Abstract
Historically, music has served as a liberating force and a platform for social and political activism. Despite its contentious uptake in many societies, rap has been used globally to raise awareness about issues such as racism, ethnic discrimination, colorism, and gender bias. In recent years, South Asia's music industries have become fertile ground for rap, with young artists using their music as a tool for organized social activism and civil resistance. This chapter examines the less researched hip-hop scene in Bangladesh and Nepal and aims to understand how this genre sustains various forms of activism through multimodal resources. We analyze rap music videos and their lyrics to demonstrate how artists in these countries entangle English and other local languages with various political ideologies and social identities to align themselves with broader hip-hop communities beyond their national boundaries while also simultaneously localizing this genre. They employ taboo expressions, swear words, and provocative body language to draw attention to corruption, dishonesty, and unlawful activities in their societies. Additionally, local languages and vernaculars are integrated to address societal issues, while English serves to connect these narratives with global audiences across different temporal and spatial contexts.