Indian hip hop is a blend of traditional Indian musical elements with hip hop music. This can be achieved lyrically (using one or more Indian languages), incorporating percussion (tabla, dhol etc.), other instrumentation (sitar, veena) or through the use of sampling popular Bollywood film soundtracks. Although often used to describe the ethnicity of the artist, mainstream Hip Hop talent including Dr. Dre, Rakim, Dan the Automator, Fergie, Kelly Rowland,Nelly Furtado,Timbaland and others have incorporated elements from Indian Culture in their productions, with much success. Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Folk - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman... A bhajan or kirtan is a Hindu devotional song, often of ancient origin. ... Bhangra (Punjabi: , , ) is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. ... Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Folk - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman... Bhavageete (literally emotion poetry) is a form of expressionist poetry and light music in India. ... Lavani is a form of music popular in Maharashtra and southern Madhya Pradesh, India. ... This article is about the poetic form. ... Bauls (Bangla: বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels from the Bengal region, now divided into Bangladesh and West Bengal. ... Qawwali (Urdu: قوٌالی, Hindi: क़वाली) is the devotional music of the Chishti Sufis of the Indian Subcontinent. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of scriptures, part of the Hindu tradition, the Vedas. ... Carnatic music, also known as is one of the two styles of Indian classical music, the other being Hindustani music. ... Hindustani Classical Music is an Indian classical music tradition that took shape in northern India in the 13th and 14th centuries AD from existing religious, folk, and theatrical performance practices. ... Indian folk music is diverse because of Indias vast cultural diversity. ... Timeline and Samples Genres . ... Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Folk - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman... A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. ... The Sangeet Natak Akademi International Festival takes place in India. ... Saint Tyagaraja The Tyagaraja Aradhana festival is held in January when most of the leading exponents of Carnatic music come to perform and are watched by thousands of ardent fans of classical music. ... Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana is a music festival of Indian classical music. ... Sruti is a magazine on Indian music published from Chennai, India. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... Jana Gana Mana (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People) is the national anthem of India. ... Typical depiction of Bharat Mata by Abanindranath Tagore Vande Mataram (Sanskrit: वन्दे मातरम् Vande Mātaram, Bengali: বন্দে মাতরম Bônde Matorom) is the national song of India, distinct from the national anthem of India Jana Gana Mana. The song was composed by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Andhra Pradesh is a state of India, known for classical dance of various kinds. ... Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India. ... Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman and... Bihar is a state of India. ... Chhattisgarh is a state of India with strong tribal traditions of music and dance. ... Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Purandaradasara Aradhana – Kanakadasara Aradhana – Hampi Sangeetotsava – Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram... Gujarat is a part of India, known for lively traditions of both folk and classical music. ... The Indian state of Haryana has produced a number of kinds of folk music, and has also produced many important innovations in Indian classical music. ... Himachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the northwest corner of the country. ... The historic region of Kashmir, an area disputed by India and Pakistan, encompasses the modern regions of Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu. ... Jharkhands music tradition consists of various tribal forms and is known for its diversity. ... Karnataka is a state of India with a long tradition of innovation in the fields of both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. ... The historic region of Kashmir, an area disputed by India and Pakistan, encompasses the modern regions of Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu. ... Kerala is a region of India, musically known for Sopanam. ... Madhya Pradesh is a state of India. ... Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman and... Manipur is a region of India. ... Meghalaya is a state of India with a rich folk tradition. ... Mizoram is a region in India. ... Nagaland is a region of India. ... Orissa ia a state of India, one of the musical centers of the subcontinent. ... Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Folk - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman... Rajasthan is a region of India, home to several important centers of Indian musical development, including Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaipur. ... Sikkim is a state of India. ... Tamil Nadu is a state in southern India. ... Tripura is a state of India that has produced a wide variety of folk music. ... Uttar Pradesh is a state of India. ... Uttaranchal is a state of India There are many kinds of folk songs from the area, including styles like the ceremonial mandals, the martial panwaras, the melancholy khuded and thadya and jhoda. ... Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman and...

Hip-Hop, being a global phenomenon, is perceived differently by the major branches of the South Asian diaspora. Artists from the United States often adopted Hip-Hop at an early age and made it an important aspect of their American identity. Conversely, artists from the UK and the sub-continent were first exposed to Hip-Hop as an American export.

