Cartel Madras is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

hip hop duo from

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, consisting of sisters Bhagya "Eboshi" Ramesh and Priya "Contra" Ramesh. They characterize their music as "

Goonda "Goonda" is a term used in the Indian subcontinent for a hired criminal. It is both a colloquial term and defined and used in laws, generally referred to as Goonda Acts. Etymology The word possibly comes from the Hindi word ''guṇḍā'' ( hi ...

Rap" and began their career uploading songs to

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. Cartel Madras released their debut mixtape, ''Project Goonda Part 1: Trapistan'', in 2018. In 2019, they signed to

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

and

Royal Mountain Records Royal Mountain Records is a Canadian independent record label and artist-management company, based in Toronto, Canada. The Royal Mountain roster currently consists of more than 30 active artists including Alvvays, Mac DeMarco, and U.S. Girls. Thei ...

and their EP, ''Age of the Goonda,'' was released on November 1''.'' Their most recent album, ''The Serpent & The Tiger'' was released August 19, 2021.

Formation

Both sisters emigrated from

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

they are half Tamil and half Malayalee and identify as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

, with Eboshi identifying as

pansexual , meaning "all" , definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender , classification = Sexual identity , parent = Bisexuality , synonyms = , associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofl ...

. They classify their music as "

Rap". Their music combines elements of hip hop,

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

, and South Indian influences. The duo cite

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper from Gary, Indiana. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the label ...

, M.I.A., Scarface,

Cupcakke Elizabeth Eden Harris (born May 31, 1997), known professionally as Cupcakke (often stylized as CupcakKe; pronounced ), is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. She is known for her hypersexualised, brazen, and often comical persona and mus ...

, and

MF Doom Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

as influences.

Career

Cartel Madras began by releasing songs on their

. Their debut mixtape ''Project Goonda Part 1: Trapistan'' was released in 2018. The lead single for the mixtape was titled "Pork and Leek". The duo helped develop a collective known as THOTNATION which consists of close collaborators like Jae Sterling, yungkamaji, and Jide. Later that year, Cartel Madras played at

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, most ...

, opening for

. At a show at Calgary's Sled Island festival, five months after their formation, they caught the attention of

Ishmael Butler Ishmael Reginald Butler (born July 3, 1969) is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with such groups as Digable Planets in the 1990s and Shabazz Palaces in the 2010s. Early life Butler, who is a nati ...

, a member of the A&R team of the label Sub Pop. In 2019, Cartel Madras won $10,000 from the

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...

Storyhive grant to film a music video for "Eric Andre (Slick Rick James)". The music video featured cameos from

K.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop (music), pop and country music, country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical perfor ...

and

Vivek Shraya Vivek Shraya (born February 15, 1981) is a Canadian musician, writer, and visual artist. She currently lives in Calgary, Alberta, where she is an assistant professor in the creative writing program at the University of Calgary. As a trans woman of ...

and was released in May 2019. In June,

announced they had signed Cartel Madras and that new music was being worked on. The duo announced an EP, ''Age of the Goonda'', to be released on November 1, 2019. Two singles were released in the lead up to the EP release, "Lil Pump Type Beat" and "Goonda Gold". After the EP release, the duo announced a series of Canadian tour dates, opening for

Hollerado Hollerado was a Canadian indie rock band from Ottawa, Ontario. Formed in 2007, the band consisted of Menno Versteeg (lead vocals, guitar), Nixon Boyd (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dean Baxter (bass, backing vocals) and Jake Boyd (drums, backing vo ...

Fetty Wap Willie Junior Maxwell II (born June 7, 1991), better known by his stage names Fetty Wap or Harlem Fetty, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence after his debut single "Trap Queen" reached number two on the U.S. ''B ...

, and

Clipping Clipping may refer to: Words * Clipping (morphology), the formation of a new word by shortening it, e.g. "ad" from "advertisement" * Clipping (phonetics), shortening the articulation of a speech sound, usually a vowel * Clipping (publications) ...

. Eventually, the song was announced as a part of the EA UFC4 official game soundtrack. They were included on

Vogue India ''Vogue India'' is the Indian edition of the monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine ''Vogue''. It is the 17th international edition of ''Vogue'' and the first edition in South Asia. ''Vogue India'' is published by Condé Nast India Pvt. Ltd., a ...

's list of artists set to breakthrough in 2020. In 2020, Cartel Madras began their first international tour opening for Sudan Archives in North America. Following this tour, it was announced that they would also join

on tour across the United States in May 2020 in support of Clipping's album, ''

There Existed an Addiction to Blood ''There Existed an Addiction to Blood'' is the third studio album by American hip hop group clipping. It was released on October 18, 2019 through Sub Pop. It received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Music and lyrics Clipping describe ...

''. However, this tour would later be postponed due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2020, Cartel Madras released two singles, "WORKING" and "Stay Up All Night", the latter a collaboration with GWS. "WORKING" was later named one of "The most underrated Canadian songs of 2020", by

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

. "WORKING" was featured in the soundtrack for the final season of the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

series '' Shrill.'' In 2021, the duo released the single, "DRIFT", alongside announcing their forthcoming project ''The Serpent and The Tiger'', which will be the third instalment of their ''Project Goonda'' trilogy, after ''Trapistan'' (2018) and A''ge of the Goonda'' (2019)''.'' In May, they also released a single, "Dream Girl Concept" with Jide and Tyris White, alongside a music video that they directed and starred in. On July 8, they released another single from the upcoming project, "Fear & Loathing", with Dom Dias. The music video for "Fear & Loathing" stars Cartel Madras, Dom Dias, Sheerah, and Sharanya and was directed by Cartel Madras and Jashan Makan. They also participated in the Emerging Wildly project and residency at Yellowknife's Folk on the Rocks festival, along with Partner and Celeigh Cardinal.{{Cite web, date=2021-07-15, title=How Folk's travelling musicians joined forces in isolation, url=https://cabinradio.ca/67729/news/arts/how-folks-travelling-musicians-joined-forces-in-isolation/, access-date=2021-07-19, website=cabinradio.ca, language=en-US

Discography

Mixtapes

* ''Project Goonda Part 1: Trapistan'' (2018)

EPs

* ''Age of the Goonda'' (2019) * ''The Serpent and The Tiger'' (2021)

Singles

* "Pork and Leek" (2018) * "Lil Pump Type Beat" (2019) * "Goonda Gold" (2019) * "WORKING" with Jide (2020) * "Stay Up All Night" with GWS (2020) * "DRIFT" with Dom Dias (2021) * "Dream Girl Concept" with Jide and Tyris White (2021) *"Fear & Loathing" with Dom Dias (2021)

References

Canadian hip hop groups Musical groups from Calgary Women hip hop groups Tamil-Canadian culture