Street meets biz: rappers are ramping up

In a post-truth world, rap with its no-holds-barred bluntness is gathering force in India. Whether it is online streaming services, music labels or Bollywood, hip-hop culture is literally coming overground from ramshackle basements.
While Mumbai gully rapper Divine made his Bollywood debut with his ‘Paintra’ number, Delhi boy Prabh Deep’s debut album Class-Sikh climbed the charts on Apple Music in October.
On Sunday, Divine along with Smokey, Pune-based DJ Ritviz and international acts like Diplo, will be performing at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, at the world’s largest paint party, Life in Color India, an initiative by The Times of India.

Rap’s rawest form, battle rap — where emcees go head to head for the highest title — has moved from the street to the stage under initiatives like rap crew Elsewhere’s events with B3 India (Battle Bars Bombay) in Mumbai, and Delhi-based collective Spit Dope’s cypher sessions in the Capital. Then, in September this year, Mumbai University introduced a certificate course on hip-hop studies.
Prabh says hip-hop is more than just a trend in India. “Now that art of the street has met business, we’re going somewhere good,” says the rapper, who is planning to start a record label of his own with Sajeel Kapoor aka Sez On The Beat, the producer behind Divine and Naezy’s smash hit Mere Gully Mein, among others.
Prominent female rapper Deepa Unnikrishnan, better known as Dee MC, says, “When we started out, our audience was the scene itself (the hip-hop community). But now artists across the country are coming up, with wider audiences through the internet and the industry. It’s thriving like never before”.
Mumbai-based rapper Enkore says, “Rapping is about telling the truth like it is, instead of sugar-coating or making stuff up. Staying true to yourself is at the root of rap.”
Enkore says awareness about rap is growing. He expresses relief that people “don’t mistake me for a singer anymore!” Hopefully, he adds, the “real-ness” that the genre promotes will find more takers in future.
·Today, Divine is performing at JLN Stadium, Delhi, at the world’s largest paint party, Life in Color India, an initiative by The Times of India. The line-up includes Smokey, DJ Ritviz and international artists like Diplo and 4B.