers accompanying Hard Kaur on the "desi dance." Not only do they look like Palestinian guerillas, but the kufiyas are wrapped around their head so as to expose only their eyes. In Palestine they are known as "mulaththamin," "masked men," who confront the Israeli occupiers with their faces wrapped in kufiyas, so as to evade identification by Israeli security. (Wearing the kufiya in this manner is now illegal in France.)

And note that here Hard Kaur not only has a black and white kufiya dangling from her neck, but also a red and white kufiya tucked into her belt, or her front pocket. Desis can't have too many kufiyas...


Here Hard Kaur appears with Bizarre of D12. Is B's shower cap an ironic commentary on Hard Kaur's head wrap?


And to balance the kufiya, a turban. Raja style.


Now watch the vid yourself:



1 comment:

Richard S. said...

When Hard Kaur talks about how she's revolutionary and militant (because she loves to get drunk and needs a "sexy boy"?), it makes me long for the heyday of that Asian female rap artist called M.I.A. But Hard Kaur is a pretty good comedienne. If you consider her on those terms, her acts can be rewarding, sometimes.