{"id":5929,"date":"2016-07-15T02:02:29","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5929"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:26:09","slug":"kya-bol-rele-gully-boy-how-hip-hop-hacked-india-in-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5929","title":{"rendered":"Kya Bol Rele Gully Boy: How Hip-Hop Hacked India in 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A<\/span>b mann ko lagti shanti hai<\/em>
Jeb main jab Gandhi hai<\/em>
Hum ko chotte lana aandhi hain!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Divine, \u201cGandhi Money\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blueprint has been laid<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12,524 kilometres. If you wanted to put a number on how far Indian hip-hop has travelled in 2019, the distance between JFK International and Mumbai\u2019s CST airports, serves as a metaphor and milestone. After checking into India\u2019s popular consciousness, Mumbai\u2019s son-of-the-soil Vivian Fernandes aka Divine<\/a>\u2019s collaboration with his guru, East Coast hip-hop legend Nas in New York, marks the genre\u2019s undeniable arrival on the world stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also marks the manifestation of another, related phenomenon \u2014 the Hype Cycle. Like \u201cgravity\u201d or \u201cvirality\u201d or \u201cprobability\u201d, the Hype Cycle is an idea that has seeped into everyday life. A phenomenon coined by technology firm Gartner, it describes the beginning, sharp ascent, intense blossoming, and eventual normalisation of a technological trend. To some, this cresting of the hip-hop Hype Cycle might be the natural outcome of the \u201cGully Boy<\/a><\/em> effect\u201d, named for India\u2019s Oscar entry that catapulted homegrown hip-hop into the mainstream. To others, this notion risks authoring an inaccurate history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGully Boy<\/em> introduced an entire audience to a new sub-culture that was developing for years and years,\u201d points out Chaitanya Kataria, business head, Gully Gang Entertainment. Kataria represents the new breed of independent entertainment entrepreneurs<\/a>. Partnering with Divine to found a business based on Indian hip-hop\u2019s emergence as a legitimate commercial venture came naturally to someone who began a career managing artists. It\u2019s a background that\u2019s made him acutely aware of the plight of talented artists who have to contend with earning a living even as they seek commercial glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"chaitanya_kataria\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs this the thing for me to do?\u201d That\u2019s the question Gully Gang<\/a> made its roster of talent, that include acts like D\u2019Evil, Shah Rule, and Avrutti, ask themselves. In Kataria\u2019s own words, it\u2019s a strategic approach, uncommon in a world where putting out YouTube videos and chasing streams is an aspiring artist\u2019s primary goal. His passion for helping artists monetise their talent with a multi-pronged strategy stems from his belief in the need to manage music with the same savvy technology companies apply to their product. Crafting an identity untethered from Bollywood meant pulling stunts like organising a ticketed concert<\/a> for the launch of Divine\u2019s debut album Kohinoor<\/em> \u2014 an unprecedented achievement for a maiden venture in its infancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mindful publishing of online content, saleable merchandise, and brand collaborations mark the maturing of entertainers into entrepreneurs. Despite ambiguous intellectual property laws, disorganised artist management, and immature ticketing infrastructure, India\u2019s music industry still holds promise. To Kataria and forerunners like him, hip-hop\u2019s versatility \u2014 the ability to be the lovechild of art and commerce while still influencing society \u2014 is an inescapable opportunity. \u201cIf the promoters, labels and players in the game\u2026 all the musicians<\/a>, if they\u2019re not earning, the ecosystem dies down,\u201d he says zealously of a genre that has transcended geographies \u2013 and yet, has only just begun its journey in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hood, its heroes, and its hype-men make their mark<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All journeys are emotional ones. That\u2019s the sense you get when, seated cross-legged by the sea in Mumbai, filmmaker Navzar Eranee joins his head of music Anushka Manchanda to talk about their venture, INCINK. As collaborators, a brand-funded assignment to seek out aspiring rappers, led to the idea of an artist collective. Their review of 1,500 entries done, Anushka and musician sibling Shikhar (also the joint head of music) defied conventional choices to pick a handful of worthies. With his palms facing his chest, part boxer, part beat poet, Navzar speaks of the creative cocoon they set out to build for budding artists. \u201cI said I\u2019ve got to do something, I want to touch this\u2026 Who else wants to be part of it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"navzar_eranee\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seated languorously, Anushka completes the thought. \u201cI think we were already in that flow\u201d. She\u2019s recounting with incredulity a time in 2017, after they finished the assignment: \u201cI was crying \u2014 how can this be it?! These guys are so talented and this is it?!\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sentiment sprouted into an organisation intent on including and incubating homegrown hip-hop artists. Rappers like Kaam Bhaari, Spitfire<\/a>, and SlowCheeta were soon launched to helm the INCINK roster. \u201cThe first seed comes from authenticity\u2026 That is the basis of who we are,\u201d Navzar explains. \u201cOnce we got a whiff of that, and the content itself\u2026 What they were writing about\u2026 We were like \u2018wow!