With Ranveer delivering the huge success of Gully Boy and popularising rap/hip-hop through his breakthrough label IncInk, India is seeing this genre as the new fad in brands and films
For generations, Bollywood superstars have propelled societal fads and created huge trends. Ranveer Singh, whose stardom cuts across demographics and regions of our country, has brought niche rap/hip hop music from the streets of the country and made it massively mainstream.
First with Gully Boy, he delivered a career-best performance and made the cash counters ringing as the film became a blockbuster. He also launched his passion project, an independent record label IncInk, aimed at discovering, nurturing and promoting young artists from across the country. His first 3 talents are brilliant hip hop artists Kaam Bhari, Slow Cheetah and Spitfire. A genre that was once considered hugely small, rap/hip-hop is now majorly commercial.
From political parties, to brands to even films are now using rap/hip-hop to promote ideas and ideologies. No one can forget the BJP campaign during Lok Sabha elections which saw them campaigning against Congress with the song Azaadi from Gully Boy. It broke the internet. A slew of brands from face wash (Himalaya Men’s Face Wash), footwear (Relaxo Flite), to even an initiative like Sabka Dentist have all used rap to find their way into the millennial minds. Recent films like Article 15 and Khandaani Shafakhana have used this genre to promote. Currently, a youth TV channel (MTV) has launched a show titled Hustle that discovers rappers in India. Let’s also not forget the hundreds and thousands of content creators who have uploaded their rap/hip-hop songs on Youtube, Facebook, Tik Tok to bring attention to their music and talent.
We spoke to Ranveer to speak about this rap revolution in India. He tells exclusively, “The time of Hindustani rap/hip hop has come and this is the much-needed explosion in the music scene of India. These are exciting times for original music in India and rap/hip-hop is a huge refresher. Hindustani Rap/hip hop is no longer an underground music scene. It has become the language of the youth and it is the biggest thing happening in Indian culture today.”
He adds, “India has always produced spectacular original content and now is the time for rap/hip hop and the incredible artists whose poetry is speaking of a revolution. They are the poets of our generation and the youth is listening to what they have to say. Hindustani Rap/hip hop is here to stay and it is the voice of India that you can’t just ignore.”
Ranveer says he would love to be a thought leader of the country and for his industry. “I love films and I love our industry. I would like to be the leader of the industry, a champion of the industry. I want Hindi cinema and the Hindi movie business to keep growing and becoming bigger and bigger. So, if there is anything that I can contribute to this industry, to the Hindi cinema to become bigger and better it is a very rewarding for me,” he says.
