How Wild Wild Women Are Flipping the Narrative in Indian Hip-Hop

In July 2023, Mumbai-based hip-hop act Wild Wild Women blew up globally after a video of them performing the buoyant single “Game Flip” at the gig series Sofar in Mumbai went viral on Instagram. Currently at 15.5 million views on Instagram and over 1.2 million likes for a snippet of Tamil and English rapper JQueen aka Jacquilin Lucas’ verse, it put the sari-clad group—completed by Krantinaari aka Ashwini Hiremath, HashtagPreeti aka Preeti N. Sutar, MC Mahila aka Shruti Raut, and Pratika Prabhune—on the map.

The “Game Flip” Reel also came a week before another Indian hip-hop artist went global—Hanumankind’s “Big Dawgs.” But with Wild Wild Women—formed by Krantinaari and HashtagPreeti in late 2020—the difference was that they were self-managed at that point and didn’t even have a new single to promote. JQueen tells Rolling Stone India, “The Sofar Reel blowing up has been one of the biggest gifts. It has given us good reach and many big artists, producers, and actors, say [they’ve seen it] when they meet us.”

That includes feted Indian composers like A.R. Rahman, M.M. Keeravaani (who later got Wild Wild Women on as a surprise act on his Naa Tour in early 2025), and Santhosh Narayanan. “I never expected Rahman sir to even know me,” JQueen says. By their own admission, the Reel changed their trajectory and was the outcome of the group, especially JQueen, who led social media with HashtagPreeti.

HashtagPreeti says bemusedly, “One week, it was 5,000 followers, and within like 10 days, we reached like 50,000. I remember we had a goal of having 10,000 followers that year.” More than just helping them grow their following, what the unexpected virality really did for Wild Wild Women was open doors, both as solo artists and as a group. Prabhune recalls, “I don’t think I played those many gigs in a period of four or five months that we did just after that [Reel going viral]. We just kept at it, started adding more songs to the set.” They then went on to play festivals like the International Independent Music Festival (IIMF) in Thiruvananthapuram, Orange Festival of Adventure and Music in Dambuk, Arunachal Pradesh, Sula Fest in Nashik, and Spoken Fest in Mumbai. And in March this year, Wild Wild Women’s debut international shows took place in Hamburg and Berlin, Germany, as part of the Jenseits von Nelken und Pralinen festival. “In Trivandrum, they were praising us like we were goddesses for them,” JQueen says, recalling their IIMF show.

As for Germany, Prabhune couldn’t make it in time since she had applied for a new passport, but they all recall how fun it was for their youngest member, MC Mahila. It was her first international flight and trip, as well as her first time interacting with Germans. They were also joined by Wild Wild Women’s break-dancers FlowRaw, aka Deepa Singh, and MGK, aka Mugdha Mangaonkar. Overall, the group also includes graffiti artist Gauri Dabholkar and skateboarder Shruti Rout.

Fame has followed the group ever since. Prabhune made the most of her passport coming through (even if belatedly) and went on a trip to Vietnam. There, she met a person in her tour group who recognized Wild Wild Women from their IIMF show. HashtagPreeti says, “Someone came to up to Jacqueline, and he’s like, ‘I’ve seen your video!’ This happens at Frankfurt Airport, and we are mind blown.”

It’s one thing to hype yourself as India’s only all-girl hip-hop collective, but Wild Wild Women deliver where it counts. A multilingual crew that raps in Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, and English, their uniqueness is most apparent in their lyrics about finding strength in unity, body positivity, and their own individual experiences as women pushing back against societal norms and reveling in their wins. “Game Flip” (produced by Prabhune under the moniker PEP) weaves together the individual identities and styles of all five rappers, while their title track “Wild Wild Women” and “I Do It For Hip-Hop” flow like the anthems they were meant to be. In the past, they’ve also created space for fellow rappers like Saniya MQ, Mahi G., and D. Raashi on the track “Mulinchi Toli,” released last year.

