Amazumi’s Riot Tour begins with a bang

By Mannu Shahi

Amazon is a Belgium-based Nepali rapper who initiated her exploration of Hip-Hop while she was a film studies disciple in London. Born as Mamita Setting, the emcee spent most of her childhood days in Hong Kong and refers to herself as a “late bloomer” since she only channeled her musical persona during her mid-20s. 

However, she has a wide artistic palette deliciously seasoned with her relentless passion, dedication, and her love for writing and creating. The rapper states herself to be generally shy outside the musical sphere and so vents out her inner thoughts via 

her lyrics.

Amazon garnered global attention when she participated in the De Nieuwe Lichting (The New Wave) a popular music reality show in Belgium and got selected amidst the top 8 finalists for the competition held in 2017. Out of the 800 participants, the competition selected 60 contestants and Amazumi outscored the rest and became one of the final 8 participants to perform live at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.

The rapper had released a few singles beforehand. However, her debut six-track EP ‘V For Venom’ was released in November 2017, and a follow-up tour with DJ Zami Zulu and Owen Perry Weston solidified her stance as an independent musician in the Belgium artistic circuit. 

Tons of collaborations and a few singles later, Amazumi dropped her second EP ‘Riot’ in March 2022, consisting of five tracks and featuring HyperViolet, Yung Rivethead, Deftestine, and First Letter as the beat producers; Mathlovsky on audio mix and master; Woo One as the cover artist; and Virginie Aparecida Baijot on photography.

And as a follow-up to this release, the songwriter has ventured in an album launch tour starting out from Belgium, to the UK where she played in some very prestigious music festivals. Now she is currently in Nepal to perform at four different venues throughout the country. Presented by Noodle Rex, a Nepal-made music streaming portal, the first show of the Riot Tour was organized at Beers N’ Cheers, Jhamsikhel on July 29. 

A truly commendable night for new-age Nepali Hip-hop as two of the finest poets of the contemporary scene serenaded the enthusiastic audience with their dynamic personalities. 

Smriti Bishwokarma a.k.a. Dmitri was the opening act for the night and her set was, as expected, on fire. Her powerful vocal throw, the smoothest bilingual transitions, her zestful performance, the context of her songs, and its relevance echoing all-over the concert’s theme were quite enticing to witness.  

And the headliner Amazumi was as usual on her top-game with tremendous stamina, great vocal control, creative audience engaging techniques, and many layers of sonic textures highlighting her vigorous musicianship and tasteful storytelling assembled in a wholesome package serving the audience a wonderful concert experience.

The rapper was accompanied by her tour band Envelopes: a Kathmandu-based Metalcore quartet composed of Aaron Raigai on vocals, Aneesh Raigai on guitars, Pranish Singh Pariyar on bass, and Areas Shyawa on drums. 

The upcoming shows for the tour are in Forest Sports Arena, Pokhara, on August 5; in Pipeline Beer and Coffee, Chitwan, on August 6; and in Club Fahrenheit, Kathmandu, on August 12. So definitely drop by in the most convenient venue for you.