US artists

As the popularity of American rap music has proliferated, so has the variety of approaches which US-based hip-hop artists of Indian heritage.

Two well received underground/independent rap artists include west coast artist Chee Malabar, who garnered widespread attention in academia through his involvement in the Himalayan Project. Another is New York-based rapper/producer the1shanti, who has collaborated commercially but remains under the mainstream radar. In addition, the latter was recognized by hip-hop's godfather, Afrika Bambaataa, as India Bambaataa for having been the first New York hip-hop artist to spread true school rap values throughout India. Ironically, both Chee Malabar and the1shanti worked together during their studies at Penn State. Afrika Bambaataa is a DJ and community leader from the South Bronx, who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1970s. ... The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (commonly known as Penn State) is a state-related land-grant university in Pennsylvania, with over 80,000 students at 24 campuses throughout the state. ...

Three popular Indian rap artists based in the United States are from Detroit, Asoka, Kidd Skilly, and Lazarus. Although they are not affiliated, they have worked together in the past.

Asoka has worked with the world famous rappers, The Outlawz, originated by Tupac Shakur. He has also appeared on many major mixtapes, including some hosted by 50 Cent and G-Unit.

On June 16, 2006, in celebration of Tupac Shakur's Birthday, Makaveli Branded released a Mixtape titled The Underground Railroad. In this mixtape Asoka made an appearance alongside Shakur on the song "The Uppercut". Allhiphop.com reviewed this mixtape and stated it was one of the better 2pac CDs to have been released since his demise.

Kidd Skilly in 2007 released his first music video, Bhangra Chick. At the end of the video is a clip of Kidd Skilly's collaboration with Hip Hop star Akon.

UK artists

In the UK, S-Endz appeared on the scene in 2004 with the band Swami, who that year released an album entitled DesiRock that went on to become the biggest selling and most critically acclaimed album of that year. S-Endz, also known as Turi is a British Asian rapper/vocalist/producer/actor/model and member of the critically acclaimed UK rap/alternative/bhangra band Swami. ... Swami is a critically-acclaimed [1] Asian rap/rock/bhangra band from Birmingham, England. ... DesiRock is the third album by British bhangra group Swami. ...

Notably, the platinum sales and success of that album in India (when remixed and released there in 2005 under the name So Who Am I) means that S-Endz is one of a very small number of rappers of Indian decent, but born and raised in the West, to make any kind of impact in their cultural homeland. Interestingly, another person that can be said of is S-Endz's first cousin - British-Asian reggae dancehall artist Apache Indian. Both have had massive success working with renowned super-producers Diamond "DJ Swami" Duggal and his brother Simon "Subs" Duggal, who are also first cousins of both S-Endz and Apache. S-Endz, also known as Turi is a British Asian rapper/vocalist/producer/actor/model and member of the critically acclaimed UK rap/alternative/bhangra band Swami. ... S-Endz, also known as Turi is a British Asian rapper/vocalist/producer/actor/model and member of the critically acclaimed UK rap/alternative/bhangra band Swami. ... Apache Indian is the stage name of the reggae dee jay/toaster, Steven Kapur (born 11 May 1967, Handsworth, Birmingham). ... Diamond J Swami Duggal is a British Asian music producer, DJ, guitarist and leader of the critically acclaimed UK alternative/electronic/bhangra band Swami. ...

Swami's success in India also led to S-Endz and DJ Swami featuring on the soundtrack to the hit Bollywood movie Corporate in 2005, alongside legendary Bollywood singer Kailesh Kher. In 2006, it was also revealed that S-Endz has joined US hip-hop collective Tha Havenotz, a group founded by the late Tupac Shakur. In Fall 2007, Swami released their new album Equalize, which features a collaboration with American hip-hop megastar Pras Michel. Swami is a critically-acclaimed [1] Asian rap/rock/bhangra band from Birmingham, England. ... Diamond J Swami Duggal is a British Asian music producer, DJ, guitarist and leader of the critically acclaimed UK alternative/electronic/bhangra band Swami. ... Corporate is a Bollywood film released in July 2006. ... Tha Havenotz were started by, and included, Tupac Shakur and Yaki Kadafi along with Candyman 187. ... Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply as Pac, was an American artist renowned for his rap music, movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. ... Swami are due to release their new album Equalize in September 2007. ... Pras (b. ...

