In the early 2010s, long before Gully Boy, Divine (Vivian Fernandes) was spitting rhymes and honing his craft in an Andheri slum. He was part of a small underground community building a hip-hop scene in regional languages in a country that had so far only seen mainstream English/Punjabi rap. Divine’s rap is all about his identity, city and struggles, and his honest lyrics struck a chord with audiences. Cut to: 2019. The Ranveer Singh-Alia Bhatt starrer brought Indian hip-hop into the mainstream. Ranveer’s character, Murad, was inspired by Divine and fellow rapper Naezy’s journeys. And thanks to the movie’s phenomenal success, desi hip-hop is now cool.
In this week’s edition of #ELLEPlaylist, in collaboration with Apple Music, the scene’s OG rapper, Divine, tells us which songs he’s listening to on loop:
1. Going Bad – Meek Mill, Drake
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
2. What’s Free – Meek Mill, Jay Z, Rick Ross
3. Thotiana – Blueface
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
4. Boasty (feat. Idris Elba) – Wiley, Stefflon Don, Sean Paul
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
5. Smoke – Shah Rule, D’Evil, Dee MC
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
6. Galtiyaan (feat. Sledge, Saifan, Frenzy & Sammohit) – Aavrutti
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
7. Hussle & Motivate – Nipsey Hustle
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
8. Die Young – Roddy Ricch
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
9. Sher Aaya Sher – DIVINE & Major C
Photo courtesy: Apple Music
10. Azadi – DIVINE, Dub Sharma
Featured photograph: Instagram
