Opinion: The rise of independent ‘Desi’ Hip-Hop movement in India

Desi hip-hop is bigger than it has ever been before. How did we get here and where are we heading? Read to know

It has essentially always been poetry with a beat track. Hip-hop has grown leaps and bounds globally through the years, but what has boomed is the cultural aesthetic of hip-hop. See how Spanish, Arabic, French, German, Mandarin have grown through the years. Whether it be disdain for oppressive authority, a representation of cultural values, self-expression magnified, social commentary… the optics of it go on. 

Perhaps none has grown like a country with such diversity as India. Each state boundary, linguistic echelon, has had exponential growth in listeners. While the Hindi hip-hop scene grew in the North of India, we saw Punjabi not only grow here, but from the NRI diaspora spread throughout Canada and the US. Music from India was truly starting to go global. Let’s take a moment to step back, and see how hip-hop became one of the favourite genres for the younger generations to express themselves. 

The beginnings of Desi Hip-Hop

We must remember that the Indian Hip-Hop (or Desi Hip-Hop/DHH) movement is fairly nascent in India. Though it might have started as an imitation in the early 90s, it started taking shape only during the 2010s in the country. Hip-hop was a genre that the culturally diverse individual knew about-Indians who had access to the internet, MTV and movies. For Indian rappers, many know Baba Sehgal to be the first. 

The Hindi version of Ice-Ice Baby seemed to be playing on the radio quite often. Though Vanilla Ice wouldn’t be any representation of true American hip-hop, this gained traction and remained in the undercurrent for years. We never heard of more rappers coming in-if they did, they flourished in the underground scenes of big cities like Delhi, Mumbai & Kolkata. Another pioneer, Bohemia, brought in a deeper study of beats, rhythms and a style of music the urban youth could connect with. 

In Film: Eminem’s 8 Mile

Many Indians might have not even got to know about the source code of Indian Hip-Hop if not for Eminem’s blockbuster movie, 8 Mile. Though it was primarily a release for the US, with references that Americans connected with-its Oscar win made it a phenomenon. Soon, kids with their Nokia phones would watch the rap battle timestamp and mimic every word. They might have not known what many of the things meant-but Eminem’s rap had a certain stickiness to it. Hip-hop was self-expression, creativity and poetry-while being aware of how society weaves itself around you. 

This is when in South India you see a microwave of hip-hop being powered by Brodha V. Using canvases of Carnatic songs that people had already heard, he embedded verses that blended cultural aspects, in Sanskrit, Tamil and English. He had triggered South India’s own little movement, to rap in regional languages. 

The inspiration, in ways?

By this time, artists like Honey Singh had picked up on the movement and produced his own version of rap. It was filthy, guttural, and the bane of every teacher’s walk into a classroom where students had a phone. Lyrics were pornographic in nature, yet there was something about rebellion appealing to the youth that it developed another undercurrent. This is where challengers like Raftaar came in-talking about more socially conscious issues while dissing what Honey Singh was doing as “fake rap”. The diss universe of hip-hop had reached India as well. Yet, this was observed between fanatics and aficionados, who really wanted the swell of hip-hop and were contemporary enough to know about it. 

It’s time we walked into the gullies. Literally.

In Indian Films: Gully Boy 

A talented hip-hop artist who never/always knew it was going to break the glass ceiling. The movie Gully Boy, directed by Zoya Akhtar followed the story of a young hip-hop artists from the streets. He had heard and memorised American rap, had written his own lyrics of representing where he was from. 

More than anything, a lucky break and eyes from a producer catapulted him to fame. Performing alongside the likes of Nas, he won a competition that brought him to the spotlight. Yet, before this, he shone bright in the limelight, being celebrated by other hip-hop artists from Mumbai. Of course, this is about Divine. 

By the time Divine made it to the ears of true fans, talent was being gauged. Unlike Badshaah, who had beginnings from the street and went to Bollywood, there was a rawness that the audience found in “street hip-hop” that seemed to connect to them deeper. With a few lines in the local language being blended in perfectly, there was no doubt this was how hip-hop was going to be shaped. 

Call it a perfect intersection of time, place and representation-hip-hop exploded from there. It was already doing extremely well as an underground movement all over the country, but this was the wave in which the mainstream became thirsty. They wanted rawer, realer lyrics and beats that shook the very walls of the place they were confined in. Their headphones had to boom, their speakers had to jump an inch off the ground. The audience recognised the need for lyrical evolution, and rappers who focused on this found leeway to grow. Emiway Bantai, Raftaar became bigger than ever-almost gripping a monopoly on the market while still being independent artists. No record label, no manager-just putting themselves out there. 

The Gold Rush of DHH 

While rappers like Honey Singh took a hiatus from the kind of music he made, regional hip-hop seemed to grow-into every avenue of entertainment. South Indian regional cinema had at least one song-famous from the BGM or the kind of personality that the protagonist gave. You could hear a typical swell of the background track or a titular single from the movie being played as many phone ringtones as well. As for the soundstage, you can thank the music monopoly giant Spotify for what they have been able to give the fans. 

Spotify’s Rap 91 held in India every year has been instrumental in bringing a new set of rappers to the spotlight. These are chosen by listeners, although ironic for Spotify’s algorithm continues to push popular artists in playlists and autoplay. 

