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Bold and beautiful Hard Kaur raps about her life

It’s not that she’s just young or that she talks rowdy. It’s more the whole package. Some people try to dismiss her as just another rapper, but from what I can make out from our telephone interview she’s the best kind of working-class girl: pretty, talented, honest, amusing.

Taran Kaur Dhillon became Hard Kaur, the first Asian female rap artiste, because of her grit and robust Punjabi optimism. Born in India, she arrived in the U.K. in 1991, following a life that closely resembles a Sikh saga and chasing her dream that was meant to make her do more than cook, clean and run corner shops.

Her father had died in the anti-Sikh riots and her mother was living the immigrant life, running a beauty salon in Handsworth, Birmingham.

In a run up to the Lycra MTV Style Awards on October 26 at Mumbai, the rapper who is set to perform for the event says, “Rap is so ‘me’. It gives you creative freedom to say what you want and get away with it.”

The energy comes across so does her style, flow and swagger and more importantly her consciousness-raising lyrics. “I sing about my experiences. I’ve had it tough”, says Kaur who spoke no English when she first arrived in the U.K. Now rapping for the past 12 years in a fusion of both Hindi and English, Kaur who attended the London School of Music says, “Rap is a street form of language. It’s not something you can learn. And people will listen as long as you’re good on the mic.” Having sold all 3,000 copies of her first album Voodoo, Kaur has brought rap to Bollywood when she sang for the recently released “Johnny Gaddaar”. And many hip hop heads will recognize her club classic, Ek Glassy. Also lined up is a project for victims of HIV/ AIDS and domestic violence with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

Kaur who works by day at her mother’s salon counts among her influences The Who, Temptations and hip hop legend, Nas. “I draw my inspiration from my support group, the Asian community,” she says.

Then how come she’s the only female rapper around? “O, you know the subcontinent thing. Parents see girls as too delicate,” she says lapsing into a nasal Punjabi twang. “And the industry, it’s tough on the girls. You have to be tough-skinned.”

So how does she do it? “You know me….I’m a hard…. ”

The irrepressible Miss Kaur lets out one last, throaty guffaw. And this time the line goes dead.

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