When Vivian ‘Divine’ Fernandes snarls “Sunega kya? Sher log ki kahani?” on his new single ‘Jungli Sher’, he’s just calling out to everyone who would want to hear what Indian hip-hop ought to sound like. Over the course of phone conversation, Divine, who just released ‘Jungli Sher’ last month via Sony Music, mentions more than once that he wants to show the world the true voice of Indian hip-hop. He says, “It’s real hip hop, the aim is to always promote the real thing, because hip-hop is being showcased wrongly in India. It’s become like a rap filler in Bollywood and we need to get out of that and tell the public that there’s real hip-hop as well.”
The 25-year-old rapper who grew up in the streets of Mumbai has always channelled his struggles and triumphs on songs such as ‘Yeh Mera Bombay’ and his collaboration with fellow rapper Naezy on ‘Mere Gully Mein’ and electronica producer Nucleya on ‘Jungle Raja’. Divine is even headed to London for his first international show as part of the BBC Asian Network Live showcase on April 30.
He says that he is taking the voice of his entire gully with him. “It is a big thing for where I come from. It is a huge thing for us and I am not doing it for me, I am doing this show for people like me. I hope it goes to show that you can get out of where you are if you work hard and be good at your craft.”
‘Jungli Sher’ was in the works since last year, when Divine called upon Delhi-based producer Sez. The rapper explains, “I had stopped over his house after the award and we were so pumped. We jammed, the sample that is used in ‘Jungli Sher’, that is all there was in his software. So I told him, let us use this sample and make a song right now. I wrote one verse and showed it to him and we jammed on that. I had to come back to Mumbai the same night, so I brought the scratch track with me, wrote the second verse and finished it. One year ago, we shot the video, but I thought I didn’t do the song justice, because I didn’t have the budget.”
The all new video for ‘Jungli Sher’, shot by Vandana Kumar (production designer on set for films such as Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy) on iPhone, features Divine going through the streets of Mumbai, rapping from trains and construction sites amidst regular passers-by.
Divine says of the video, “We chose characters who were real people on the streets – they are workers and children and we wanted to show them as real as they are in my lyrics.”
For his London trip, Divine says there is a 20-minute set of his current hits that he is preparing. Divine is on the same line-up as Bollywood rapper Badshah. Not directly addressing any particular rapper, however, Divine blames Bollywood for portraying rap as a fad. “They want rap in every song now. But they are making a joke out of hip-hop. It is a culture, it is more than just one beat and rhymes and videos showing bling, cars and drugs. It came up from the streets to bring people together and spread knowledge.”
He has also planned meetings with electronica group Foreign Beggars and well-known London rapper Lethal Bizzle, who had previously shared ‘Mere Gully Mein’ on his Instagram page, despite not really understanding the Hindi lyrics.
Divine adds, “It’s very exciting to know even they get my music.” After returning from his first international stint, Divine wants to hit the clubs as much as he wants to play big stages at festivals. “My main motive is to go out there and talk to people who cannot come to clubs or pay entry.” For someone who’s been in the rap game ever since he was 16, Divine says he still can’t believe the success. “It is not sinking in yet. But this was the day I was living for, honestly. It has been real fun. I get to learn a lot and being with a label, there is strategy and everything is more organised. People are backing you up. Before, it was just my friends backing me up, but it’s all of Mumbai.”