Underground Indian Artists

• Underground hip hop has recently gained popularity among Indian hip hop artists, particularly due to sites such as Soundclick,Clingout,MySpace and Garageband, where several artists of the sub-continent upload their songs. Most Indian underground artists do not usually follow Hindi or Punjabi hip-hop, and instead follow more Westernised forms of English hip-hop, mimicking accents and styles of West and East Coast Artists.

Recently there have been a large number of underground artists growing in the Indian Hip Hop scene. Some well known artists are :

• Boondock Saint is a freestyler who has achieved fame online battling and winning against various battle rappers over the world on the famed online rap site, LetsBeef.com. He is considered one of the few original freestylers left in the world, and the best in India. He is also well notable for being one of the very few Indian artists to rap in English without changing his accent.

• Wattabottles(Chennai) : Consisting of Srikanth Kannan as main emcee, Swaminathan as fellow emcee and The New Urban Kid(Shashank Raju) as producer. Srikanth is known for his high speed flow and witty in-rhyming and humorous lyricism. The lyrics have a highly varied content producing various quotables in his songs. Shashank Raju, also known as 'The New Urban Kid' produces and mixes for most of their songs. DJ Serpent of Delhi is also known to mix their songs. They recently released an underground mixtape called 'Breaking The Silence.' Srikanth Kannan, simply known as Srik, is considered by many to be the best emcee in the sub-continent. They collaborated with Skizzophonic for the song : 'Let Ya Mind Speak' considered to be one of the best songs to come out of the sub-continent. Srikanth is known to be working on a Tamil Hip Hop Album, along with Swaminathan to prove their versatality.

Srikanth's MUSIC PAGE : http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=698073 Shashank's Music Page : http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=563827

• R16(Calcutta) : They are one of the relatively new crews in the Indian Hip Hop scene consisting of LyriK(Sukanto Chanda) and Homicide(Satyaki Bose). Homicide is known for his west-coast gangsta rap influences, and his slow southern flow and raw delivery. He also has an extremely deep voice which accompanies his laid-back delivery. LyriK is arguably India's best lyricist, with gritty punchlines and a multi-syllabic delivery reminiscent of Kool G Rap, Eminem and Big L. He has a unique and complex on-point flow, and is known to switch up his delivery style often in a single song. He is also one of India's youngest emcees. They plan to release the mixtape 'Hard 2 Survive' soon.

LyriK's Soundclick Page : http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=782646 Homicide's Soundclick Page : http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=763962

• Team Hustle of Delhi. They are known to perform live often as well and rap in English as well as in Hindi. They are considered the best rap group in Delhi. They influenced by both Western 'Gangsta' and Indian forms of hip hop such as Bhangra. They consist of rappers G-Spot, G-Cool and Lil B.

MUSIC PAGE : http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=780937

• Ragged Skull(aka Asif Akber) is a self sufficient artist who produces, writes, raps and mixes all his material on his own. He too, like most other Indian artists, has strong lyrical content and an on-point flow with his varied styles of beats. He has his own Independent record label 'Venomous Intellect Records' and has collaborated with American Underground artists such as Hard Target on his recent mixtape 'The Lyricist's Confidante.'

MUSIC PAGE : http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=464948

• sKiZzOpHoNiC(Mumbai) : Consisting of MCs Sreejith Nair, Binoy Nair and Vinay Acharya. Sreejith is also the producer/beatmaker. They are known for their high rapping speed, versatility and socially conscious topics brought to life with powerful lyricism. They are currently signed to the Independent Label - Desi Media Networks(DMN), the major beat production for which, has been done by Sreejith. They are considered the best hip hop trio in Mumbai and have been mentioned in the newspapers as well for their accomplishments. They collaborated with Wattabottles for the song : 'Let Ya Mind Speak' which is considered one of the best songs to come out of the sub-continent.

