Rap Recap: Yungsta, Farhan Khan ft Gravity, Munawar, ADK ft Killa K and More

Yungsta – “Dilli”

The second single off his upcoming album Meen, New Delhi-based hip-hop artist Yungsta conjures a dream team of sorts on “Dilli.” With Sez on the Beat firing on all cylinders, Yungsta, Frappe Ash (who is co-founder of Full Power with Yungsta) and Calm (from Seedhe Maut) rush the space with mercurial bars, matching each other’s energies and pen a love-hate letter for New Delhi. With Meen set to release this weekend, featured guests on the album also include Raga, Ikka, Encore ABJ and Yashraj.

Pho x Mr. Doss — “Tu Hai”

New Delhi hip-hop artist and singer-songwriter Pho calls on beatsmith Mr. Doss to take her sound in new directions after the release of her EP Bheetar Bahar. On her latest single “Tu Hai,” released via Times Music’s FFS imprint, there’s a buoyant, sparkling beat for Pho’s impassioned vocal melodies. The Hindi and English song is clearly a bop that adds to the artist’s diverse performance style, not being tied down to just straight-up rap.

Finsta – “Purrrrr”

New Delhi-based Finsta’s debut mixtape Queerbops will drop later this month and if their first song “Purrrrr” is any indication, it’s going be one big party that puts hip-hop from trans and queer artists on the map in India. With producer Yung Satya on the beat, Finsta mixes Hindi and English as they roast haters and hype themselves up.

Citimall – “Repeat”

Following up their 2022 single “She Know,” Mumbai six-member pop and hip-hop group Citimall take the Hinglish route as well (like others featured in this list) on their latest song “Repeat.” With all their creative juices (pun intended) channeled into creating a drink called citijuice for the music video, the group members take turns with loverboy promises and escapist daydreams over charming production.

“Dope Dope” by ADK ft Killa K

Tamil artists Killa K (from Bengaluru) and ADK (from Sri Lanka) team up for a club-ready anthem that’s just about flexing their roots and their present place in hip-hop. “Dope Dope,” which is produced by Xwrld, keeps things at a tight two and a half minutes as ADK and Killa K trade bars about the places, people and character traits that are important to them.

“Noor” by Munawar, Riz Shain, Charan

Accruing over a million views on YouTube with a week of its release, Munawar Faruqui’s new song “Noor” – produced by Riz Shain – showcases the more emo, singer side to the artist. While the music video narrates a story of a starry-eyed staffer at a cinema hall, Munawar Shain and co-composer Charan create a softer bop that’s seductive in parts, allowing the comedian-turned-musician to shine as a singer as well as rapper.

“Lootera” by Farhan Khan ft Gravity

A heavy-hitter collaboration if we’ve ever seen one, Mumbai-based rappers Farhan Khan and Gravity throw down verses about their changing relationship with money and wealth on “Lootera.” With a visual narrative that signifies the hustle the artists have put in as possible mob bosses, Khan raps about how he’s not a slave to money, even though it’s important, while Gravity’s distinctly gravelly flow gives way to powerful bars about our addiction for accumulating wealth.