Collaborations in music are always exciting, and when it involves two incredible talents from the Northeast, you know it’s going to be something special. Enter 2 Sons Of The East, the latest release by Yelhomie feat. Moko Koza. This powerful track blends two distinct worlds, tied together by the common thread of the Northeastern soul.
As Moko Koza puts it, “We had to make sure our identity is seen from the song.” and Yelhomie echoes that sentiment with hard-hitting lines like, “Straight outta Manipur, Bindi kya hai bhai? It’s straight bullets on the forehead.” This isn’t just a song, it’s a rallying cry- a voice of the people that speaks about identity, nonconformity, and representation.
Much like the Dadaists who rebelled against societal norms post-World War I, Moko Koza and Yelhomie use their voices to confront a broken system that reflects the struggles of a society grappling with violence and greed. Here’s a closer look at a conversation with these two artists- about their journey, their inspirations, and the making of 2 Sons Of The East.
1. What was the inspiration behind creating 2 Sons Of The East?
Yelhomie: Being from the war torn state of Manipur and with everything that’s happening around me, it took a great challenge for me to execute any song honestly. 2 Sons Of The East is a joint where two sons from the Northeastern part of India speak about their environment and their roots. Yelhomie, derived from the word “Yelhoumee” meaning Indigenous people, is a brand that represents the people. Embracing and taking pride in representing the east, 2 Sons is yet another project of mine where I talk about my roots and my environment like many of my other releases. And with the idea of it, Moko fits the description of the track given that he’s been representing his roots since day 1.
Moko Koza: It was basically Yelhomie who got in touch with me regarding the song. He sent me this beat produced by Yugi Beats and he had his verse recorded on it. Eventually I knew what I had to lay on my verse with the song titled, 2 Sons Of The East
2. How does the song reflect your roots or identity?
Yelhomie: “That’s how they want me to demonstrate my expertise like all these rappers with no pen, a bunch of bums to me” the lines that come before this very line is imitation highlighting many rappers are programmed to produce songs that degenerate the conscious human mind inflicting with greed of power leading to misbehaviour. Moving forward, I picked up topics that highlight the situation in my state instead, showing my purpose is to represent my true identity, the good and the bad. Manipur like many of the other states in the Northeast is heavily induced with drugs and arms. With the ongoing war, the state is in a situation we have never seen before. Here in the song, I shed light on how the people of Manipur have shown distrust to the Government of India, given that the PM hasn’t even broken his silence on this war that has claimed more than couple hundreds of lives.
Moko Koza: 2 Sons is a song from the Northeast. Both of us being from that part, we talked about what is actually going on and also we come from a land of traditions and festivals. We had to make sure our identity is seen from the song.
3. How did the collaboration between the two of you come about for this track?
Yelhomie: I met Moko at a show in Arunachal Pradesh where I suggested we should work on something and bring up the scene in the Northeast to which he agreed without a doubt.
Moko Koza: Me and Yelhomie met at an event in Arunachal. We talked about collaborating on a song. Months after, Yelhomie sent me this fire beat from Yugi production. He shared me his ideas and I knew that song was fit for me too.
4. What was the creative process like while working on this song? Did you each write your verses separately, or did you collaborate closely?
Yelhomie: I met Yugi in Bangalore and he played me some beats out of which the first one was the instrumental for 2 Sons Of The East. As soon as I heard it, I told Yugi that it’d be an honor for me to do justice to the beat. As soon as I got the stems, I recorded it back home and sent the demo to Moko and he did his part.
Moko Koza: We wrote our own verses in our own hometown. After I completed my verse, I recorded it and sent him my vocals online.
5. What message or emotions did you want to convey through the words in this song?
Yelhomie: I wanna answer this with just two words – Northeast Represent.
Moko Koza: In my verse, I wanted to showcase the vibrant part of our land, our food habits and our culture. There were some few topics where I touched on the northeast Hip-Hop scene where I wanted to elevate and revive the scene back again. There are lots of talents out here in the NE. It’s just sometimes there is proper coverage or attention that is given.
6. Are there any specific lyrics or lines in 2 Sons Of The East that hold a special meaning to you? Could you share more about them?
Yelhomie: “Straight outta Manipur, Bindi kya hai bhai? It’s straight bullets on the forehead.“ This line was inspired by the unprecedented death of a mother who was visiting her parents with her daughter. She was shot in the head from a distance, yet another innocent casualty of this proxy war.
