How Hip-Hop and rap music found a home in India

Hip-hop and rap music, rooted in the streets of New York in the 1970s, found their way to India decades later, carving out a distinct voice of rebellion, identity, and storytelling. While Bollywood dominated the Indian music landscape for years, hip-hop emerged as a parallel force—raw, rhythmic, and deeply reflective of real life.

The earliest influence came through global exposure in the late '90s and early 2000s, when Indian youth began accessing international music via satellite TV, the internet, and movies. Artists like Tupac, Eminem, Jay-Z, and 50 Cent inspired a generation to experiment with rhyme and rhythm. Initially, Indian hip-hop started in English, mimicking the Western sound, but it soon found its footing in Indian languages, reflecting local dialects, slang, and socio-political themes.

One of the first Indian rappers to gain recognition was Baba Sehgal in the 1990s, whose playful, Hindi-English rap songs made the genre more accessible to mainstream audiences. However, it wasn’t until the underground rap scenes of Mumbai and Delhi started gaining momentum that Indian hip-hop truly began to take shape.

Mumbai’s Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest slums, became an unlikely epicentre for desi rap. Young artists began using rap as a tool to express the struggles of poverty, inequality, and resilience. Groups like Dopeadelicz and artists such as DIVINE and Naezy brought authenticity to the scene, rapping in Hindi, Marathi, and Bambaiya slang. Their viral hits and grassroots energy caught the attention of mainstream music producers and eventually Bollywood.

The turning point came with the 2019 film Gully Boy, inspired by the lives of DIVINE and Naezy. It brought Indian hip-hop to national and international stages, showcasing it not as a borrowed genre, but one deeply rooted in Indian reality.

Today, hip-hop in India is multilingual and regional—with thriving scenes in Punjabi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, and more. It's not just music anymore; it's a cultural movement that speaks truth to power, celebrates local stories, and resonates with a new generation unafraid to speak up and stand out.