Hip-Hop’s 50th Birthday: Def Jam Recordings India Announces Multi-City Event

New Delhi: To acknowledge and celebrate Hip-Hop’s 50th birthday, Def Jam Recordings India is happy to announce a spectacular celebration with a series of rap performances on the 11th and 12th of August 2023 in three major cities: Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

In honour of this significant milestone, Def Jam Recordings India is teaming up with top Indian rappers and record producers from Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru for an unforgettable experience. The label has sincerely strived to push the burgeoning Hip-Hop culture in India by supporting various hard-hitting bodies of work.

Def Jam India’s signed emcees Raga, Bella, and Chaar Diwaari will perform in Delhi-NCR; HanumanKind, Rawal, Parimal Shais, Killa K, and DHP will perform in Bengaluru; and Def Jam India’s Rapper Irfana, DJ Ishani, and Bobkat will perform in Mumbai.

The multi-city events, dubbed “Def Jam India Presents 50 Years of Hip-Hop,” will take held on August 11th and 12th, 2023, in Delhi and Bengaluru at Imperfecto Patio, Gurugram, and Fandom, respectively, and in Mumbai at Khar Social.

Aside from the artists that will create the most vibrant gathering in Hip-Hop on this historic day, playing their greatest hits, some of them will showcase and perform unpublished bodies of work for the guests. Furthermore, star-studded guest appearances are expected at events in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

“At the Universal Music Group both globally and here in India, Hiphop is a huge priority for us as its one of the fastest growing genres in the youth & we’ve already done some incredible work in the past 4 years across multiple labels,” said Sanujeet Bhujabal, EVP and Head of Content, Universal Music Group India. Since our debut into popular indigenous hip-hop, we’ve released over 150 songs by India’s hip-hop elite, including Divine, Badshah, Ikka, Raja Kumari, Dino James, Wazir Patar, Raftar, and Paradox, to mention a few. We at Def Jam India carry on the illustrious heritage of the world’s most well-known hip-hop label and its legacy, therefore it is our obligation to commemorate the most anticipated event in hip-hop history. Celebrating 50 years of hip-hop with our artists and fans is only natural, and I can’t wait for our communities to join us in throwing the biggest and loudest celebration in recent memory.”

On August 11th, 1973, DJ Kool Herc created the groundwork for hip-hop during a dance party in The Bronx, New York. Since then, the genre has evolved to become one of the most influential forms of creative expression in the world, altering performing arts and entertainment on an unparalleled scale.

By signing legendary Hip-Hop groups like Beastie Boys and LL Cool J in 1984, Def Jam Recordings played a vital role in anchoring rap music in the West and beyond. Def Jam was founded by famed Hip-Hop composer and record producer Rick Rubin and African-American entrepreneur Russell Simmons, and has been vital in representing some of today’s most prominent Rap Artists. From Public Enemy to Kanye West, LL Cool J, Rihanna, and others, the label’s eclectic lineup has made an unmistakable influence on worldwide Hip-Hop culture.

Universal Music India’s intention in HipHop was to strengthen its footprint in the South Asian peninsula and encourage the genre’s development in India beginning in early 2019. Bringing down Mass Appeal and cooperating with musicians like as Divine, Ikka, Raja Kumari, Gully Gang, and others demonstrated their dedication to the Indian Hip-Hop genre.

Universal Music continues to preserve this history with the recent formation of Def Jam Recordings India in February 2023, promoting a broad archive of Hip-Hop music in India. The label has collaborated with various Hip-Hop artists such as Badshah, Ikka, and Dino James, along with Punjab’s Wazir Patar, GD 47, Ellde Fazilka, and Tricksingh, Delhi-NCR’s influential rap artists Paradox, Bella, Fotty Seven, Raga, and Aghor, Kolkata’s J Trix, Mumbai’s hard-hitting rapper Sambata, and southern India’s Hanumankind and Irfana Hameed, and others, highlight their dedication to supporting the vibrant Hip-Hop culture across the entire country.

“It’s important to recognise a culture that has provided a platform for so many people around the world to express themselves and speak their truth.” It has provided me with so much throughout the course of my life. The Indian hip-hop culture is still in its infancy, but it is a vibrant and diversified one. Celebrations and events like this one are essential to me because they allow me to welcome more and more people to experience the culture and become a part of it.” says Raga.

Def Jam Recordings India is dedicated to promoting Hip-Hop culture, and the forthcoming multi-city events will be an amazing celebration of 50 years of Hip-Hop.