The Gully Boys:
Naved Shaikh or Naezy is the torchbearer of Indian rap from Mumbai. He was born and bought up in a Ram Bachan Chawl in Mumbai. Coming from a lower middle class family and living in impoverished living conditions, Naved’s rise to success was through his unique music - rapping. Naezy got interested in hip-hop when he heard Sean Paul's 'Temperature' playing at a wedding in his society. His music concentrated on the struggles faced by himself and others. He made his Bollywood debut in the movie “Hey Bro” with the song ‘Birju’ that starred superstars like Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, and many more. His inspirations were Seal Paul, Lil Wayne etc. His single debut was done through “Aafat” in 2014 and the video garnered many views making it viral.
“I come from an orthodox Muslim family and I grew up in Kurla, a Mumbai neighbourhood known for all things bad. Growing up, no one wanted me to pursue rap as a career. There were a lot of problems, local fights, people from the community asking my parents to not let me pursue songs and raps etc. But I just wanted to produce good songs. I knew the image of hip-hop was not very good, but I fought.” - Naved Shaikh (in an interview with ScoopWhoop)
Vivian Fernandes or DIVINE is an Indian rapper from Mumbai. DIVINE’s journey into hip hop started when he discovered the word on a friend’s T-shirt. He raps about his struggles, about poverty, the difficulties his mother faced in bringing him up singlehandedly, and much more. His fan base increased after the release of his song “Yeh Mera Bombay”.
He caught the eyes of Sony Music India while performing at an event in Mumbai in 2014 and he signed a contract with them. American rapper like Eminem, Big L etc are his inspiration. He was a part of a hip hop crew called “Mumbai’s finest”. He worked with an Indian DJ named DJ Nuclea and won Best EDM Track Award in GIMA Awards 2015. This helped him gain a lot more popularity. His song “Jungli Sher” took him to BBC Asian Network. He was the first person to rap in Hindi on the channel. In July 2019 he released a documentary film on his career and life entitled ' Gully Life - The story of DIVINE '. It was aired on Discovery channel '
Naezy and DIVINE worked together and released “Mere Gully Main” in 2015. This video went viral and caught the attention of Bollywood. It was shared by several Bollywood actors and musicians, appreciating the duo for their composition and work. The song brought attention to the rap scene in Mumbai which eventually lead to the breakthrough for both Divine and Naezy.
Their work, life and music is said to have inspired the makers of the movie “Gully Boy” and hence the life of the protagonists and other characters are loosely based on Naezy and Divine. The film become a success and was appreciated immensely by the audiences. Naved Shaikh and Vivian Fernandes will be two names one thinks of while going back to the history of rap in India. They inspire many artists around the country with their lives and work.
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