How the Art of Verbal Combat Can Evolve into a Practice of Clarity and Devotion

By Ajit Krishna Dasa

Hip hop – the Soundtrack of My Youth

Before I cared about meaning, I cared about rhythm. Long before I even knew the word hip hop, I was drawn to its sound — the pulse of the drums, the way a beat could make ordinary life feel charged with meaning. At first, I didn’t understand the lyrics. English wasn’t my first language, so I listened mainly to the energy — the flow, the emotion, the attitude. Later, as I learned more, the words began to open up: humor, storytelling, clever punchlines, social critique. It felt like a world — alive, expressive, real.

Hip hop offered what I was looking for: something raw and honest, something that didn’t pretend. It gave me role models — people who stood strong in the face of struggle. As a teenager, I absorbed everything: the beats, the messages, the heroes. For a time, hip hop was my whole world.

Continue reading “From the Mic to the Mantra: Rap Battles and Nyaya Debates” →