Moko Koza: “Still A boy from the hills, chop’em like bamboos when we go for the kill. It’s a taboo. Don’t be crossing our fields, it’s that harvest season and we reaping our foods.” These lines hold a double meaning. It can mean from a rapper’s perspective being on his competitive nature and the other meaning refers to the food harvesting season. In the olden days, when our Naga ancestors were harvesting food, they did rituals and performed rites. During the ritual season, it is a taboo to cross the fields and nobody is allowed in the field.
7. Did you face any challenges in the production of the track? How did you overcome them?
Yelhomie: Not really but I remember when I wrote this, there was a huge flood in my area and I couldn’t go home so I stayed at the studio. The challenge was I survived three meals with just oats. And the video was a day shoot in Shillong but we managed to pull it off good enough to provide the outcome.
Moko Koza: There wasn’t much of a problem as I had to record my verse and send it. Mixing and Mastering was done from Yelhomie’s side.
8. How has the response been so far from fans and listeners? Have you gotten any feedback that stood out to you?
Yelhomie: The desi-bollywood-flavoured sample did quite a job expanding our horizon with the listeners. Other than that a lot of media houses and reactors even covered our story, The Indian Music Diaries included, thanks to the team. Overall the feedback we are getting from the listeners are really positive.
Moko Koza: Response was overwhelming. The music video just crossed 100k. It has made noise not only in the northeast but also positive responses and coverage from mainland India. We also had Raftaar sharing our song. Which basically means, the song have travelled places and reached some of those big ears.
9. Can we expect more collaborations between the two of you in the future?
Yelhomie: I’d do anything to bring up the scene in the East and that’s quite effective when two power houses of an artist collaborate. So yeah, you will see many collaborations.
Moko Koza: For sure. We will soon be collaborating again.
10. Is there any individual upcoming project that your fans can expect?
Yelhomie: I’m dropping my first body of work consisting of 10 – 12 tracks in the next couple months. Given the number of tracks, I try to keep the essence of an album which it isn’t. I want my debut album to tell a story and make an impact on the mind and the soul. This however could be labelled as a mixtape or compilation of unreleased tracks. 2 Sons Of The East is a single from the project.
Moko Koza: I’m working on an EP currently. The listeners can expect many new songs that’s on the way.
11. Is there anything you’d like to say to your listeners and fans who connect with this song?
Yelhomie: I’m going for anything and everything and when I make it, we made it. I would be nothing without your love and support and I pray y’all keep providing the same as I generate it into good songs for your ears. And if you are fighting any demon, do reach out to me so we can work something out. I wanna connect with my fans, know their story. Recently, a fan of mine took his life and to know that he was waiting for my recent release Run It Up, that kills me. So let’s connect.
Moko Koza: Keep supporting our music. Keep supporting the Northeast Music Scene. Hip-Hop is well and alive in the NE.
12. Do you think there’s enough representation of NE culture in mainstream Indian and global music?
Yelhomie: Not enough representation can be seen but recently, we are starting to get the recognition we deserve. The language barrier and the deep rooted political structure could be factors out of many but I also feel there is a lack of artists in the NE despite the talents they are endowed with. We really need to provide good musicians and drop consistently.
Moko Koza: Only a few people have made it out. I believe due to the language barrier there is less focus on the NE scene. With Hindi being the major language in India, the NE music sometimes goes unheard.
13. What challenges do you feel that NE artists still face in achieving wider recognition outside of the region? Have you encountered any such barriers yourselves?
Yelhomie: The language barrier and the political construct that the general public has towards the Northeastern part of the country could be two major factors why the Northeastern people are facing a hard time achieving anything.
Moko Koza: One main reason is the language barrier. I’ve been approached by MTV Hustle many times but since they only want rappers who do Hindi rap I’ve lost opportunities because I don’t rap in Hindi and my Hindi is not fluent.
14. What role do you think platforms like social media and streaming services have played in bringing NE music to a broader audience?
Yelhomie: This is a big opportunity we’ve been provided with and with online platforms, we can spread our word to every corner and introduce ourselves to everyone.
Moko Koza: Where people can’t travel, social media and streaming platforms have distributed our music throughout the world. It has been playing a very important role for us Musicians.
15. What advice would you give to aspiring artists from the Northeast who want to make a mark globally?
Yelhomie: Myself included, to all the aspiring artists from the east, we don’t really have the liberty to endeavour through the less-tougher route so we have to put in twice the work. Also the political construct that the system paints for people towards the eastside will always be there and you have to be ready for it. The safe side is being in the music industry cause the stereotype is vague and everybody is only about good music and good times. Don’t get lost in the way, never forget where you come from cause at the end of the day, that’s gon define who you are.
Moko Koza: Never give up. Make sure you represent where you’re from. Don’t lose your identity trying to be somebody. At the end of the day, realness is what’s gon’ define you and your music.
