New Delhi’s MC Kode Goes Missing After Battle Rap Controversy, Found in Jabalpur

Hip-hop artist and seasoned battle rapper MC Kode aka Aditya Tiwari has been the subject of a city-wide search in New Delhi following a story shared on his Instagram profile last night in which he said he was standing on an “isolated bridge overlooking the Yamuna river.”

A statement put out by friends and members of the New Delhi hip-hop community, who are currently looking for him with help from police, says, “He has been targeted by mobs and other angry individuals wanting to hunt him down and has had a bounty placed on him by extremist groups instead of following due legal process. Please do help find him using appropriate channels and mobilization.” Identifying marks given for Tiwari include a tattoo that reads ’51’ in a bold font on his neck.

Tiwari, the young artist and co-founder of hip-hop community Spit Dope Inc posted the story in light of an apology as well as taking down all his music off streaming and losing several brand partnerships. He received a barrage of threats over the last week for statements uttered during a rap battle in 2016. The source of controversy can be traced to several hip-hop meme pages and communities that amplified a 2016 battle rap video, in which he made explicit remarks that is said to have hurt religious sentiments. While the video in question is still floating around, Tiwari and even his family members (from whom he had distanced himself much before) have had their addresses and contact information leaked online and subject to threats.

In his most recent story, Tiwari noted that he’s faced “constant suffering and trials and tribulations of life which have made me weak.” The rapper previously posted an apology on March 27th, in which he stated, “I promise I will be more respectful and sensitive. Lastly, I would like to thank you all for holding me accountable for what I said.”

Update: South Delhi police have found Tiwari in Jabalpur. Reporter Raj Shekhar Jha posted an update at 4:19 pm on June 9th that authorities traveled in search of the rapper and traced him to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. Reports say he will be brought back to New Delhi tomorrow.

This is a developing story.