With hip-hop taking over India’s underground music scene, there are a lot of new and exciting rappers emerging in the country. Delhi, in particular, has absorbed the hip-hop culture into its own; with the local artists creating and innovating music by themselves and through collaborations. Apart from KRSNA, Lil Golu and Seedhe Maut, there are other names that have been continuously honing their skills and putting out music in what’s become the ‘Dilli’ style of flow.

One of them goes by the moniker, Rebel 7. The rapper has a bunch of singles on his portfolio — Scene Change with Qaab, Smoke and Abix, Dheere Dheere with Dblxace produced by Vaamanthaeli, Faasi with DeeKing which is recorded with Music by Harshal, Haan Bhai with Huzur, Kohni, the follow up to the first episode of 'Full Power Cypher' brought together by the Delhi rap outfit, Full Power along with Vyshakh & DblXace, and the recently released Naseeb, produced by himself in collaboration with Huzur.  He also produced Fotty Seven’s track, Chal Nikal.

In 2020, the artist released his debut EP, Kaale with an intro, interlude, and 5 tracks; a bar-heavy collection of witty punchlines and aggressive truth bombs. Since then he has been signed by Azadi records, an India-based independent record label established in 2017, that seeks to provide a platform for South Asian artists to release forward-thinking, politically-conscious music. He has been performing live this month at Azadi Records’ 5th-anniversary tour along with Seedhe Maut, Prabh Deep, Ahmer, Ali Saffudin, Tienas and DJ Blunt among others with more upcoming shows in Mumbai and Delhi.

Fresh out of production is his latest Debut album called Endavishesham, which translates to ‘How are you doing?' in Malayalam, Rebel 7’s mother tongue. The much-awaited project by the artist is a self-reflective narrative around the struggles of being a rapper from India’s middle class. It took two years to create the tracks on this album, recounting as he contemplated his transition from producer to a rapper, ultimately disregarding the box that confined him. The cover for the album is created by Vyshakh Prince, illustrating Rebel 7’s connection with his culture and drawing parallels between his choice to use rap as a medium of self-expression and kathakali artists using their art form to tell their stories.

Including a title track, the album offers 9 tracks featuring trap and old-school hip-hop beats with heavy 808s and the rapper’s seamless, fearless flow. The bilingual tracks switch between Hindi and English taking us into the mind of the rapper which seems like a dark but fun place considering his punchlines. Where many rappers alter their accents to “fit into” the genre as it originated in New York, Rebel 7 is authentically himself throughout, not just making the listeners groove with his cadence but also inviting hip-hop fans to the Hindi rap world in an alluring celebration of the language.

The title track of the album, incorporating flute into the bass-heavy song; courtesy of the producer, Zero Chill, has a music video featuring Rebel 7 in traditional Mundu, hair-braided inside a corporate office enjoying a South Indian meal on a banana leaf, brazenly on his desk. It falls perfectly in line with the artist’s general use of themes of embracing one's roots, self-acceptance and pride.

You can listen to the album here and check out the music video below.

Credits:

Directed by Kachaoww

Executive Producers : Mo Joshi & Uday Kapur

Producer : Jatin Tambe

Clothing Partner: Urban Monkey

Aerial Cinematography: Shrey Gupta

Creative Crew:- Vai.Not Pooja Shashwath Saby Prakash Tarun

Make up by Ruchi Sharma

Jeep Driver: Ayaan Mirza

Office Employees: Ayushmaan Anandu Sateesh Joseph , Raja Kuma

Office Boss: Subin Jacob

If you enjoyed reading this, we also suggest:

Listen To A Compilation Album Tracing Hip-Hop's Evolution Across The South Asian Diaspora

How Black Diamond Crew Is Shaping Hyderabad's Blossoming Hip-Hop Culture

Emerging South Asian Hip-Hop Musicians On Our Radar