Rapper Vivian Wilson da Silva Fernandes, also known as Divine (stylised as DIVINE), was born in India on October 2, 1990. As his song “Yeh Mera Bombay” was released in 2013, Fernandes—who was born and raised in Andheri, Mumbai—began to garner notoriety. Released in 2015, “Mere Gully Mein” became his breakthrough, featuring fellow Mumbai-based rapper Naezy.
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When Divine’s album Punya Paap (2020) debuted on Spotify Times Square in New York City on December 12, 2020, it became the first Indian rapper to do so. The album also held the top slot on Apple Music India. Divine made his red carpet debut at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022, becoming the first hip-hop artist from India to do so.
The successful track “Baazigar,” starring Armani White, was published before the release of his third studio album, Gunehgar, in 2022.
Divine Career
Early life
After learning about hip-hop via a T-shirt, Divine began his career as an underground rapper in 2011. A classmate of his had a T-shirt from 50 Cent’s debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ on. He started rapping in English after receiving his first MP3 CD containing hip-hop songs from the same friend.In He belonged to Mumbai’s Finest, a hip-hop group. Rapping on his personal experiences—such as growing up with a single mother and the impoverished in Mumbai—he does it frequently. He lists American rappers like 50 Cent, Rakim, Big L, Eminem, Nas, and Tupac as influences.In
ascent to success
After his song “Yeh Mera Bombay” was released, Divine was noticed by Sony Music India while he was playing at the Blue Frog Festival in Mumbai. He soon after got a contract with them. Later that year, the song was awarded Rolling Stone India’s Best Video of the Year. On April 16, 2015, he dropped his breakthrough hit, “Mere Gully Mein,” featuring Naezy. Numerous Bollywood stars posted the song on social media, and it quickly became viral. He furthered his career by working with Indian DJ Nucleya on the song “Jungle Raja” off Nucleya’s album Bass Rani. In 2016, the song took up the GiMA Award for Best EDM Track of the Year.
Released on March 24, 2016, his first solo track “Jungli Sher” topped the charts due to its honest portrayal of Mumbai’s impoverished people’s lives. Before BBC Asian Network Live on April 29, 2016, he performed the song on the Breakfast Show. He was the first rapper who spoke Hindi to perform a freestyle on the Charlie Sloth Show on the BBC Asian Network. He was also the first rapper to rap in Hindi while the show’s name-giving presenter was there. He was highlighted on Brapp TV as well.
Nucleya’s hit song “Scene Kya Hai” from the album Raja Baja features Divine as well. On January 10, 2017, he appeared alongside Deep Jandu and Gangis Khan in “Daru Daru,” his debut commercially released single. On February 16, 2017, he dropped “Farak,” his next solo single, which rocketed to the top of iTunes India’s Indipop charts In May 2017, Indian-American rapper, singer, and composer Raja Kumari included him as a feature on his album City Slums. IMI further certified City Slums as triple platinum in India.
2018 saw Divine’s contract with Sony Music India end.[Reference needed] On January 18, 2018, he independently released a remix of “Gucci Gang” by Lil Pump called “Gully Gang.” He gained additional recognition thanks to the song, which was highly received by both fans and critics. His follow-up, “One Side,” produced by Byg Byrd, was released on April 5, 2018. The rapper’s personal YouTube account hosted the video, which was created by Red Bull Media House.[Reference needed]
Soon after its publication, his second track, “Teesri Manzil,” received a copyright strike from Zed Music Company and was removed from his channel.[Reference needed] Eventually, on December 14, 2018, it was re-released with a few lines altered. On November 10, 2018, he dropped the lead single off his upcoming debut full-length album, “Junoon”. On February 13, 2019, Ebro Darden, host of Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio show, revealed the album’s name, Kohinoor. Although the album was initially scheduled to be published in April 2019, it was not released until later.[Reference needed] Gully Life: The Story of Divine is a documentary film that Divine released in July 2019 that chronicles his career to date. It debuted on television a week later on Divine’s YouTube channel after initially airing on networks including the Discovery Channel.