MUSIC PAGE : http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=777939 INDIAN HIP HOP RECORD LABEL - DESI MEDIA NETWORKS

• HUSTLIN IN_CO(DELHI) formed by Nifty(AKA lil Pimpin) is one of the best hip hop beat producer in India.The crew currently consists of six members : Nifty,Klayze Flames ,Tec ,Trigger D ,Talented Tiny ,Speed Ice(a femcee).They made a song together called "UNDERDAWGS" which reached the top at the soundclick website for 2 weeks.Nifty was born in ATL neighbourhood bankhead.He started rapping at the early age of 15 and has worked with Louisiana based major record label "CASH MONEY RECORDS",as a beat producer and a freestyler.Recently he shifted to india where he formed his crew and is now running his production work.

SOUNDCLICK PAGE: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=801878

• DNOX Under India`s only indepedent Hip Hop Record Label Desi Media Networks, the super Hip-Hop collective of DreadNOAX(DNOAX) is out on all leading online music stores world wide, the journey for the group and the record label begins with their debut called 'They See(Desi) Revolution' over various online sites such as amazon.com , napster.com , emusic.com.

The album will be available very soon on Itunes world wide and in India through various mobile phone providers for download .

They plan to go major soon and release India's first full-fledged English hip hop album.

Their music is available for purchase at the following online stores:

http://www.amazon.com/They-See-Desi-Revolution/dp/B00120G2AY/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

http://free.napster.com/view/artist/index.html?id=12484901

VIDEO:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxMzOd_vOMI

MUSIC PAGE : http://www.clingout.com

• Most Indian artists, while being more talented than most of their American counterparts skillwise, tend to keep as far from mainstream as possible by creating Hardcore Rap, Conscious Hip Hop and Pure Hip Hop, and keep away from New Southern Rap Trends such as Krunk and Snap music. They view the commercialization of Hip-Hop as the same factor that is destroying it. Thus, most Indian rap songs have a very strong and influential lyrical content, which cannot be used as 'club' music, and is not considered as being 'Marketable'. Plus, most of the Indian Hip Hop groups are spread too few and far between, and are usually hostile to one another, not allowing co-operation among the groups to bring about a new and fresh hip-hop movement in India. Most record label's in India do not take Indian Underground Hip Hop seriously.

Influential Indian hip hop artists and producers

• DNOAX
• Sammy Chand
• Panjabi MC
• R16(Homicide & LyriK) Calcutta
• S-Endz aka Turi
• Chee Malabar
• Team Hustle - Delhi
• One Signata Nach
• Asoka, Singer|Asoka
• the1shanti aka India Bambaataa
• San Nair
• Raj The Satellite [RTS]
• Mose`
• Boondock Saint
• Nifty (aka lil pimpin)
• Nivla
• Haji Springer
• Skizzophonic(Sreejith Nair, Binoy Nair and Vinay Acharya)- Mumbai
• Illuminatez
• Flipshu]]
• Ragged Skull(Asif Akber)
• Don Revo
• Blaaze
• Jahaz
• Wattabottles (Chennai)(Srikanth Kannan, Swaminathan and Shashank Raju)
• J-Skillz
• Brown Bhaiyyon

Panjabi MC (real name Rajinder Singh Rai) is a British Indian musician. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Underground Indian hip hop artists and producers

• SRIKANTH KANNAN (Wattabottles)(Chennai)
• SHASHANK RAJU (Wattabottles)(Hyderabad)
• SWAMINATHAN (Wattabottles)(Chennai)
• SREEJITH NAIR (Skizzophonic)(Mumbai)
• BINOY NAIR (Skizzophonic)(Mumbai)
• VINAY ACHARYA (Skizzophonic)(Mumbai)
• HOMICIDE aka SATYAKI BOSE (R16)(Calcutta)
• LYRIK aka SUKANTO CHANDA (R16)(Calcutta)
• TEAM HUSTLE (Delhi)
• RAGGED SKULL aka ASIF AKBER (Kerala)
• MO BOUCHER(aka Mudassir Ahmed) (Hyderabad)
• BOONDOCK SAINT
• DJ SERPENT (Delhi)
• DNOAX (Group) (Bangalore)
• LIL PIMPIN (HUSTLIN IN-CO) (DELHI)