The Delhi hip-hop scene had become as big as possible now with the inclusion of KR$NA and Seedhe Maut. As a collective, what they were trying to rap about is a series of emotions and inner battles that every Indian faces as a challenge. From innovative beats to flows that mimicked parts of Hindustani music-they were able to create a new blend. 

Signature Indian Blend

Live performances and global festivals coming to India added to the charge. From Lollapalooza to Bandland and solo artists arriving to India-there was an obvious trend of artists recognising what a global stage the country is to their music and popularity. 

In the South of India, rappers like Paal Dabba, Vedan, Parimal Shais & Hanumankind were rapping in their regional languages as well as English. Though the hook might have an English name, that would just be clickbait to the heavier, deeper intrusions that the song wanted to make. Flourishing in the indie scene, many of these rappers have been happy to get the exposure that they have to make music their reality. During larger events, there’s a good chance that the opening set would be by an up-and-coming rapper. 

Artists like Muhfaad, Fotty Seven have been rising as well-another project worth mentioning is Project Cypher. The coming together of hip-hoppers who want to paint the town red with their own skill is astounding. There are going to be very large conglomerates coming through soon-with how the scene is growing.

If there are rappers reaching stardom in 2025, there are those who are aiming to gut the scene in the next few years as well. Promising acts bubble up every day on Instagram, as the background of some reel or an interesting video. Pune based rapper Shreyas Sagvekar has been known for his own production as well-a skill many bedroom artists have learnt before coming out with their own music and album. YUNG DSA went viral for his single, used in several million reels at the time for the catchy opening. 

Hook, Crook-or by the book?

While all these remain positives for the world of Desi hip-hop, there are many artists who are banking on the hook. Born from the morphed womb of social media, this is bringing a catchy/sticky chorus or part into a song which overrides the quality of the track itself. While the underground still has musicians representing themselves, many who have reached the top of the pyramid seem to be accenting the need for the social media magnet. It is this chase for clout that makes a lot of the fame questionable-and the longevity of the artist something to put a spotlight on. 

Desi hip-hop comes from the beat being a canvas for your thoughts. No matter how dark, deep and questionable-there is an aspect of seeing yourself as a true artist that results in some interesting choices in words. While rappers like Parimal Shais in Kerala are trying to break down the discrimination and hierarchy of caste divide-the saturation can be seen in representation. If you don’t sound different, you’re just a track on a playlist that will disappear in a few weeks. If you have what it takes, people are going to want to listen to what you have to say. 

Bridging the Divide

In itself, hip-hop has always been male dominated. Even in India or as far as Desi hip-hop artists go, every list seems to have only male rappers and producers featured. Dee MC, Siri & Agsy seem to have gained traction-with their videos, intriguing lyrics and live performances. It is a well forged gate that needs to be crashed, understood for what the artist is trying to tell us through their music. Bar no gender, this is one place where the beat and words rule what has to be said and heard. Let everyone who is able to put it across the way they want. 

It is important to advocate for artist owned labels, for we know that royalty and proceedings go to the creative source. For far too long have multinational labels controlled the movement & freedom of artists. When artists have taken their live performances, releases and topics of music into their own will-everything seems to be in better hands. There is a sharper focus on mental health, cutting off the noise, living life by your own true identity. As much as the diss tracks are still alive and a rooted part of this culture, we’re moving to the new generation, praising their sense of self in a world that constantly rejects them. 

The Big Steppers

National, and global collaboration seems to be the next spine of hip-hop. As they are united by rhythm and flow, you can see some extremely unexpected raps go on by. From Hanumankind being able to converse with his idol Project Pat, to the collaboration with A$AP Rocky-to all the multilingual collaborations happening in India, the network is finally open and alive. There are only fictional limits as to who will work with who to make music. So far as Bollywood “polished non-rapper” Badshaah has returned to making rawer, realer music with the likes of KR$NA and Seedhe Maut. 

As long as progress is linear and forward, we’re all for what the Desi Hip-Hop movement has to offer. This is the unity in diversity, the push forward we’ve been looking forward to. Eyes are on artists like Hanumankind, who is taking Indian culture to a global dais. Within India, artists are constantly represented in more film, radio and internet based media than ever before. 

Hopefully, Desi flow is retained with the cultural infusion of not just Western values, but the Indian tapestry woven in whenever possible. What is a Western concept coming to India is just another representation of storytelling. This is something truly Indian, learning it from under trees to books to entire holy texts. The current spearhead of DHH has the chance to pave the way for more inclusivity, creativity and spirit in the industry. Indie musicians can take control, only if they share it amongst themselves first. 

Conclusion

One can only assume where hip-hop will traverse to in this time. India’s representation on the global stage has grown multifold, so you can hope for a lot of artists suddenly popping up with your favourite western idol. When Eminem rolls up to Mumbai, don’t be confused if Divine and the Gully Gang hop on with him. This is where teacher and disciple, audience and artist all come together for the beauty of the performance. You might not understand the language, the intention, the inspiration behind any of the songs. All you know is that when you press play and feel your head bopping, you’ve chanced upon gold. As a listener, it’s your duty to propagate the DHH movement. 

To quote Parimal and Hanumankind from their song Ayyayyo:

Got things to do-eda

This shit not new-eda

No time to waste

No time to lose-eda

Not we provin that

We been on this rise

Check out our YouTube channel for music reviews, playlists, podcasts, and more!

Check out our playlists here!