Know Your Artist: Hip-Hop Legend DIVINE And His Journey To Independent Music

When we think about Indian independent music, especially in the hip-hop genre, there are names who have redefined the entire hip-hop scene in the country. DIVINE is one of those artists who introduced the essence of true independent hip-hop music in India. Radio City Freedom is here to get you a step closer to know more about DIVINE and his journey to being one of India's biggest independent hip-hop artists.

Where DIVINE comes from

Vivian Wilson Fernandes, popularly known by his stage name DIVINE, is an Indian rapper and songwriter from Mumbai. Starting his career as an underground rapper in 2011, he gained popularity after dropping his 2013 single 'Yeh Mera Bombay'. His breakthrough was with his another indepedent release 'Mere Gully Mein' with fellow hip-hop artist Naezy. DIVINE became the first Indian rapper to be featured on Spotify Times Square Billboard right after he released his independent album 'Punya Paap.'

The rapper also became the first Indian hip-hop artist to attend Grammy Awards, making his debut there in 2022.

Collaborating with fellow independent artists

DIVINE has collaborated with several other prominent hip-hop artists in the independent music scene. DJ Nucleya, Deep Jandu, Gangis Khan, Naezy, Raja Kumari, and many more.

Gully Gang Entertainment

To recognize and celebrate new talent in the indie hip-hop scene from Mumbai, DIVINE founded a company named 'Gully Gang Entertainment' in 2019. The song 'Gully Gang Cypher' released in 2019 marks the first collaboration of the label's rising artists such as rap quartet Aavrutti, solo hip-hop artists D'Evil, MC Altaf and Shah Rule as well as music producer Karan Kanchan.

However, the Indian rap legend has not limited the hip-hop radius only till Mumbai. After seeing a massive success in India and beyond, Gully Gang Entertainment signed artists outside the city too. 100RBH from Amravati and Tsumyoki from Goa are now labelled hip-hop artists too.