While their performances feature each member’s individual material, detailing their life experiences and hard-earned wins, Wild Wild Women are now also gearing up to release new songs. Prabhune says, “There’s a song we have called ‘Bombshell,’ which is produced by [Mumbai DJ-producer] Major C. It’s not released yet, but it’s one of those songs that we’re just playing along at all the festivals, so that it becomes one of those memorable things. It’s like how, earlier, [Indian rock and metal] bands used to just keep playing their songs for like, 10 to 12 years, and then finally an album would come with the song, and everyone already knew it.”

The song comes with its own choreography, something that Wild Wild Women have added to their shows (and practice rigorously to get right), making every performance all the more vibrant. They all have a good laugh when asked about the dance moves and ad-libs that make them a power-packed unit. “That’s Pratika making sure we all practice,” HashtagPreeti shrugs casually as the rest of the members on the call crack up. It’s these very moves and ad-libs that make their collective strength shine at shows, with each member hyping up the lead rapper on different songs, and the chorus becoming the punchiest, most memorable portion.

Prabhune says, “No gigs without jams, man. The synchrony of the act overall is a super important part. Because it’s five people, it can either be very synchronized or it can be extremely chaotic. So it’s so important to like align on that front.” She recalls how it’s always rewarding when they can get the crowd involved as well, especially with songs like “Bombshell,” whose hook goes, “From the boobies to the booties, yeah, we heavyweight.” Prabhune adds, “It’s just fun to do that because it enhances the whole experience. Everybody loves seeing that.” Krantinaari adds, “It’s a very natural thing, we are people like that. If you see us even off stage, we’re dancing, jumping whenever we meet. Each one of us is very bubbly in our own forms.”

Adding to that persona, the saris are a permanent part of Wild Wild Women’s persona. Prabhune says, “This is one thing that Kranti had said a really long time back, which kind of stuck with me: it’s the representation of an everyday woman.” They also all drape their saris in different traditions, infusing their heritage to highlight which part of India they belong to. Krantinaari says the idea stemmed from a random thought that they should all raid their mom’s saris, and eventually, it grew into more about making a statement about “what it is to be a woman in the world.” At an early 2024 gig in Mumbai, Wild Wild Women wrote on their saris to highlight the Manipur rape incidents that had come to light in April. “So it’s not just sari pehenke naach rahe hain (We’re wearing a sari and dancing on stage), but it is more about the social context of a moment that we are trying to talk about.”

Originally, HashtagPreeti says they were just going to wear “very western” clothes, and there were disagreements initially about wearing saris. “But there was no fun and just wearing jackets, jeans, and glares and getting on stage and looking like rappers from America or the UK,” she points out. Krantinaari interjects, “Looking like guys!”

They discuss colors for days, and exchange each other’s mom’s saris, but the choices are always meant to be bold. At their recent South Side Story show in New Delhi, some referenced Kerala everyday wear by donning plaid lungis and white T-shirts, in addition to other members wearing saris. Krantinaari says, “We are representatives of a collective union of women, and when we are on stage, we are like women of everyday from all across the country. So it’s a big responsibility I feel, to carry that sari on stage.”

With festival season coming up, you’re likely to see Wild Wild Women on more stages, including the food and flea market festival Maya Bazaar in Bengaluru between Sept. 13 and 14, 2025. Krantinaari says there’s a “very awesome, really special” project coming up, but they are still keen to put performances ahead of streaming—something that also proves Wild Wild Women are subverting the catalog-first approach that makes most Indian hip-hop artists put out songs at a prolific rate to build an audience. She adds, “‘Bombshell’ is an experience that you go through with us. That’s the concept there.”  Prabhune says, “I feel like everything’s too easily available to people right now, but you hear and see some things only when you come to a gig. So maybe we’ll bump those views a little bit before we get into the next phase of releases.”