\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The artist-entrepreneurs soon found their force-multiplier \u2014 in childhood friend and actor Ranveer Singh<\/a>, Navzar had the consummate hip-hop-head and hype-man. Singh\u2019s obsession with the genre, high-octane energy, and affection for the artists have created a musical starburst no independent genre has ever seen in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prolific Spitfire\u2019s debut EP \u201cPaathshala\u201d, has parlayed his poetic flair into intricate rhyme schemes. Kaam Bhari\u2019s singles \u201cAala Re\u201d and \u201cMohabbat\u201d channeled his prodigious flow. Already, young rappers who were posting early efforts on YouTube are beginning to metamorphose. Whether it\u2019s being coached for stage performances, having concept art created for them, or linkages to other remunerative work, they are now embarking on pathways into a broader ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"anushka_manchanda\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ever the pragmatist, Navzar is quick to admit, \u201cThere\u2019s no business model for it. We\u2019re creating the business model. It requires major<\/em> patience and compassion<\/a>.\u201d Fortunately, Indian hip-hop\u2019s scene gushes with mutual goodwill. \u201cLook at all the stuff that Swadeshi and Azadi are doing! D\u2019Evil is a super good writer too!\u201d volunteers Anushka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As their trio of talents carve their own paths, the new keepers of the flame seem determined to shine an intense spotlight on an underground that has journeyed in the shadows for too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feet underground, standing proud<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry maya jaal tode kaise kaala jadu?<\/em>
Chaaro taraf hai aag, bhagu to main kaha bhagu?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Dee MC, MC Altaf, Sense, \u201cPiece of Mind\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt grew in the Kannada and Tamil industries way before Bollywood!\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we needed proof that hip-hop lives outside Mumbai<\/a>, the diminutive poet, scholar, writer, singer Dee MC serves as an eager evangelist. We\u2019re seated in a sparsely decorated suburban Mumbai apartment and her exultation draws you in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dee_mc\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdhi, Brodha V, Waterbottles\u2026\u201d She reels off the names of South Indian first-movers with a storyteller\u2019s flair. In a year that has seen the work of artists like Prabh Deep and Seedhe Maut (North), Street Academics, Arivu & ofRO, and Smokey The Ghost (South) lead an explosion of linguistically versatile rap, her emphasis is understandable. This, in addition to releases by the West\u2019s Naezy<\/a>, 7Bantaiz, Swadesi and self-styled bad boy Emiway Bantai, has unleashed a sonic storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cut to a month earlier, at Raasta, a Mumbai club that regularly hosts hip-hop shows. As the lights dim, a voice rings out, \u201cWhere\u2019s Sense? Where\u2019s Sense?\u201d For the second time during the launch of Dee MC\u2019s debut album (Dee=MC2<\/em>), her fellow artist Sense jogs back on stage. Clad in a black sweatshirt, hair worn like an Aghori Sadhu, Sense hunches over the mic. Joining Dee MC and fellow Dharavi rapper MC Altaf, the trio perform \u201cPiece of Mind\u201d, a scathing take from a strong-willed independent artist on protecting their art from dilution. It\u2019s a scene that caps a remarkable year for Dee MC, who featured in Gully Boy<\/em>, performed in Canada, and collaborated with UK-based Sunit Music to produce an album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These milestones have been punctuated by an avalanche of shows and brand collaborations across the country. \u201cThe number of gigs<\/a> is off the charts,\u201d Dee says, talking about how more popular acts have pulled others into the spotlight. These performances precede a fire hose of content that racks up millions of views online. Dee smirks as sardonic nostalgia takes over. \u201cEven until two years they (the big labels) were the biggest naysayers of the Gully scene, saying, \u2018who knows whether it\u2019s going to blow or not?\u2019\u201d. Now she commands her price as organisers scramble to get known acts on stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGully Gang, and INCINK and labels are taking steps to map the road of hip-hop in India,\u201d says the MC who traded a corporate career and a Commerce Masters to make a living doing what she loves. But commercial considerations aside, she\u2019s also quick to insist that independent artistes should also have a say in how the genre evolves. As we conclude our conversation, Apple music notifies me that Khatarnaak, a Delhi based rap crew has just dropped their latest album Kha se Khatarnaak<\/em>. Another ping announces that the debut EP of the trio Triangles, has been released by Azadi records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rap\u2019s renaissance year in India is marked by a fascinating medley of factors. In an industry where commercial ventures can either be a trampoline to greatness or a trapdoor to oblivion, young, enterprising entrepreneurs are trumping a system sometimes stacked against them. Even as India registers a low rank for starting a business, and millions of micro-firms struggle to stay afloat, a new species of internet-enabled artist-entrepreneur is thriving. Unburdened by corporate or political bureaucracy, Indian hip-hop\u2019s army of ardent creators have hooked our youth to a quality product. Its content lends it gravity. Its social currency ensures virality. And a generation of commercially savvy impresarios has just increased the probability that the hype is here to stay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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