Mumbai artiste Shia is carving out her own space in India’s hip-hop scene with sharp bars, fearless energy and a sound that refuses to stay in one lane.After turning a Legacy (rap reality show) setback into COD, Shia is proving that sometimes the best way forward is to turn a setback into a statement.
Taking us back to where it all began, Shia says, “COD actually traces back to the Cypher round on Legacy. I went onto that stage to drop real bar-for-bar rap and give it everything I had. Getting eliminated in that round was a tough pill to swallow, but what happened right after changed everything. The response was insane, so many listeners discovered me through that episode, resonated with the raw energy of that verse, and flooded my messages telling me I had to drop it as a full official track.”
She adds, “On one level, the title stands for Call of Duty—a nod to the video game culture, but more importantly, it's my literal call of duty to the DHH (Desi Hip-Hop) community. It’s about giving back to the culture and the fans who believed in me when I took a hit. The making process became about turning a setback into a statement: taking that cypher verse, expanding it into a full production with heavy bounce, and owning the stage. It's about rising right back up from tough situations and delivering pure truth with zero compromise.”
If COD was born out of a setback, Shia’s relationship with adversity has clearly made her more comfortable with taking risks. “When you’re an upcoming artiste, especially in hip-hop, people and the community itself will question you, doubt your place, or try to count you out. But for me, that scepticism doesn't break me, it acts as a catalyst. Every time someone doubts my ability or questions my presence, it fuels me to jump back in with 100% force. When you’ve already been through personal struggles and public setbacks, the studio stops being intimidating, and public opinion loses its grip on you. Once you realise you can take a hit, absorb the noise, and rise right back up stronger, you become fearless. That survival instinct translates directly into my pen, it gives me the freedom to say what others might hesitate to say.”
That refusal to play it safe extends to her sound. COD and Dinero may occupy very different musical worlds, but that contrast is exactly the point. “I genuinely refuse to box myself into a single genre or sound. As human beings, we don't experience life in just one emotion; we carry multiple feelings, different layers of personality, and changing mindsets depending on the day. My discography reflects that complexity. Each track defines a specific side of who I am at that moment.
She adds, “COD comes from a raw, high-energy, rap-heavy space, while Dinero taps into a completely different cadence, rhythm, and swagger. I don't follow a rigid formula to avoid repeating myself; I just honour whichever layer of my personality is dominant when I walk into the studio. If I want to flex, I flex; if I want to dive into melodic textures or raw rap, I go there. Staying fluid across genres keeps the music real.”
For Shia, though, a song doesn’t necessarily begin with a beat or a killer line. It begins with a feeling. “It almost always starts with a feeling, a specific emotional frequency or mood that I’m carrying around. That feeling dictates the kind of sound or beat I reach for. Once the beat matches that internal frequency, a specific cadence or line usually pops into my head, and from there, the verse builds itself. The beat is the environment, but the emotion is the anchor.”
That emotional instinct is also closely tied to where she comes from. Born in Colaba, Shia sees South Bombay as a constant influence on both her identity and her music. “I’m born and bred in Colaba, right at the southern tip of the city, and that location shapes a huge part of my identity. There's a very specific magic to South Bombay—the sound of the sea, the historic architecture meeting the chaotic energy of the streets, the late-night quiet juxtaposed against the daytime hustle. It’s romantic and gritty all at once. Living here gives you a distinct perspective, as you're surrounded by deep-rooted heritage, but you're also part of the fast-paced, unforgiving Mumbai grind. That blend of coastal calm and city grit builds a unique rhythm in your head. Colaba gave me my aesthetic, my perspective, and the edge that comes through in my delivery and rhythm.”
And when it comes to an album, Shia would rather wait for the music to feel right than rush to meet a deadline. “Before I put out a full-length album, I want to fully explore my own sounds, experiment across different genres, and figure out every dimension of what I can do as an artiste. An album is a huge commitment—it's a world, a distinct era, and a complete narrative arc. I don't believe in forcing it or rushing a project just to tick a box or meet an arbitrary deadline. For me, 'the sound is there' means the sonic identity is crystal clear and undeniable. You can't overthink or manufacture that moment—when the right time comes, it just comes naturally, and the music will speak for itself.”
Ultimately, Shia wants her music to do more than soundtrack a moment. She wants it to challenge how people think—particularly around vulnerability, independence and what it means to take up space. “I want society to stop viewing vulnerability and independence—especially in women and rising artistes—as something to be contained or judged. Hip-hop in India has spent a long time being perceived purely through a lens of male-dominated flex culture or surface-level hype. I want people to see hip-hop as a medium for radical truth, individual agency, and breaking generational conditioning. I want society to realise that owning your narrative, taking your losses as fuel, speaking your truth bluntly, and demanding your worth is necessary for growth.”
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