Music
Sez On The Beat lists the 10 best upcoming Indian hip-hop producers
Sez picks some of his favourite producers from India’s underground hip-hop scene who everyone should be listening to right now.
Sez was a mentor at Red Bull Spotlight. The mentor sessions, workshops and challenges, as well as the finale of Red Bull Spotlight 2020, was documented in a six-part series which had Seedhe Maut as Masters of Ceremony. Click here to know more about the series and where you can watch it.
Sajeel Kapoor aka Sez On The Beat has been a flag bearer for producers in the Indian hip-hop community.
His work on groundbreaking songs like ‘Mere Gully Mein’ and ‘Asal Hustle’ with Mumbai rappers DIVINE and Naezy, a massive production with Badshah on ‘No Limit’, and quality work on albums Class-Sikh and Bayaan by Delhi rappers Prabh Deep and Seedhe Maut respectively, have made him one of India’s most acclaimed producers.
“Making a beat is like creating the blueprint to something that can be huge so it has to feel like it,” says Sez about his approach to making music. And this approach and success is the reason many Indian producers look up to him for inspiration.
With so much new talent emerging in the Indian producers' community by the day, Sez shortlists his 10-best upcoming producers in the country (in no specific order).
1. Skyie Beats
Nikhil Singh aka Skyie Beats – who hails from Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh – made waves when he produced for DefJam artist Cosha TG on the song ‘Demon Time’. Primarily a trap producer, he also loves to produce hip-hop and RnB. He has been producing music for three years and specialises in melodic, wavy beats. His most recent production was on the song ‘Aath/Das’ with Delhi rapper Yungsta and Kolkata rapper J Trix.
2. Asura
Piyush Rastogi aka Asura hails from a small town called Kaimganj in Uttar Pradesh. He has been producing beats for a little more than two years. He has worked with Truth Youth, Smoke and Delhi duo Full Power. He loves to experiment with different genres because he believes that’s how he will find his true sound as an artist.
3. Vedang
Vedang Ajit Deshpande was born in Satara and raised up in Pune. He has been producing hip-hop music for five years. Vedang started making music when he was in the 12th grade. As a producer, his most popular collaborations have been with rapper Sun J on the song ‘Raw’ and with Shreyas and That Dude AJ on the song ‘Gutter Rich’.
4. Rebel7
Ditin Ramesh aka Rebel7 is a Delhi native who has been producing since 2017. He mostly produces hip-hop but is known to be a great MC too. He was among the many collaborators on Sez’s revolutionary first single ‘Goonj’; he contributed as a rapper. He also produced rapper Fotty Seven's song ‘Chal Nikal’ which has over two million views on YouTube.
5. Bharg Kale
Bharg Kale has a very strong personality and character, which shines through in the fact that he uses his real name instead of a stage name. Bharg is a native of Uttarakhand who has spent his childhood years in multiple towns and cities. He has a certain versatility in his productions and likes to work in multiple genres, including electronic music, hip-hop, indie, psy-rock, bedroom pop, and more. He has been producing music for five years now and has worked with popular artists like Rawal and Sez.
6. Katto
Aniket Katoch from Dharamsala has been a producer since 2013. He is known in the producer’s circle for having adistinct musical identity and a sharp sound. His production for the song ‘Kattarwaad’ with rapper Rap ID has been acclaimed by many in the community and the music video has over a million views in YouTube. Apart from hip-hop music, he has produced RnB and EDM in the past too.
7. Aniket
Aniket Raturi is a part of the Dehradun-based extreme performance group Team Evolution. He was born in Kanpur but lives in Dehradun now and represents the growing hip-hop community there. He started producing music when he was in school and loves to practice with all genres although hip-hop is what he vibes with the most. His work with Dehradun rappers Dakait and 2FISTD on the song 'UK07 se' has been praised and the song has been a statement of the explosive hip-hop scene in the city.
8. Lambo Drive
Janesh Arya aka Lambo Drive has been producing for two years now. He made a big splash in the hip-hop scene when he worked with Sez on Seedhe Maut's 'MMM', which released earlier this year. It was a landmark achievement for him and he followed it up by producing for Delhi duo Full Power on the song 'Blame'. With such high-profile collaborations in 2020, the Delhi-based producer is one to watch out for.
9. Xplicit
Ritwik Vyas aka Xplicit is an Indore native who lives in Mumbai. His list of collaborations is super impressive; he has produced beats for Sikandar Kahlon, Deep Kalsi, KR$NA, Sammohit, Harjas, Karma, Shah Rule, Frenzzy and Saifan. His ability to make quality trap, lo-fi and RnB make him one of the hottest producers from Mumbai. He also worked with one of India's biggest rappers, Divine, on three separate occasions, producing for the song 'Wallah' from the album Kohinoor, 'Nahi Pata' that also features Shah Rule, Sammohit and Frenzzy, and 'Bandana Gang' from Gully Gang's EP, Shutdown.
10. Abhijay Music
Abhijay Sharma aka Abhijay Music was born in Meerut but grew up in Uttarakhand. He started producing music three years ago. Abhijay has a super strong foundation in music. He has been a student of Indian classical music since the age of six. An avid audiophile, he loves to produce a variety of genres like lo-fi, chill hop, Indian classical, trap, etc. His production on the song 'WOH' with MC Heam has been his biggest collaboration till date. He also worked on Mumbai's Finest's upcoming album. He is also a member of the collective called Shastras Music.
Sez says
"I have a lot of favorites, to be honest, from up and coming producers in our country, so I am sorry if I didn't mention you but know that if your name is not here, you are still dope and are definitely helping in building the community into a bigger and stronger one," Sez says. He also maintains that everyone is unique in their own way and that he couldn't be happier to witness so many talents who look up to him as an inspiration.
