Entertainment / Top 5 Desi Rappers You Need To Know About

Top 5 Desi Rappers You Need To Know About

Entertainment Apr 15, 2022

by Sara Singh

As the world begins to return from two years of pandemic, we thought it was a fitting time to present our 5 Desi rappers you need to know about! As Desi Hip Hop continues to flourish, building such a list becomes increasingly complex. The divide between North American and SouthAsian hip hop remains pronounced, so we made sure to include the biggest and most exciting rappers from both parts of the world. We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we did creating it.

5. Emiway Bantai

**Top 5 Desi Rappers You Need To Know About: Emiway Bantai.** Photo Credit: www.instagram.com

Emiway is a social media heavyweight. He has over 10million YouTube followers. He uniquely represents Desi hip hop as he raps in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and English. He has achieved his success as an independent artist, without major label support, and is now helping other Indian artists, with his label Bantai Records, that he started last year. Emiway, remains largely unknown outside of South Asia. Emiway’s style is relatively old school, which may be a limiting factor. However, unlike Divine, Emiway does not appear to be actively interested in expanding his success beyond SouthAsia. This speaks volumes on how far Desi hip hop has come, with the future only appearing brighter.

4. Sidhu Moose Wala

Considering Sidhu Moose Wala has the biggest following, 6.7 million on instagram, of any rapper on our list of top Desi rappers, it is fair to ask why the Mansa, Punjab rapper is not ranked higher. The simple explanation is that while Sidhu has achieved an almost legendary status within Punjabi hip hop, he remains unknown outside of Punjabi circles, and does not appear interested in expanding beyond Punjabi hip hop. While this steadfastness is refreshing when considering the integrity many rappers are willing to compromise in order to achieve fame, Sidhu is effectively placing a ceiling on his musical impact. One reason Sidhu has been able to attract such a hardcore following, is his ability to court controvery. From being condemned by politicians claiming he derogatorily referenced Sikh warrior Mai Bhago to being arrested after a video surfaced of him shooting guns with police in Sangrur, Punjab, Sidhu’s name seems to make its way into headlines. More recently, Sidhu joined the Indian Congress Party and unsuccessfully ran for an assembly seat in Mansa, Punjab. It is unclear if Sidhu’s foray into politics was temporary, but Sidhu’s musical achievements cannot be denied, nor can the power wielded by Punjabi hip hop fans as a whole.

3. Shah

The artist most widely predicted to become the first Desi rapper to achieve truly global superstardom is Shah, the Toronto rapper whose career was launched in Atlanta, Georgia’s trap scene. While Atlanta has similarly sparked the careers of countless rap legends, Shah was the first foreign rapper, of any background, to breakout in modern rap’s Mecca. Shah, was also recently acclaimed as one of the best acts, of any genre, at this year’s SXSW, the world’s pre-eminent festival for discovering music’s next wave of superstars. Shah is also becoming one of the most prominent new rappers in the creative worlds of Fashion and Art, as seen by his growing influence at events such as Art Basel and NFT NYC. The irony of Shah becoming these cultures’ first Desi icon, is that he is only now being discovered by the Desi hip hop fans who fueled the initial success of the other top rappers on this list. Shah’s recently leaked remix of the Bollywood classic Tujhe Dekha, currently going viral in India, is the first exposure to Shah for many Desis. The excitement of these Desi audiences just now discovering Shah, combined with the fact that Shah is transcending rapper boundaries in the Western world without the support of those Desi audiences responsible for the success of virtually every other noteworthy Desi rapper, explains the belief that Shah will soon be the first Desi rapper to become a global household name.

2. Nav

Nav, the Brampton, Ontario artist whose career began as a hip hop producer, has collaborated with some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Future, Travis Scott, Young Thug and Meek Mill. The relationships Nav developed as a producer, along with his management and his partnership with chart-topping singer The Weeknd, helped Nav almost instantly achieve success that had never previously been experienced by any Desi rapper. For example, NAV’s album Bad Habits debuted at Number 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart, a groundbreaking and unprecedented achievement for any Desi musician. In terms of North American success, Nav is undeniably the most accomplished Desi rapper, to date. The only reason Nav does not hold the number 1 spot in our list, is Nav’s success has yet to translate to SouthAsia. In some ways, Nav’s popularity can be viewed as the inverse of Divine’s, who has dominated Indian rap charts but has yet to be discovered by Western audiences. Considering how monumental of an achievement it was for Nav to truly break through and top North American charts, one cant fault Nav for the relative lack of South Asian popularity. It also should be noted that Nav’s North American based Punjabi fans have played a critical role in his online streaming success, despite Nav strictly rapping in English.

1. Divine

In 2022, Divine stands as the most well-known name in modern Indian hip-hop. The Mumbai based rapper’s groundbreaking accomplishments in the latter half of the 2010’s range from being the first Hindi rapper to top Indian hip hop charts, to becoming the first artist signed to Nas’s Mass Appeal India label. Divine was the inspiration for the Bollywood film Gully Boy, and has contributed music to Bollywood films and Netflix series. Divine has released tracks with the most respected names in Indian hip hop and also has collaborated with accomplished American rappers such as Pusha T, Vince Staples and Nas. Divine’s relationship with Nas has also opened doors for collaborations with international brands such as the NBA, Puma, and Budwieser. While Divine’s efforts outside of India have yet to materialize in a meaningful international breakout, this is going to be an understandably challenging task for any non-English rapper. However, Divine’s powerful standing in Indian hip hop, backed by his groundbreaking achievements, is why he’s ranked the top Desi rapper in 2022.

Honorable Mentions

These are some other Desi rappers who also deserve acknowledgement this year!

AP Dhillon, The Canadian Desi’s Brown Munde was one of Spotify India’s most popular songs in 2021

Raja Kumari, By far the most successful female Desi rapper to date

Bohemia, Godfather of Desi Hip Hop

Anik Khan, New York based rapper proudly representing Bangladeshi culture

Raftaar Desi hip hop legend and model of consistency

We are so excited to see such success among our crew and we definitely are keeping an eye on them and you should too!

Main Image Photo Credit: www.instagram.com

Sara Singh

Author

Sara Basma (https://medium.com/@sarabossma) is an emerging entertainment journalist from Athens, GA. She's currently studying communications at the University of Miami. Among her areas of interest & expertise are hip-hop subgenres, including: Desi hip-hop, Soundcloud rap, golden trap and politic...

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Top 5 Desi Rappers You Need To Know About

by Sara Singh

Sara Singh

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