1980s to early 2000s: Early beginnings Indian hip hop emerged in the mid-1980s, driven by American breakdancing films such as
Wild Style (1982) and
Beat Street (1984), gaining popularity in urban youth culture in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. By the late 1980s, Kolkata became a centre for hip hop dance workshops, while Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai prioritised rap, leading to emergence of distinct regional hip hop scenes in local languages by the late 1990s.
Apache Indian, a UK artist of Indian origin, was the earliest to make an impact on the UK charts with a series of hits during the 90s. This also paralleled the rise of
Asian Underground in the UK. The inflow of hip hop into India is also attributed to certain clubs and DJs in New Delhi in the 90s.
Baba Sehgal introduced a caricaturist version of
Hindi rap in the 1990s with his albums. In 1992, his album
Thanda Thanda Pani sold 100,000 copies in three and a half months and brought rap music to the Indian club scene, his cadence and flow particularly drawing inspiration from rapper
Vanilla Ice. Hip hop in India developed slowly in the early 2000s, as earlier efforts by artists such as Baba Sehgal and Apache Indian failed to create substantial buzz, due to their styles being more rap–oriented than representative of the larger hip-hop scene. It was initially confined to urban areas with niche and expatriate audiences, but it gained prominence through MTV and the increasing worldwide impact of American rappers like
Eminem,
50 Cent, and
Jay-Z. The release and popularity of Bohemia's second album
Pesa Nasha Pyar in 2006, which also featured veteran American rapper
Snoop Dogg, is considered as a turning point for Desi hip-hop, accompanying the growing role of NRIs and cultural intermediaries bringing fundamental hip hop elements like
DJing,
graffiti, and
breakdancing into Indian masses. Around the same time, rapper Young Prozpekt (now
KR$NA), started gaining traction with his conscious hip-hop songs, "Kaisa Mera Desh" and the "Lokpal Freestyle" on YouTube.
Late 2000s to early 2010s: Commercial expansion, and expansion into the Indian film industry Meanwhile,
Yo Yo Honey Singh transformed, popularized hip-hop and rap into the mainstream Indian audience, beginning with the release of the track "Glassy" in 2006 with
Ashok Masti which featured Singh rapping in English and the music being produced by himself as well. The track was the first time Singh was featured as a main artist and a rapper, as he was primarily a
music producer before with tracks such as "Jhanjhar Kehndi" from his debut underground music album,
Desi By Nature, showcasing a blend of
Punjabi language with hip-hop coupled with music composed by Singh. Singh is one of the most well known and renowned artist in India due to his popularity amongst the Millennial youth, as his songs, according to them, had a unique ambience. The release of Singh's debut studio album
International Villager in 2011, eight years after his debut underground album
Desi By Nature in 2003, helped the genre skyrocket to the mainstream. Singh's crew, Mafia Mundeer, was, according to him, a platform to establish new artists in the industry. Singh's initial thought regarding the platform was to incorporate different artists who would come together to sing, perform, record and release their tracks with nobody being legally bounded. The platform has since become notable as the roster included
Raftaar,
Ikka and allegedly
Badshah. After their departure, artists like
Alfaaz and
Ninja from Punjab were included in the group. There's been an ongoing debate among the hip-hop community about the contribution of
Yo Yo Honey Singh to the genre. Singh was one of the most renowned rap artists in India and thus, was largely credited for introducing rap and hip-hop to the relatively ingenuous mainstream audience in India. Singh's appearances on tracks and his mark on the music scene with the release of his chartbuster debut album
International Villager in 2011, further popularized the genre of hip-hop and rap in India into the mainstream, even though he has been frequently accused of using ghostwriters, and not giving due credit. While some artists including
Badshah,
Ikka,
Manj Musik and
Bohemia have acknowledged his contribution to the industry, others such as
Raftaar who has had a long-standing beef with Singh, One of the early moments of Indian hip-hop was the Bengali-language underground film
Gandu which narrated a story of a rapper's journey, accompanied by an innovative soundtrack, which became known for mixing rap with alternative rock. and rappers like
Divine in the Mumbai cypher scene. Indian hip-hop further became increasingly popular in India's biggest cities with big names like
Prabh Deep and
Seedhe Maut who have been picked up by talent management agencies like Kalamkaar and Azadi Records who now have music videos with millions of views on YouTube, along with a cult-like fanbase that they have cultivated through their music. Indian film director
Zoya Akhtar was fascinated after listening to rapper
Naezy's "Aafat!
