He may be the most talked about rapper on the scene now. But Yo Yo Honey Singh isn’t the only player in the game. The bhangra-rap obsession in the country isn’t new and Bollywood certainly has developed a sweet tooth for it. We’re looking at other top runners in the rap music business that have the folks up and ‘pumping’!
Yo Yo Honey Singh
Have you heard of Hirdesh Singh (according to Wikipedia) a.k.a. Yo Yo Honey Singh? He is hot on the charts and hits the beats hard. (Yes, I tried a little rapping of my own.) His bag of work boasts of tracks like, Angreji Beat for Cocktail, Punjabiyan di battery with Mika Singh for Mere Dad Ki Maruti, Lungi Dance for Chennai Express, Fugly and Banjarey for Fugly.
Did you know Honey Singh studied at the Trinity School in the United Kingdom? He started his career as a session and recording artist, and is now one of Bollywood’s most loved names in popular music.
Hard Kaur
She’s the loose cannon of Indian hip-hop. While the female musicians around her are prim and proper and can also be called adorably eccentric (in case of Monica Dogra), Hard Kaur comes in with a roar and a raw sense of presence. It’s the similar brand of style that she brings in her music that has made her the star she is.
Hard Kaur has featured in hits like Paisa Phek from Johnny Gaddar, Talli from Ugly Aur Pagli, Bas Ek Kinng from Singh Is King, Move Your Body Now from Kismat Konnection, Lucky Boy from Bachna Ae Haseeno and Main Tera Dhadkan Teri from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahaani. But it was her smash hit, Ek Glassy that set the ball rolling.
Blaaze
Blaaze is a rapper/musician with a soft corner for social issues. And it doesn’t seem like a forced musical direction but more like a personal aim to comment on socially relevant issues. Chennai born and raised in Zambia, Blaaze has written, recorded and performed tracks for films, (both for Bollywood and South Indian cinema), TVCs, live shows etc.
Blaaze has worked a couple of India’s most respected composers, A. R. Rahman and Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy on some tracks from films including a couple of songs for Slumdog Millionaire and Rahman’s Unity of Light tour. In 2000, he opened for one of India’s top selling Indie-pop artists, Lucky Ali at a concert in Mumbai.
Machas With Attitude
They are a hip-hop trio from Chennai/Bangalore and their music features lyrics in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
While they’ve appeared on soundtracks of Chennai Express and Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, MWA have featured on soundtracks for numerous South Indian films.
Baba Sehgal
He is a blast from the past! If you ask the young ‘me’ to pick out an Indian rapper, I’d turn to Baba Sehgal. Why? Because Vanilla Ice gave a one-hit-wonder in the form of Ice Ice Baby that inspired Baba Sehgal to make an album called Thanda Thanda Paani!
He’s been around since the 90s and dominated the pop charts with his solo albums and then featured in soundtracks for Tamil films and a few in Bollywood.
And while we’re talking about rappers in Bollywood, here’s a cool track from the film, Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi composed by Mikey McCleary and featuring the lyrics of Tanmay Bahulekar.
So tell us, who is your favourite Indian rapper/hip-hop act among the mentioned? Or if there is someone off this list, that you’d like us to check out, tell us in the comments below!