Mic to mandate: Hip-hop roots of Nepal’s new PM-elect Balen Shah

His track Nepal Haseko (“Nepal is smiling”), first released in 2015 but re-released last year, became an anthem.

Mumbai : Long before he was campaigning across Nepal, Balendra Shah (popularly called Balen) was a battle rapper, trading insults and one-liners with rival MCs. In battle rap, the rules are simple: read the room, anticipate your opponent’s angle of attack, and make sure it’s your punchline that delivers the knockout blow. Shah was great at it, judging by his viral Raw Barz battle video with fellow Nepali rapper, Litl Grizl from 2013, which has racked up 14 million views

Balendra Shah greets supporters in Damak, Nepal, after his election as Nepal’s next prime minister.