" and "Mere Gully Mein" with Divine
. She wanted to portray the stories of both these young rappers and consequently approached
Divine and Naezy and pitched the idea of making a Bollywood movie based on their lives, and the film,
Gully Boy, starring
Ranveer Singh and
Alia Bhatt in titular roles, was released in 2019. The soundtrack for the film featured contributions from various hip-hop artists such as Divine, Naezy,
Rishi Rich and others. On 20 August 2019, American rapper
Nas, who served as the executive producer for the film, in partnership with
Mass Appeal Records and Universal Music India launched
Mass Appeal India and signed Divine as the first artist on the label. Universal Music Group and Mass Appeal jointly took the step to take him to India and globalize the Indian hip-hop scene. Since then, Indian artists like
Ikka,
Tsumyoki and
Kshmr have released their projects in collaboration with the label, attracting a larger audience and revenue in the hip-hop scene. Due to the exposure through Bollywood, rap became a household term and an increased production of rap music was observed. This is notable especially in the
Punjabi music industry being largely credited to Punjabi artists such as
Sidhu Moose Wala,
Shubh,
Karan Aujla and
Yo Yo Honey Singh, while the former three have been fairly recent to the industry. However, this commercialization has also led to expansion of the underground scene, with independent artists building a name in
Indian hip hop, due to which the future of hip-hop in India has been generally perceived to be positive. The reality TV show
MTV Hustle, which aired its first season in 2019, has also been credited for pushing the genre forward and providing a platform to aspiring rappers, like
King amongst others. There are many rappers in India, rapping in different languages such as
Hindi,
Punjabi,
Marathi,
Kannada,
Malayalam,
Tamil,
Telugu,
Bengali,
Odia,
Bhojpuri,
Khasi and others. Modern-day Indian rappers like
MC Stan,
Yashraj,
Paal Dabba and
Hanumankind have been gaining considerable traction due to their distinct approach towards the genre which is pushing the boundaries of Indian hip-hop. In April 2025, Nas visited India again to perform at the Mass Appeal Presents: The World Reunion—A Charity Concert, hosted by Mass Appeal India, at The Nesco Center, in Mumbai. He was accompanied by various Indian-origin rappers, such as
Divine,
Raftaar,
Ikka,
KR$NA,
King, and
Steel Banglez. In November 2025,
Rolling Loud Festival was held in Mumbai, with Indian artists like
Karan Aujla,
Divine headlining the festival alongside Western rappers
Central Cee,
Don Toliver, and
Wiz Khalifa. Telugu hip hop became notable since the early 2000s when artists such as
Smita started hip hop culture in the
Telugu language.
Hai Rabba and
Masaka Masaka, her best selling albums, received acclaim, especially in the Indian sub-continent. Artists such as
Raja Kumari,
Roll Rida,
Noel Sean and
Manisha Eerabathini started the trend in the new-age Telugu hip hop by including
rap. With the rise of its popularity, these artists started working in
Telugu cinema since the late 2010s. Tamil hip hop is gaining popularity in India. Many other languages like Kannada and Marathi are also becoming popular among the masses in India. Marathi rapper Yung DSA's song "Yeda Yung" went viral in mid-2025. The Indian hip hop and rap industry has undergone significant growth and transformation over the years. Several artists from earlier generations have regained top mainstream popularity, with
Yo Yo Honey Singh being a notable example. At the same time, newer-generation artists such as
Divine,
Kr$na, and Emiway Bantai have contributed to the expansion and mainstream recognition of the genre. Today, hip hop and rap are considered important and rapidly growing segments of the Indian music industry. == Protest hip hop ==