As hip-hop spread from the South Bronx across the globe, it proved to be an astonishingly malleable artform, absorbing local sounds and filtering them through the genre’s liberatory language. DIVINE and Karan Aujla, two stars who lead the burgeoning Indian scene cited by Music Business Worldwide and Luminate as one of the world’s fastest-growing, embody hip-hop’s life-changing potential–they emerged from rough circumstances, putting everything on the line in their quest to be global superstars.
With over 10 billion combined streams between the two of them, and a laundry list of co-signs and collaborators from every genre under the sun, DIVINE and Karan Aujla are well on their way to achieving their ambitious goals. Each superstars in their own right, they recently joined forces for “100 Million,” the first single from their upcoming album, coming soon via Mass Appeal India.
“100 Million” is a triumphant moment and a collision of two massive movements in the Indian scene. DIVINE is a charismatic, gravelly-voiced emcee, striking fear into the heart of his opposition with his Hindi-language rhymes. His gully style beautifully complements Karan Aujla’s Punjabi-language crooning, as he mixes microtonal melodies with rhythmic patter that would make any rapper jealous. Their flawless tag team displays an inspiring sense of unity, presenting a singular front despite differing in sound and language.
Defined by nostalgic hip-hop production reminiscent of Y2K-era Dr. Dre, in this case produced by American producer Trox (50 Cent, Cordae), “100 Million” is an anthem for those with grand dreams, the two icons reflecting on the enduring habits that propelled them to greatness. The song arrived in mid-January, with a video filmed in Dubai and directed by Karan Aujla’s long-time collaborators Rupan Bal, Dilpreetvfx and Anmol Raina. The song and video immediately became a huge success–the song reached the #1 spot of the YouTube Trending Charts in India, and reached the Top 10 in countries including Canada (#2), New Zealand (#4), UK (#6), Australia (#8) and the UAE (#8). Overall, the song racked up over 17 million YouTube views in its first two weeks, as well as over 3 million Spotify streams.
With “100 Million” instantly captivating the fanbases of two of the region’s biggest stars, fans are already in a frenzy as they wait for more to drop from what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting projects of the year – stay tuned for more.
© 2024, Seth “Digital Crates” Barmash. All rights reserved.
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