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Nas’ Mass Appeal Records and Universal Music India announced the establishment of Mass Appeal India on August 20, 2019, and signed Divine. He was brought to India and the Indian hip-hop movement was made global thanks to the collaborative efforts of Universal Music Group and Mass Appeal.Reference 10 In an interview with Nas that was posted on the Facebook page of Universal Music India and the YouTube channel of Mass Appeal India on August 20, 2019, Nas disclosed that Divine’s debut album Kohinoor would be released shortly. On October 9, 2019, it was launched. It included brand-new songs that were composed just for the record.
Across a wide range of genres, GQ’s global editions nominated local artists in 2021, and Divine was listed as one of the 21 most promising up-and-coming musicians.In For the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, which was published in September 2021, he performed on a cover of the Metallica song “The Unforgiven” alongside Vishal Dadlani and Shor Police.
Divine was the winner of the MTV Europe Music Awards’ Best Indian Act in 2021.
contributions to films
Divine debuted in Bollywood with the song “Paintra” from the movie Mukkabaaz. The song, which was released on December 1st, 2017, was another collaboration with Nucleya. Known for his work as an Indian music director and vocalist, he co-wrote the song “Badla” for the T-Series release of the film Blackmail, starring Irrfan Khan, which came out on March 16, 2018. Moreover, Divine provided music for the Indian Netflix original series Sacred Games . It included his song “Jungli Sher” together with the specially crafted “Kaam 25” by Indo-Canadian producer Phenom for the show. The music video for it was made available on June 14, 2018, on the YouTube accounts of Divine and Netflix. The Netflix version of the video has English subtitles.
The 2019 Zoya Akhtar film Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, was inspired on the lives of Naezy and Divine. Divine most famously contributed to the soundtrack of the movie. In order to obtain an accurate portrayal of hip-hop culture for the movie, Divine and Naezy both served as consultants. Ranveer Singh reinterpreted their song “Mere Gully Mein” for the movie, rapping Naezy’s lyrics. In addition to writing some of the tracks for the original soundtrack, Divine also contributed more rap lyrics for Ranveer Singh’s role. Just before the movie came out, a promotional song with American musician Nas, Naezy, divine, and Ranveer Singh was made available on JioSaavn.[Reference needed]
The Punya Paap
Divine joined OneFour from Australia, Noizy from Albania, and Kekra from France on the global remix of “Bando Diaries” by UK rapper Dutchavelli on September 20, 2020. His latest single, “Punya Paap,” along with its music video, were posted on Mass Appeal India’s YouTube account on September 23, 2020. The first single from his second album, Punya Paap, was revealed to be the release.
He dropped “Mirchi,” the album’s second single, on October 16, 2020. With its distinct baile funk vibe, the song was well-received. On November 6, 2020, the music video for “Mera Bhai,” another song from the album, was released. In the animated movie, one of Divine’s boyhood pals betrays him out of envy, and Divine tells the viewers to trust no one but themselves in this modern world.
On December 3, 2020, his second album, Punya Paap, was made available through the label Mass Appeal India. There are 11 tracks in all, including Nas, Cocoa Sarai, Dutchavelli, Stylo G, D’Evil, MC Altaf, Lisa Mishra, and Phenom among others. Featuring a fusion of classic 808 patterns and contemporary heavy beats with numerous sampled loops, the album was made by some of the best producers from the Indian hip-hop scene, such as Karan Kanchan, iLL Wayno, and Stunnah Beatz. With a general theme of doom, the album follows Divine’s ascent to prominence in the Indian hip-hop scene and his challenges along the way.
from 2022 to the present
His third album, Gunehgar, was released in November of 2022. International musicians and producers are heavily featured on the album.
Divine Entertainment Gully Gang
In order to find and develop hip hop talent in the Mumbai region, Divine announced in February 2019 the creation of a new company, Gully Gang Entertainment, which also includes the record label “Gully Gang Records.” On May 22, 2019, the song “Gully Gang Cypher” was published. It marked the first time that musicians from the label, including D’Evil, MC Altaf, Shah Rule, and the up-and-coming rap quartet Aavrutti, collaborated. Music producer Karan Kanchan also contributed to the song. Additionally, musicians from outside of Mumbai have been signed; examples include Tsumyoki from Goa and 100RBH from Amravati.
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